Page 83 - Yanks reviews

Porsche Road & Race, June 22, 2020 / page 2
3-liter Bentley Sport to fourth. It’s doubtful that any American automobile manufacturer even knew about the 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1923, but thanks to Charles Montier, there was an American car, or at least a substantial part of one, in the first running.
Charles Montier was what would today be called a tuner/ manufacturer. He sold Model T Fords from his garages in the suburbs of Paris, but became known as the “Sorcerer of Ford” for the clever high-performance engine and chassis modifications he devised and marketed. Montier knew, however, that to reach a wider customer base, his cars would have to be demonstrated in competition.
The first success came in 1921, at a meeting in Boulogne-sur- Mer, where his Ford-Montier Special completed a 1.86-mile section of roads through the forest at an average of 82.6 mph, unheard of for a Ford at that time.
“The Ford Motor Company, located in Bordeaux, did send a letter of congratulations,” wrote Montier’s youngest son Georges in 1976, “but let him know that the famous
Ford ‘999’ was successful way before that. That’s the only congratulations my dad ever received from them.”
Montier’s improvements were extensive and included frame modifications to lower the chassis on the suspension, new brake and transmission systems and special cylinder heads, camshafts and exhaust manifolds for the engines. But Charles Montier was no mere hotrodder, and his entry as a manufacturer at Le Mans was proof of that.
“All the specialized press for the automotive world thought it was a risky enterprise,” wrote Georges Montier. “The rules were very strict, drastic even, and racing for 24 hours sounded impossible. Only the fearless dared, despite all, to embark on this adventure and my father was one of these.”
To comply with the regulations, Montier prepared what he called a Gaillon model, with one of his modified Ford engines sleeved down from three liters to two, a special lightweight four place body with the minimum required single door, fenders and running boards, lights, a horn, and an operable convertible top.
Montier would drive himself, along with his brother-in- law and shop foreman Albert Ouriou. Because of the small displacement, their top speed was limited to 74.5 mph, but he was confident it could run at that speed without a problem. He was right. While the little Ford-Montier was never a threat to the “winning” 3-liter works Chenard & Walcker some 332 miles ahead, for 24 hours it had survived the relentless pounding of rutted dirt roads, flying stones and rain storms through the night with no stops other than those scheduled
for fuel and driver changes, to finish fourteenth, covering 1,040.43 miles at an average of 43.50 mph.
How appropriate that the U.S. manufacturer represented by Charles Montier’s Franco-American “Tin Lizzy” would take part in the inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans, and by his brave effort, become the first to finish the French classic. Forty- three years later, Ford Motor Company would field the first American-made car to win at Le Mans – but the first real threat from the U.S. would come much sooner.
The Sorcerer of Ford
Charles Montier, the “Sorcerer of Ford,” was arguably the forerunner of tuner/manufacturers who worked their performance-improving magic on the cars or engines of a single marque. His Ford-based specials for racing and road use even preceded the famous American Frontenac “Fronty” Fords by a few years, built, ironically, by brothers Arthur and Louis Chevrolet.
While his pioneering Ford-Montier specials never won a
Advertisement for Ford-Montier in Paris c. 1923.
major road race overall, he and son Ferdinand often won their class in hillclimbs and even went up against the great European marques, Bugatti, Fiat, Delage, Alfa Romeo and Mercedes-Benz in early Grands Prix. Charles Montier’s 1923 Model T-based entry in the inaugural 24-hour race was painstakingly restored and in 2008, the 100th year anniversary of the Model T, returned to the Circuit de la Sarthe to compete in the Le Mans Classic – this time fully embraced as a works entry of Écurie Ford France.
Even at night. GALLICA 22
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June 18-19, 1932 [Hot & Sunny]
Course Length: 8.384 miles / 13.492 km
Winners: Raymond Sommer (F), Luigi Chinetti (I), Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM (I), 1,835.56 miles / 2,954.04 km Fastest Lap: Ferdinando ‘Nando’ Minoia (I), Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 (I), 5:41, 88.51 mph / 142.44 km/h
0 American Drivers N 1 American Car N 1 American Engine N 0 American Teams
POS NO CAR
DRIVERS
ENTRANT
GROUP / POSITION
LAPS / MILES / KM
1 8 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM Raymond Sommer (F), Luigi Chinetti (I) Raymond Sommer (F) 2001-3000 / 1 1,835.56 / 2,954.04
2 11 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM Franco Cortese (I), Giovanni Battista Guidotti (I) Soc. An. Alfa Romeo (I) 2001-3000 1,818.93 / 2,927.28
3 6 Talbot AV 105 Tim Rose-Richards (GB), Owen Saunders-Davies (GB) Arthur W. Fox & Charles Nicholl 2001-3000 1,517.15 / 2,441.61 Ltd. (GB)
4 18 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 LM Mme. Odette Siko (F), Louis Charaval (Jean Sabipa) (F) Mme. Odette Siko (F) 1501-2000 / 1 1,502.28 / 2,417.69
5 20 Aston Martin LM 11⁄2 Sammy Newsome (GB), Henken Widengren (S) Aston Martin Ltd. (GB) 1101-1500 / 1 1,459.50 / 2,348.84
6 23 Bugatti T40 Jean Sébilleau (F), Georges Delaroche (F) Jean Sébilleau (F) 1101-1500 1,445.96 / 2,327.03
7 21 Aston Martin LM 11⁄2 A.C. (Augustus Cesare) ‘Bert’ Bertelli (GB), Pat Driscoll Aston Martin Ltd. (GB) 1101-1500 1,409.33 / (GB) 2,268.09
8 29 Amilcar CO Charles Auguste Martin (F), Auguste Bodoignet (F) Écurie de l’Ours (F) 751-1100 / 1 1,269.51 / 2,043.08
9 26 Caban Spéciale Roger Labric (F), Yves Giraud-Cabantous (F) Roger Labric (F) 751-1100 1,231.10 / 1,981.26
DNF 16 Bugatti T55 Count Stanislaus Czaykowski (PL), Ernest Friederich (F) Count Stanislaus Czaykowski (PL) 2001-3000 180 / fuel line
DNF 28 Salmson GS Just-Émile Vernet / Fernand Vallon (F) Just-Émile Vernet (F) 751-1100 111 / clutch
DNF 9 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM Lord Earl Howe (GB), Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin (GB) Lord Earl Howe (GB) 2001-3000 110 / engine
DNF 24 Bugatti T40 Charles Druck (F), Lucien Virlouvet (F) Charles Druck (F) 1101-1500 98 / accident
DNF 32 MG Midget C Sir Francis Samuelson (GB), Norman Black (GB) Sir Francis Samuelson (GB) Under 750 57 / fuel leak
DNF 22 Aston Martin LM 11⁄2 Kenneth ‘Kim’ Peacock (GB), Jack Bezzant (GB) Aston Martin Ltd. (GB) 1101-1500 53 / engine
DNF 12 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 ‘Ano’ Pierre Louis-Dreyfus (F), Antoine ‘Tony’ Schumann (F) 2001-3000 25 / accident Antoine ‘Tony’ Schumann (F)
DNF 15 Bugatti T55 Guy Bouriat (F), Louis Chiron (MC) Guy Bouriat (F) 2001-3000 23 / holed radiator
DNF 10 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Ferdinando ‘Nando’ Minoia (I), Carlo Canavesi (I) Soc. An. Alfa Romeo (I) 2001-3000 22 / accident
DNF 1 Mercedes-Benz SSK Marcel Foucret (F), Henri Stoffel (F) Henri Stoffel (F) 5001-8000 22 / engine
DNF 3 Stutz DV32 Bearcat Édouard Brisson (F), Joseph ‘Papa’ Cattanéo (F) Édouard Brisson (F) 5001-8000 19 / accident
DNF 14 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Attilio Marinoni (I), Angelo Guatta (I) Prince Djordjadzé 2001-3000 14 / accident
DNF 27 B.N.C. Gustave Duverne (F), Georges Boréal (F) Roger Labric (F) 751-1100 9 / engine
DNF 30 Alta John Ludovic Ford (GB), Maurice Baumer (GB) John Ludovic Ford (GB) 751-1100 6 / clutch
DNF 25 Rally NCP Jean Danne (F), Jacques Gergaud (F) Jean Danne (F) 1101-1500 6 / ignition
DNF 19 Citroën Henri de la Sayette (F), Charles Wolf (F) Henri de la Sayette (F) 1501-2000 3 / ignition
DNF 5 Bentley C “Blower” Jean Trévoux (F), Jean-Marie ‘Mary’ Brussin (F) Jean Trévoux (F) 3001-5000 1 / accident
Coming out of White House, the sixth place finishing No. 23 Alfa Romeo passes three wrecked cars. Among them is Brisson’s No. 3 Stutz, rolled back on four wheels, but barely able to crawl back to the pits to retire after being unable to avoid the spinning Alfa Romeo – a sad end for the last Stutz to race at Le Mans. LAT
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