1957 24 Hours of Le Mans

1957 24 Hours of Le Mans

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The 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 25th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 22 and 23 June 1957, on the Circuit de la Sarthe. It was also the fifth round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. Some 250,000 spectators had gathered for Europe's classic sports car race, around an 8.38-mile course. The prospect of an exciting duel between Ferrari, Maserati, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Porsche was enough to draw large crowds to the 24 Hours race, now back at its usual date and reintegrated into the World Championship.

Le Mans in 1957

Never before had a single nation swept the board so completely as Britain did in 1957. The great success of the Jaguars in taking the first four and sixth places became all the more significant when it is considered that all of the cars were privately entered (albeit with some factory support), and matched against the works entries of some of the greatest sport car manufacturers.

Regulations

After the major changes in the previous year, the ACO relented on its engine-size limitation – prototypes were again an open limit. They did, however, address body-shape requirements: the token second seat. Cars now had to have at least two doors and both seats had to be the same size, in a cockpit a minimum 1.2m wide. The minimum windscreen height was reduced from 20 to 15 cm, maximum fuel-tank size was 120 litres, and the total fuel usage restrictions were removed a year after they were imposed. One of the oldest regulations was removed – of having to carry all spares and tools on the car, allowing them to be left in the pits.

This all re-aligned with the FIA/CSI, who themselves issued a major new Appendix C to the Sports Car regulations based closely on the 1956 ACO regulations. Therefore, the Le Mans race was drafted back into the World Sportscar Championship.

The number of starters was fixed at 55. The maximum drive time stayed at 14 hours, but drivers were now limited to a maximum single stint of 36 laps, down from the previous year's 72 laps. The interval between refuelling was reduced for the first time, down to 30 laps from 34 laps. This year, for the Index of Performance, the target distances for nominal engine sizes were set as follows (according to a specific formula):

Engine Capacity	Total Distance	Average Speed
S-4000	3710.8 km	154.6 km/h
S-3500	3671.2 km	153.0 km/h
S-3000	3619.0 km	150.8 km/h
S-2500	3547.1 km	147.8 km/h
S-2000	3441.9 km	143.4 km/h
S-1500	3272.7 km	136.4 km/h
S-1100	3040.0 km	126.7 km/h
S-1000	2956.5 km	123.2 km/h
S-750	2666.7 km	111.1 km/h

The Hors Course rule was revised: there would be systematic disqualification after every 6 hours (rather than previous 12 hours) of cars that had fallen more than 20% below its nominal Index of Performance at that time. Finally, the ACO formalised a ban on female drivers, after the death of Annie Bousquet in the 1956 12 Hours of Reims

Entries

A total of 82 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 58 were allowed to practice, trying to qualify for the 55 starting places for the race. The big talking point with the entry list was the non-appearance of the works Jaguar team, which had retired from racing at the end of the previous year; and the arrival in force of Maserati in the top class.

Category	Classes	Entries
Large-engines	S-5000 / S-3000	22
Medium-engines	S-2000 / S-1500	15 (+2 reserves)
Small-engines	S-1100 / S-750	18 (+3 reserves)

In the absence of the works team, the defending champions put their support behind their customer teams. Ex-works driver Duncan Hamilton and Ecurie Ecosse both had one of the experimental fuel-injected 3.8L-engined cars, capable of nearly 300 bhp. Ecurie Ecosse also ran the 3.4L car that Paul Frère had crashed early in the previous year's race (and arriving still in its British Racing Green straight from the Jaguar factory). Frère himself was racing for his native Equipe Nationale Belge using the same car the team had finished 4th in 1956. Finally there was the car for French industrial diamond-manufacturer privateer Jean Brussin (racing under the pseudonym “Mary”) in conjunction with the Lyon-based Los Amigos racing team.

Tony Brooks (driving) in his Aston Martin DBR1 at the Hotel de France just before the race.

Aston Martin, now managed by Reg Parnell as John Wyer had moved up to be general manager, brought three works cars: their new DBR2, as well as two DBR1/300s with uprated 3.0L engines generating 245 bhp. Their regular drivers Roy Salvadori and Tony Brooks were paired with new team-members Les Leston and Noël Cunningham-Reid respectively. The one-off DBR2 used the defunct Lagonda P166 frame fitted with the 3.7L engine of the new DB4 road-car (producing 290 bhp) and given to the Whitehead brothers. The team had good reason to be confident for outright honours, after Brooks and Cunningham-Reid raced to victory over the Italians in their DBR1/300 at the most recent round of the championship: the 1000km of Nürburgring. There was also an older DB3S entered for two French gentleman-drivers filled a vacant fourth works entry.

Ferrari arrived, it hoped, with an overwhelming force of ten cars. The works team had two of their mighty new Type 335 S, with its big 4.0L V12 engine (capable of 390 PS) for their grand prix drivers: Mike Hawthorn / Luigi Musso and Peter Collins / Phil Hill - their driver ranks were sadly depleted after the deaths, earlier in the year, of works drivers Eugenio Castellotti and then Alfonso de Portago (in an accident that led to the end of the iconic Mille Miglia). The team also ran a pair of Type 250 TR prototypes testing for the upcoming CSI regulations changes. One with a 3.0L V12 for Ferrari test-driver Martino Severi and Stuart Lewis-Evans, and the other with a 3.1L V12 for Maurice Trintignant and Olivier Gendebien, who had been Ferrari's best performers in the previous year's race, finishing 4th. There were also a pair of privately entered 3.5L 290 MM and three 2.0L Testarossas (including Equipe Nationale Belge running a Jaguar, Ferrari and a Porsche to hedge their bets).

Maserati also turned up with confidence this year: Stirling Moss was now a Maserati works driver, and was to drive the coupé version (designed by Vanwall’s Frank Costin) of the 450S with French-American Harry Schell, while the spyder version was run by Jean Behra / André Simon. Its 4.5L V8 developed 420 bhp (being the biggest engine in this year’s race) although the cars still used big, obsolete drum brakes. Along with these were a 3.0L car and a pair of smaller 2.0L cars. Juan Manuel Fangio (who had won at Sebring with Behra in a 450 spyder) was present in the pit, as a ‘reserve driver’ to put concern in the opposition teams.

France, now a fading force in the major categories was only represented by a pair of Talbot-Maseratis for the Ecurie Dubonnet team and two works Gordinis (as usual, split between the S-3000 and S-2000 classes). As it turned out, this was to be the last appearance from these stalwart supporters of the race.

The Frazer Nash Sebring of Stoop/Jopp.

Although Bristol was no longer running, its 2.0L engine was used by Frazer Nash and debutante AC Cars to take on the five medium-engined privateer Ferraris and Maseratis in the S-2000 class. Without Lotus present, the six Porsches had the S-1500 class to themselves. The works team brought a pair of 550As as well as one of the new 718 RSK for Umberto Maglioli and East German Edgar Barth. The other three were Belgian, French and American private entrants.

The British instead pushed into the S-1100 class with the FWA-Climax engine powering the Lotus (after a class win at Sebring), Cooper and Arnott cars. They were up against a Stanguellini stepping up a class, and a 1-off appearance from Germany of an unusual, plastic DKW using its 3-cylinder 2-stroke motorcycle engine (developing less than 50 bhp!).

The smallest, S-750, class was the usual assortment of French and Italian cars except for a lone Lotus muddying the waters. Colin Chapman had convinced Coventry Climax to develop a short-stroke version of its successful FWA engine (generating 75 bhp) to take on the French in the lucrative Index of Performance (the handicap system which measured cars exceeding their specified target distance by the greatest ratio). Lotus works driver Cliff Allison, and Keith Hall, were its drivers. Lucky to reach scrutineering in time, it was presented with no exhaust and without having the engine been run.

Practice and Pre-Race

A number of events were held over the race weekend to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the ACO – postponed as they were from the previous year after the 1955 disaster. Seventy classic French cars from the very earliest years of the organisation, with drivers in period costume, did demonstration laps of the circuit in a ‘Race of Regularity’ – the winning 1908 Roland-Pillain recorded doing over 50 mph along the Mulsanne straight . This year also saw a demonstration lap performed by the first turbine car – a Renault L’Etoile Filante.

The big Italian cars set the first sub-4 minute laps in practice: Mike Hawthorn in the Ferrari, then Fangio driving Behra's Maserati spyder – his 3.58:1 being the fastest single lap of the decade. Moss had a major moment when the special new large brakes on his car locked coming up to Mulsanne corner at top speed. Getting back to the pits he got the regular brakes fitted instead. Meanwhile, the works Ferraris were fitted with experimental pistons and one of the works prototype Testarossas suffered piston failure before it could get to do any laps. It was scratched when other cars started getting similar problems and time ran out to make repairs. Severi & Lewis-Evans were allowed to change to the Type 315 S that had won that fateful Mille Miglia. It was a harbinger for bad problems to come.

The lead Ecosse Jaguar had developed a misfire in practice. After the crew fixed it, Murray took it out onto public roads to test it at 4am on race-day morning. Winding it up to its 178 mph top speed he was lucky not to be held by the gendarmerie. The Whitehead brothers found their new Aston Martin DBR2 was very quick, but deliberately eased off in practice in case team manager Reg Parnell bumped them from the car for his other drivers. In Friday practice, one of the Talbots had terminal issues and had to be scratched. It was also soon apparent that the little French cars would have a fight on their hands this year, as the small Lotus-Climax was proving to be very quick – almost 25 seconds per lap quicker. Chapman's own 1475cc Lotus had practiced faster than the Porsches in its class (and breaking the S-1500 lap record), but dropped a valve and had to be withdrawn. His American co-drivers, Herbert MacKay-Fraser and Jay Chamberlain (Lotus’ agent in California) were substituted into the team's S-1100 reserve entry. This left the S-1500 class the sole preserve of Porsche.

Race

Start

Despite the poor weather leading up to race day, it began cloudy and humidly muggy. By the 4 pm start, the crowd was around 250,000. The usually quick and nimble Moss was slowed trying to squeeze into his cramped Maserati coupé so the first car to clear the startline was the Ferrari of Peter Collins, leaving a long trail of rubber, followed by the three Aston Martins. Unfortunately, the final appearance of Talbot was rather ignominious: its transmission broke as it left its start-box and it only went a handful of metres giving its driver, Bruce Halford the shortest debut on record. At the end of the first lap, Collins was in the lead (already on lap-record pace, from a standing start), followed by Brooks, Hawthorn, Gendebien and Salvadori fifth. But on the second lap Collins dropped back to tenth with engine trouble, pitting at the end of the next lap to retire with a seized piston. The Ferrari of Hawthorn had taken over the lead, hounded by the Maseratis of Moss, then Behra, at a blistering pace.

At the end of the first hour and 14 laps, Hawthorn had a 40-second lead over the Maseratis of Behra and Moss, then Gendebien, Bueb's Ecosse Jaguar and Brooks in the Aston Martin. The other Jaguars were biding their time, running just in the top-10. Soon enough, trouble struck more of the Italian cars: Moss’ Maserati began to smoke ominously and heavily, and after 26 laps, just before the two-hour mark, Hawthorn came into the pits to change tyres. The task of inserting the new spare into the Ferrari's tail took considerably longer than to change the wheel. Desperate to get back into the race, he leapt into the car – to be ordered out again smartly by a marshal. In the meantime, Behra took over the lead, and Hawthorn finally re-joined back in fifth place. In trying to catch the lead pack, Hawthorn set a new lap record with the first two sub-4 minute laps. Around 30 laps the regular pitstops and driver-changes started. The Moss Maserati, now in the hands of Harry Schell after a long pit stop costing a dozen laps, was soon to retire with rear axle trouble, just four laps after a similar issue cost their teammates Behra/Simon - forced to retire when it caused Simon to have an accident on his opening lap from the pits, splitting the fuel tank. Hawthorn refueled and handed the Ferrari over to Musso to start moving back up the field.

The race winning Jaguar D-Type of Flockhart/Bueb

This attrition of the Italian challengers, combined with a very rapid fuel stop, moved the Ecurie Ecosse car of Flockhart/Bueb into the lead at the start of the third hour – a lead they would not relinquish. In the fourth hour, Musso, having fought back up to second place, was hobbled by another seized piston destroying his engine out on the Mulsanne straight just before dusk. With the Severi/Lewis-Evans Ferrari held back with braking problems, this left the Gendebien/Trintignant car as the sole challenger from Maranello, who took over second place from their teammates.

Another casualty in the fourth hour was the second Gordini – the first having only lasted 3 laps – when it pulled into the pits with terminal engine issues. With dwindling funds, this was to be a disappointing end to Amedee Gordini’s long association with Le Mans.

By 9 pm, when the majority of the second fuel stops had been completed, the Ecosse Jaguar still led the race, now with Bueb back behind the wheel; Brooks, back in the Aston Martin, held second place, Gendebien in third, Masten Gregory, in Hamilton’s Jaguar was fourth with the second Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar running fifth being chased by the Severi/Lewis-Evans Ferrari making up for lost time. The works Porsches were scrapping amongst themselves, just out of the top-10, for the lead in the S-1500 and well ahead of the Belgian Testarossa leading the S-2000 class.

Night

Just before 10:30 pm, the Whitehead brothers had to retire the big Aston Martin out of the top-10 when its gearbox finally broke. When the Scarlatti/Bonnier Maserati retired with clutch failure, the works team had finished its dismal race after only 6 hours. Soon after midnight Gendebien retired out of third with a holed crankcase and yet another piston failure, leaving Ferrari’s fortunes barely any better. Salvadori retired around 2am, when the gearbox of his Aston Martin finally broke, after he had been running with only 4th gear for most of his stint. Meanwhile, the remaining Aston Martin was still lying second to Bueb’s D-Type. When Brooks took over he was four minutes behind Bueb; two hours later, he was only two minutes adrift when his gearbox also left him with only 4th gear and he started dropping back. Then at 1.50am came the most serious accident of the race: Brooks’ Aston Martin, now trailing by two laps and still stuck in 4th gear, was coming out of Tertre Rouge when he lost control, hit the bank and rolled. He was then hit by Maglioli closely following in the Porsche 718, which had been comfortably leading the S-2000 class and running 7th overall. Brooks was taken to hospital with severe cuts and bruises. This left Jaguar sitting 1-2-3-4: Ecurie Ecosse, leading from Equipe Nationale Belge, then the second Ecosse and the Los Amigos cars. Lewis-Evans, battling failing brakes, had the last works Ferrari back in 5th.

Missing from the list was Hamilton's Jaguar that had been delayed around midnight by a burnt-through exhaust pipe which was filling the cockpit with fumes and overheating the fuel lines and burning a hole in the cockpit-floor. When Hamilton pitted, the exhaust system was welded up and the hole repaired with a plate of steel cut out of an unattended gendarmerie wagon by the “enterprising” pit-crew! The car returned to the race in 11th and set about a hard race to make up time. Meanwhile, the Lotus in the S-750 class held a comfortable margin in the Index of Performance over the OSCA, with Mackay-Fraser's Lotus and Chancel's Panhard, the best of the little French cars, battling for third.

By half-distance, the order at the top had stabilised (the leader having done 165 laps), but with the attrition of the front-runners more of the smaller cars were coming up into the top-10. With the demise of Maglioli, it was now the works Porsche of Storez/Crawford that was running a very creditable 6th having done 152 laps. The big American Ferrari of George Arents was now 7th (147 laps) then 3 laps back to the Belgian Ferrari of Bianchi/Harris in 8th, leading the S-2000 category. In 9th was the little Lotus of Mackay-Fraser/Chamberlain, doing a mighty job leading the S-1100 class, on 141 laps and a lap back was the new AC Ace (virtually a shop-standard car) running very consistently. The little DKW stopped near the pits but the driver was able to run down, pick up a fuel pump and go back and fit it himself to get back into the race.

Morning

By 5:30 am, as dawn broke the overnight mist changed to a heavy fog covering the circuit (the only bad weather of the weekend). Although at times the visibility forced drivers to slow to 50 km/h this did not dramatically affect the lap times of the Jaguars. From this point on it became a real test of endurance – with almost half the field retired or barely running. An hour later, and the lead Jaguar completed its 200th lap and holding a comfortable 5-lap lead over the field. At 6:55 am, “Freddy” Rousselle, in the Belgian Jaguar running second came to a halt at Mulsanne for nearly an hour with ignition trouble. He eventually got the car moving again and got back to the pits and later rejoined down in sixth place putting in very rapid times to haul back the leaders. By 10am, they were back up to 4th.

Although other classes had been hit by retirements, the S-2000 was still very close – the Bianchi Ferrari, running 8th overall, was still leading the class ahead of Rudd's AC, Tavano's Ferrari, Dickie Stoop's well-travelled Fraser-Nash and Guyot's Maserati. In the Index of Performance, the small Lotus still had a comfortable lead, now ahead of their bigger brother running second and the works Porsche in third. Overnight the OSCA had hit troubles and slipped back.

At three-quarter time (10am), as the fog finally lifted, the order was staying very static – the four Jaguars holding the top places over a 16-lap spread. The leader had a comfortable 7-lap advantage over its teammate running second and the others about four laps apart from each other. The Ferrari and Porsche were both on the same lap and chasing the Belgian Jaguar two laps ahead of them.

Finish and post-race

In the last hour the leading Porsche, which had been running as high as 5th, ran out of fuel near Maison Blanche. Storez pushed it back to the pit-entrance, but could not refuel (being inside its 30-lap window) and it could never be pushed around the track again meaning they could not complete the final lap in the required 30 minutes to be classified. In contrast, the little Stanguellini came into the pits stuck in top gear. Unable to restart and not allowed an assisted start from the pit-crew, the driver set about pushing the car himself: half a mile to the top of the Dunlop hill, to the great cheers of support from the crowd. Half an hour later, he was able to bump-start the car on the downhill, still stuck in top-gear, and went on to take the last finishing position.

But otherwise the leaderboard remained unchanged. At 4:00pm, the chequered flag fell and for the second year in succession, in a formation finish with his teammate, Flockhart brought a dark blue Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type first past the finish line. The winners were never challenged in a trouble-free run, except for one unscheduled stop to change a light bulb. In fact, the car spent only 13 minutes and 9 seconds on pit lane during the 24 hours! The margin of triumph over the Jaguar of Lawrence/Sanderson was eight laps.

As well as being the Ecurie Ecosse team's finest hour, it was also Jaguar's greatest triumph finishing a fine 1-2-3-4-6. Third home was the local Equipe Los Amigos Jaguar of Lucas/”Mary” who were two laps adrift. After their delays in the morning, Rousselle/Frère brought their Equipe Nationale Belge Jaguar home in fourth, 17 laps behind the winners. The Lewis-Evans Ferrari held on to fifth place ahead of the hard-charging Hamilton Jaguar just one lap behind. Hamilton's D-Type was the only one to hit serious trouble when he and Gregory had lost two hours due to electrical and exhaust problems the night before.

In the other classes, it was the privateers that saved the blushes of the works teams – the older French Aston Martin won the S-3000 class by finishing 11th. After the late demise of the Storez Porsche, it was the American Porsche coming 8th who were the sole finisher in the S-1500 keeping up Porsche's class-win tradition. Likewise, the Ferrari Testarossa of Ecurie Nationale Belge finishing 7th, won the S-2000 class by 7 laps from the AC Ace and also ahead of the S-1500s whom it had been outperformed by for almost the whole race.

Although the public glamour was associated with those that took the outright victory, the performance of the Lotus marque should not be overlooked. Four cars entered, four finished, including the little 750cc version which finished 14th and beat their French opposition to win the Index of Performance. The seal on the British success was set by the Mackay-Frazer/Chamberlain Lotus – winning the S-1100 class by a huge distance (26 laps) over its teammates, winning the Biennial Cup and 2nd on Index.

The good weather meant the winning car set a new race distance record, exceeding the previous record set in 1955 by 138 miles (222 km). Before his retirement, Mike Hawthorn put in a new lap record in his Ferrari. A special award was made to Roger Masson who had pushed his Lotus single-handedly for four miles, taking over an hour to get back to the pits after running out of petrol on the Mulsanne straight in the early hours of the race. It was refuelled and they went on to finish 16th.

As well as being the only entry for Arnott and DKW, the 1957 race was to be the last appearance for French stalwarts Talbot and Gordini – none of the cars from these manufacturers made it to the end.

Official results

Results taken from Quentin Spurring's book, officially licensed by the ACO Class Winners are in Bold text.

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
1	S5.0	3	Ecurie Ecosse	Ron Flockhart Ivor Bueb	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.8L S6	327
2	S5.0	15	Ecurie Ecosse	Ninian Sanderson John ‘Jock’ Lawrence	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L S6	319
3	S5.0	17	Equipe Los Amigos	Jean Lucas ”Mary” (Jean Brussin)	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L S6	317
4	S5.0	16	Equipe Nationale Belge	Paul Frère Freddy Rousselle	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L S6	310
5	S5.0	8	Scuderia Ferrari	Stuart Lewis-Evans Martino Severi	Ferrari 315 S	Ferrari 3.8L V12	300
6	S5.0	4	D. Hamilton (private entrant)	Duncan Hamilton Masten Gregory	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.8L S6	299
7	S2.0	28	Equipe Nationale Belge	Lucien Bianchi Georges Harris	Ferrari 500 TRC	Ferrari 1985cc S4	288
8	S1.5	35	E. Hugus (private entrant)	Ed Hugus Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche 550A	Porsche 1498cc S4	286
9	S1.1	62 (reserve)	Lotus Engineering	Jay Chamberlain Herbert MacKay-Fraser	Lotus Eleven	Coventry Climax FWA 1098cc S4	285
10	S2.0	31	AC Cars	Ken Rudd Peter Bolton	AC Ace	Bristol 1970cc S6	281
N/C *	S1.5	34	Porsche KG	Claude Storez Ed Crawford	Porsche 550A	Porsche 1498cc F4	275
11	S3.0	21	Aston Martin Ltd.	Jean-Paul Colas Jean Kerguen	Aston Martin DB3S	Aston Martin 3.0L S6	272
12	S2.0	26	G. Guyot (private entrant)	Georges Guyot Michel Parsy	Maserati A6GCS	Maserati 1985cc S4	260
13	S1.1	42	R. Walshaw (private entrant)	Bob Walshaw John Dalton	Lotus Eleven	Coventry Climax FWA 1098cc S4	259
14	S750	55	Lotus Engineering	Cliff Allison Keith Hall	Lotus Eleven	Coventry Climax FWC 744cc S4	259
15	S1.1	40	Cooper Cars	Jack Brabham Ian Raby	Cooper T39	Coventry Climax FWA 1098cc S4	254
16	S1.1	41	A. Héchard (private entrant)	André Héchard Roger Masson	Lotus Eleven	Coventry Climax FWA 1098cc S4	253
17	S750	49	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Louis Cornet Henri Perrier	DB HBR-4 Spyder	Panhard 745cc F2	239
18	S750	52	Équipe Monopole Course	Pierre Chancel Jean Hémard	Monopole X89 Coupé	Panhard 745cc F2	238
19	S750	46	Automobili O.S.C.A.	Jean Laroche Rémy Radix	O.S.C.A. 750 S	OSCA 749cc S4	234
20	S750	58 (reserve)	Automobili Stanguellini	Fernand Sigrand Michel Nicol	Stanguellini S750 Sport	Stanguellini 741cc S4	214

• Note *: Ran out of fuel; Not classified because last lap too slow

Did Not Finish

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Reason
DNF	S2.0	24	Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd.	Richard ‘Dickie’ Stoop Peter Jopp	Frazer Nash Sebring	Bristol 1971cc S6	240	Oil leak (24hr)
DNF	S2.0	27	F. Tavano (private entrant)	Fernand Tavano Jacques Péron	Ferrari 500 TRC	Ferrari 1985cc S4	235	Engine (22hr)
DNF	S750	53	Équipe Monopole Course	Robert Chancel Pierre Flahault	Monopole X88 Coupé	Panhard 745cc F2	230	Engine (24hr)
DNF	S5.0	10	G. Arents (private entrant)	George Arents Jan de Vroom	Ferrari 290 MM	Ferrari 3.5L V12	183	Brakes (16hr)
DNF	S1.1	45	W. Seidel (private entrant)	Wolfgang Seidel Heinz Meier	DKW Monza Coupé	DKW 994cc S3 (2-Stroke)	151	Engine (21hr)
DNF	S3.0	20	Aston Martin Ltd.	Tony Brooks Noël Cunningham-Reid	Aston Martin DBR1/300	Aston Martin 2.9L S6	140	Accident (12hr)
DNF	S2.0	25	L. Coulibeuf (private entrant)	Léon Coulibeuf José Behra	Maserati 200S	Maserati 1998cc S4	136	Fuel leak (15hr)
DNF	S750	56	Automobili Stanguellini	René-Philippe Faure Gilbert Foury	Stanguellini S750 Bialbero	Stanguellini 741cc S4	131	Engine (14hr)
DNF	S2.0	29	Equipe Los Amigos	François Picard Richie Ginther	Ferrari 500 TRC	Ferrari 1985cc S4	129	Water pump (13hr)
DNF	S1.5	32	Porsche KG	Umberto Maglioli Edgar Barth	Porsche 718 RSK	Porsche 1498cc F4	129	Accident (12hr)
DNF	S750	54	Équipe Monopole Course	René Cotton Jacques Blanchet	Monopole X88 Spyder	Panhard 745cc F2	127	Gearbox (14hr)
DNF	S750	50	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Jean-Claude Vidilles Jo Schlesser	DB HBR-4 Spyder	Panhard 747cc F2	126	Accident (14hr)
DNF	S750	51	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Paul Armagnac Gérard Laureau	DB HBR-4 Spyder	Panhard 747cc F2	120	Accident (15hr)
DNF	S3.0	19	Aston Martin Ltd.	Roy Salvadori Les Leston	Aston Martin DR1/300	Aston Martin 2.9L S6	112	Oil pipe (10hr)
DNF	S5.0	9	Scuderia Ferrari	Olivier Gendebien Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari 250 TR	Ferrari 3.1L V12	109	Piston (10hr)
DNF	S1.5	33	Porsche KG	Hans Herrmann Richard von Frankenberg	Porsche 500A	Porsche 1498cc F4	87	Ignition (8hr)
DNF	S5.0	5	Aston Martin Ltd.	Peter Whitehead Graham Whitehead	Aston Martin DBR2	Aston Martin 3.7L S6	81	Gearbox (8hr)
DNF	S5.0	11	Equipe Nationale Belge	Jacques Swaters Alain de Changy	Ferrari 290 MM	Ferrari 3.5L V12	73	Engine (9hr)
DNF	S3.0	12	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Giorgio Scarlatti Joakim ‘Jo’ Bonnier	Maserati 300S	Maserati 3.0L S6	73	Clutch (7hr)
DSQ	S1.5	60 (reserve)	Equipe Nationale Belge	Claude Dubois George Hacquin	Porsche 550A	Porsche 1498cc F4	70	Premature refuel (8hr)
DNF	S750	57 (reserve)	B. Deviterne (private entrant)	Bernard Deviterne Marcel Laillier	DB HBR-5 Coupé	Panhard 747cc F2	68	Engine (9hr)
DNF	S1.1	44	Automobili Stanguellini	Francesco Siracusa Roberto Lippi	Stanguellini S1100 Prototipo	Stanguellini 1089cc S4	67	Ignition (8hr)
DNF	S5.0	7	Scuderia Ferrari	Mike Hawthorn Luigi Musso	Ferrari 335 S	Ferrari 4.0L V12	56	Piston (5hr)
DNF	S1.1	39	Arnott Cars	Jim Russell Dennis Taylor	Arnott Sports	Climax FWA 1098cc S4	46	Ignition (6hr)
DNF	S3.0	18	Automobiles Gordini	Jean Guichet André Guelfi	Gordini T24S	Gordini 3.0L S8	38	Engine (4hr)
DNF	S5.0	1	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Stirling Moss Harry Schell	Maserati 450S Zagato Coupé	Maserati 4.5L V8	32	Transmission (4hr)
DNF	S5.0	2	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Jean Behra André Simon	Maserati 450S Spyder	Maserati 4.5L V8	28	Transmission, accident (3hr)
DNF	S1.5	36	M. Slotine (private entrant)	Maurice Slotine Roland Bourel	Porsche 356A	Porsche 1498cc F4	26	Piston (4hr)
DNF	S2.0	61 (reserve)	G. Köchert (private entrant)	Gotfrid Köchert Erwin Bauer	Ferrari 500 TRC	Ferrari 1985cc S4	18	Out of fuel (3hr)
DNF	S750	47	Automobiles V.P.	Bernard Consten Jean-Marie Dumazer	V.P. 166R Dynamique	Renault 747cc S4	15	Engine (3hr)
DNF	S2.0	30	Automobiles Gordini	Clarence de Rinen Robert La Caze	Gordini T15S	Gordini 1988cc S6	3	Engine (1hr)
DNF	S5.0	6	Scuderia Ferrari	Peter Collins Phil Hill	Ferrari 335 S	Ferrari 4.0L V12	2	Piston (1hr)
DNF	S3.0	23	Ecurie Dubonnet	Franco Bordoni Bruce Halford	Talbot-Lago Sport 2500	Maserati 2.5L S6	0	Transmission (1hr)

Did Not Start

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Reason
DNS	S5.0	8	Scuderia Ferrari	Stuart Lewis-Evans Martino Severi	Ferrari 315 S	Ferrari 3.8L V12	Practice - Piston
DNS	S3.0	22	Ecurie Dubonnet	Jean Blanc Georges Burggraff	Talbot-Lago Sport 2500	Maserati 2.5L S6	Practice - Mechanical
DNS	S1.5	37	Lotus Engineering	Jay Chamberlain Herbert MacKay-Fraser Colin Chapman	Lotus Eleven	Coventry Climax FPF 1475cc S4	Practice - Engine
DNA	S1.5	38	A. Pagani (private entrant)	Alfranco Pagani Mario Poltronieri	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sebring	Alfa Romeo 1290cc S4	withdrawn
DNA	S1.1	43	Automobili O.S.C.A.	Guilio Cabianca Colin Davis	O.S.C.A. MT-4	OSCA 1098cc S4	withdrawn
DNA	S750	48	J. Dewez (private entrant)	”Franc” (Jacques Dewez) Robert Schollmann	Renault 4CV Spéciale	Renault 747cc S4	withdrawn

Index of Performance

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Score
1	S750	55	Lotus Engineering	Cliff Allison Keith Hall	Lotus Eleven	1.308
2	S1.1	62	Lotus Engineering	Jay Chamberlain Herbert MacKay-Fraser	Lotus Eleven	1.260
3	S750	49	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Louis Cornet Henri Perrier	DB HBR-4 Spyder	1.208
4	S750	52	Équipe Monopole Course	Pierre Chancel Jean Hémard	Monopole X89 Coupé	1.201
5	S5.0	3	Ecurie Ecosse	Ron Flockhart Ivor Bueb	Jaguar D-Type	1.190
6	S1.5	35	E. Hugus (private entrant)	Ed Hugus Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche 550A	1.176
7	S750	46	Automobili O.S.C.A.	Jean Laroche Rémy Radix	O.S.C.A. 750 S	1.176
8	S5.0	15	Ecurie Ecosse	Ninian Sanderson John ‘Jock’ Lawrence	Jaguar D-Type	1.170
9	S5.0	17	Equipe Los Amigos	Jean Lucas ”Mary” (Jean Brussin)	Jaguar D-Type	1.161
10	S1.1	42	R. Walshaw (private entrant)	Bob Walshaw John Dalton	Lotus Eleven	1.145

• Note: Only the top ten positions are included in this set of standings. A score of 1.00 means meeting the minimum distance for the car, and a higher score is exceeding the nominal target distance.

23rd Rudge-Whitworth Biennial Cup (1956/1957)

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Score
1	S1.1	62	Lotus Engineering	Jay Chamberlain Herbert MacKay-Fraser	Lotus Eleven	1.260
2	S750	49	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Louis Cornet Henri Perrier	DB HBR-4 Spyder	1.208
3	S750	52	Équipe Monopole Course	Pierre Chancel Jean Hémard	Monopole X89 Coupé	1.201

• Note: Only the top three positions are included in this set of standings.

Statistics

Taken from Quentin Spurring's book, officially licensed by the ACO

• Fastest Lap in practice – Fangio, #2 Maserati 450S Spyder – 3m 58.1s; 203.53 kp/h (126.46 mph)
• Fastest Lap: Hawthorn, #7 Ferrari 335 S - 3:58.7secs 203.20 kp/h (126.15 mph)
• Distance - 4,397.11 km (2,732.24 mi)
• Winner's Average Speed - 183.22 km/h (113.85 mph)
• Attendance – 250 000. (or >150 000)

Standings after the race

Pos	Championship	Points
1	Ferrari	25 (27)
2	Maserati	19
3	Jaguar	15
4	Aston Martin	8
5	Porsche	5
6	O.S.C.A.	1

• Note: Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 4 results out of the 7 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.

Citations

References

• Spurring, Quentin (2011) Le Mans 1949-59 Sherborne, Dorset: Evro Publishing ISBN 978-1-84425-537-5
• Clarke, R.M. - editor (1997) Le Mans 'The Jaguar Years 1949-1957' Cobham, Surrey: Brooklands Books ISBN 1-85520-357X
• Clausager, Anders (1982) Le Mans London: Arthur Barker Ltd ISBN 0-213-16846-4
• Frère, Paul (1958) Automobile Year – World Championship Sports Car Races 1957 Lausanne: Edita S.A. ASIN B00LK7JOHM
• Laban, Brian (2001) Le Mans 24 Hours London: Virgin Books ISBN 1-85227-971-0
• Moity, Christian (1974) The Le Mans 24 Hour Race 1949-1973 Radnor, Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Co ISBN 0-8019-6290-0
• Pomeroy, L. & Walkerley, R. - editors (1958) The Motor Year Book 1958 Bath: The Pitman Press

External links

• Racing Sports Cars – Le Mans 24 Hours 1957 entries, results, technical detail. Retrieved 15 February 2017
• Le Mans History – Le Mans History, hour-by-hour (incl. pictures, YouTube links). Retrieved 15 February 2017
• World Sports Racing Prototypes – Le Mans 1957 results, reserve entries & chassis numbers. Retrieved 15 February 2017
• Unique Cars
• Sportscars.TV – Le Mans 1957 race summary & regulations. Retrieved 15 February 2017
• Formula 2 – Le Mans 1957 results & reserve entries. Retrieved 15 February 2017
• YouTube English Pathé b/w footage (2 mins). Retrieved 15 February 2017
• YouTube English colour footage (2 mins). Retrieved 15 February 2017
• YouTube Spanish colour footage (5 mins). Retrieved 15 February 2017