Page 13 - Sample pages "Forty Six: The Birth of Porsche Motorsport"

FORTY SIX 99 CHAPTER 4
As direct competition for the Porsches, there was a single Simca 8 Sport with an inline four-cylinder engine of 1,090cc overall displacement, and a DB Sport from Automobiles Deutsch-Bonnet with its opposed two-cylinder engine of 851cc in the Sports-1100 Class. The Porsche, the Lancia, the three Cunninghams and a single Crosley Hot Shot were racing at Le Mans for the first time.
The Porsche started 46th, hence its racing number. For the beginning of the race, the host organization, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) based grid position on engine displacement. That changed in 1962, when they relied on lap times for starting positions.
By the end of the second hour, the Porsche’s French drivers had advanced to 42nd; by 8:00 PM, they were 35th overall. At 10:00 PM, official timers recorded the car in 33rd, when the expected rain had begun to the detriment of dozens of open-car racers.
The Porsche had dropped back one spot to 34th by midnight, but its steady-handed, experienced drivers persevered. They climbed to 29th by 2:00 AM. At the 4:00 AM halfway point, they were 28th, while 17 starters were out of the race. In the gray, rainy dawn, they sat in 24th, and over the next two hours, advanced to 22nd, a position they still held at 10:00 AM. From noon until 2:00 PM they ranked 21st. Through it all, Ferry remained a constant presence in their pits. The role of the nervous father was appropriate, watching his “only child” in its debut on the world stage.
Despite racing 16 of the 24 hours in the rain, they finished 20th overall, ahead of another nine finishers. The French drivers were also classified first (of two finishers) in the 1.1-liter class. In 24 hours, they had circled the 13.486-kilometer/8.38-mile course 210 times, driving 2,840.63 kilometers/1,765.09 miles at an average speed of 118.37km/h/73.55mph. The Porsche ran perfectly with co-drivers
[RIGHT] Huschke von Hanstein (left) and Ferry Porsche monitor the team’s progress from the pits.
[OPPOSITE] Routine pit stop for SL 063.
The Birth of Porsche Motorsport
1951 24 HOURS OF LE MANS
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