THE OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST MOTOR RACE
Quentin Spurring
Publication: Out Now · Format: Hardback · RRP: £40.00 · ISBN: 978 1 84425 584 9
The 1960s was a defining decade for the Le Mans 24 Hours, a decade when illustrious manufacturers and drivers battled for glory and the Circuit de la Sarthe staked its claim as the scene of the greatest motor race in the world.The decade started with six consecutive victories by Ferrari, overwhelming Aston Martin and Maserati. But then Ford threw its American dollars at the race and won it four times in a technically exciting period that also brought the competitive emergence of brands such as Alfa Romeo, Matra, Porsche and Renault.
The participation of the great car manufacturers spurred the development of many iconic racing cars including the Ferrari Testa Rossa, Ford GT40, Daytona Cobra and Porsche 917. By the end of the period, many of the mid-engined monsters were achieving more than 200mph on the awesome Mulsanne straight, thrilling as many as 300,000 spectators at the trackside.
The Le Mans 24 Hours became an annual cauldron of corporate rivalry, and a high- speed proving ground for innovative automotive technologies. For the drivers, including most of the Grand Prix aces of the day, it became the race they most wanted to win. Above all, it became an incomparably arduous and complex challenge to man and machine that captured the imagination of the public the world over. Read this book and immerse yourself in over 300 glorious photographs to understand why.
This is the official account of the Le Mans 24 Hours as it evolved over the course of its defining decade. Each year is exhaustively covered by vivid photographs, a detailed race account, full results data and a glorious rendering of the official race poster. The book captures the human drama that makes this motor race so special - the trials and tribulations, the tragedies and comedies, the strategies and expertise, and the sheer, bloody-minded determination of the competitors. And, along the way, it traces the development of the fastest racing cars the world had ever seen.
Author Quentin Spurring has reported the Le Mans 24 Hours on 23 occasions. He has been the editor of the British magazines Competition Car, Autosport, Racecar Engineering and The Paddock, the press officer of Graham Hill's Formula 1 team, and is the European Motorsports Correspondent of Autoweek. His books have included Grand Prix! Rare Images of the First 100 Years, Formula 1 in Camera 1980-89, and tributes to Jim Clark, Gilles Villeneuve and Ronnie Peterson. He lives in Sanderstead in Surrey.
