Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/05/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Philippe, Arche, Quoting from Brain Laban's book, "Le Mans 24 Hours, The complete story... "In 1925 the start was held for the first and only time on the Mulsanne Straight...The pits and start-line grandsatnd moved with it because the owner of the land normally used had asked for too much money as the crowds continued to grow. This meant that it was Hunaudieres that witnessed the birth of ...the running Le Mans start. as The Motor colourfully described it, 'As the loudspeaker gave out the final warnings the competitors' cars were parked diagonally down the right-hand side of the road wioth the hoods folded and strapped down and with doors shut. The drivers stood tense and expectant on the other side of the course. Slowly the minutes ticked by until, with the dropping of a great flag and a stentorian "Partez!" from gargantuan loudspeakers the drivers raced for their cars, erected their hoods with all possible speed, leaped in, depressed the starter button, and roared off'" The race continued to start in this way until 1970. I presume that the diagonal parking was caused by the limited space on the road/shoulder at that point after the stands and pits had been put in place. Cars not only had to run with hoods, they had to be driven for a fixed distance with the hoods up. All repairs in the early days had to be effected by the driver and he was not allowed to receive outside assistance on pain of disqualification. That went for refuelling too. It was after all originally envisaged as a strict test of the usability of the cars for daily use, where a "works team" would not be to hand! In fact the winner of the Rudge-Whitworth Cup (the main prize) was only determined over three races held in consecutive years. This is part of the reason that there are so many classifications for efficiencey. Peter Dzwig Arche, Harvey wrote: > Philippe wrote, re: Lemans start - > > Loved this warp back in time, Arche. > > I've always wondered: what is the reason for/origin of this typical > > start procedure: running to the car, etc instead of a grid start? > > > > Some one else may know for certain, but I believe that, under the rules > for these classes of automobiles at the time, cars had to be startable > without outside ignition help- ie: had to have battery, ignition switch, > and starter motor built-in. Essentially they were jumped up road cars. I > believe they were also required to have at least a nominal trunk and > carry a spare tire. The race began from an absolute dead stop. Also- > what a spectacle! > > Arche > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >