Le Mans, 1951

We are excited to share these recently unearthed photos from Le Mans in 1951. It's interesting to note the dramatic change between Le Mans in 1951 and what the race has become today. The #2 car of Alfred Hitchings & Peter Reece is featured prominently. The team crashed on lap 22, but managed to make the end of the race, finishing 214 laps. Unfortunately their last lap took more than 30 minutes, which disqualified the team.

Who can you spot in the photos?

 

Old Magazine Covers, Part 15

This is probably the least flattering magazine cover featuring an Allard. It comes from the August 1951 issue of Autosport Magazine. The photo shows Peter Reece crashing on lap 22 into a sand bank, which surprisingly resulted in just a twisted nose and bent steering arm. The steering was quickly fixed and the car returned to the race. Soon after, the rear end started making ominous sounds, but the car and team perservered. The Hitchings & Reece J2 finished the race, but were disqualified because their last lap took longer than 30 minutes. In all the car finished 214 laps, which would have put the team in 20th place.