Motorsport: Books - Circuits and Races - 24 Hours Of Le Mans (1/2)

Le Mans - The Official History of the World's Greatest Motor Race, 1949-59

This was a very important period in the Le Mans story. Ferrari and Jaguar raced to stake claims as the foremost manufacturers of high-performance cars. Mercedes-Benz came back from war-ravaged Germany and again set the standards in race-car engineering.

Aston Martin finally won at its 20th attempt. Enormous crowds - approaching half a million people - saw the first rear-engined saloons to compete at Le Mans, and the first mid-engined sports-racing cars, and the first diesels.

As the victorious manufacturers actively promoted their successes, their commercial rivals also set out to win. As many as 15 brought 'works' teams every June, with purpose-built cars. On-track performance soared. In 1949 the fastest car hit 135mph (217kph) on the unique Mulsanne straight.
Before the end of the 1950s, top speeds exceeded 180mph (290kph).

This fascinating book tells the stories of these increasingly potent racing cars and conveys the punishing nature of an incomparable event - the ultimate test of the mental and physical abilities of the fragile individuals who make up racing teams, be they drivers, engineers, strategists or mechanics.

The thorough statistics in the book result from fresh research, and there are more than 400 evocative photographs, many of them - including very rare colour images - never published before.

Le Mans - The Official History of the World's Greatest Motor Race 1923-29

This title covers the seven 24 Hours races of the 1920s, plus, as a prologue, all the events held at the Le Mans circuit during the period 1906-23. Each running of the 24 Hours is exhaustively covered in vivid photographs, an insightful commentary providing more detailed information than has ever been published about the period, and full statistics.

Compiled by an acknowledged authority of this legendary race, this series of books is treasured by all enthusiasts of sports car racing.

Officially licensed with the ACO, the organisers of the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race, this sumptuous book is part of a decade-by-decade series that is building up into a multi-volume set covering every race.

Le Mans - The Official History of the World's Greatest Motor Race 1930-39

This title covers the nine races of the 1930s (no race was held in 1936) in which honours were divided between Italian, French and British manufacturers. Each race is exhaustively covered in vivid photographs, an insightful commentary providing more detailed information than has ever been published about the period, and full statistics.

Compiled by an acknowledged authority of this legendary race, this series of books is treasured by all enthusiasts of sports car racing.

Officially licensed with the ACO, the organisers of the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race, this sumptuous book is part of a decade-by-decade series that is building up into a multi-volume set covering every race.

Le Mans - The Official History of the World's Greatest Motor Race, 1960-69

This was the defining decade for the Le Mans 24 Hours. It started with six consecutive victories by Ferrari, overwhelming Aston Martin and Maserati. But then Ford threw its all-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 great automobile manufacturers spurred the development of many iconic racing cars: Ferrari Testa Rossa and GTO, Ford GT40 and Daytona Cobra, Porsche 904 and 917.
The machines that were specially built for Le Mans evolved through the decade from front-engined brutes to mid-engined monsters. By the end of the period, many of them could achieve more than 200mph (300kph) on the awesome straights that defined the race, thrilling as many as 300,000 spectators at trackside.

Almost 50 companies built cars that were raced at Le Mans in the 1960s. The 24 Hours became an annual cauldron of corporate rivalry and a high-speed proving ground for innovative automobile technologies.
Above all, it became an incomparably arduous and complex challenge to man and machine that captured the imagination of the public the world over.

Officially licensed with the ACO, the organisers of the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race, this sumptuous book is part of a decade-by-decade series that is building up into a multi-volume set covering every race.

Le Mans - The Official History of the World's Greatest Motor Race, 1970-79

This decade at Le Mans began with the first victories by Porsche, whose awesome 917 racing car, capable of more than 240mph (385kph), established a distance record that would stand for almost four decades.
One of a hat-trick of wins by Matra, effectively the French national team, was achieved in a famously frantic, head-to-head duel with Ferrari. In 1975, the oil crisis led the ACO to run its race to a 'fuel formula', and it was won by the Ford-supported Gulf-Mirage team.

Porsche, using motorsport to develop its turbocharging technology, won again in 1976 and in 1977, when Jacky Ickx produced one of the greatest drives ever seen in motor racing anywhere.
A massive effort by Renault, again with a turbocharged engine, delivered success in 1978. The decade closed, as it had started, with a soaking wet race that was won by Porsche.

This 10-year chronicle describes events as they unfolded during each of the races. The reader will learn about the ever-changing regulations - many introduced to encourage fuel efficiency - that governed the races, and follow the technical advances made by innovative competitors as they strove to win the biggest prize in motor racing.

Officially licensed with the ACO, the organisers of the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race, this sumptuous book is part of a decade-by-decade series that is building up into a multi-volume set covering every race.

Le Mans - The Official History of the World's Greatest Motor Race, 1980-89

From about 215mph (345kph) at the start of this unforgettable decade, top speeds on the world-famous Mulsanne straight exceeded 250mph (400kph) for the first time in 1988. These were the fastest racing cars on the planet.

This decade's radical new FIA Group C regulations challenged motorsport engineers to achieve race-winning engine performance while saving fuel. This was a formula that was ideal for Le Mans, embodying as it did the original rationale of this historic event as a proving ground for emerging automotive technologies.
It accelerated the development of control electronics and aerodynamics, and soon the increasingly sophisticated racing coupés were setting new standards in on-track performance.

The 1980 event was uniquely won by Jean Rondeau, a Le Mans resident, with a car of his own manufacture. After seven impressive Porsche successes, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz, both returning to motorsport after long absences, won in 1988 and 1989.
By the end of the decade, Le Mans was contested by Aston Martin, Jaguar, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota.

This was the decade when the Le Mans 24 Hours really began to rock. Already established as a world-class event, the ACO's annual race scaled new heights during the 1980s, a time of spectacular transformation in top-flight sports car racing.

Officially licensed with the ACO, the organisers of the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race, this sumptuous book is part of a decade-by-decade series that is building up into a multi-volume set covering every race.