1925 24 Hours of Le Mans

The start was the logical point and to stop drivers from jumping the gun they would be lined up on the opposite side of the track.

This became the origin of the famous “Le Mans start” that was an institution of the race until 1969, when safety concerns led to its end.

The distances included the following:[1] This year there were a number of cash prizes awarded by the ACO and assorted sponsors for events ranging from leading at certain times to quietest and most comfortable cars.

[4] Frustrated, the ACO instead resolved to relocate with more amenable neighbours by the hippodrome along Les Hunaudières, the main route from Le Mans to Tours.

[1] The international attention that had come with Bentley's win the previous year drew a much bigger list of entries.

Sunbeam, AC and Austin joined Bentley from Great Britain, and there were teams from Italy (Diatto and OM) and the USA (Chrysler).

After their distance victory the previous year, Bentley returned with a full works car to support John Duff’s privateer entry and carrying the “favourites” tag.

The second car was driven by 1924 team hero André Pisart, and Jacques ‘Elgy’ Ledure, formerly with Bignan.

[9] Last year's driver pairings were shuffled a bit: Gérard de Courcelles and André Rossignol stayed together, but Brisson was with Stalter and Robert Bloch with the new Léon Saint-Paul.

This year company-owner Baron Charles Petiet was able to procure the services of the great Louis Wagner who had raced Darracq, FIAT and Mercedes before the war, and recently with the Alfa Romeo works team.

Diatto was an old industrial firm and had built railway-stock in the 19th century, including carriages for the famous Orient Express.

The model S was a short-wheelbase, racing version with Pirelli tyres and an improved engine that put out 60 bhp capable of over 120 kp/h (75 mph); and it had performed well at the national level.

Originally making a 3-wheel delivery vehicle called an Auto Carrier, it was the post-war investment by famous British racer Selwyn Edge, that got the new AC Six into production.

The entry was raced by John Joyce and Victor Bruce (engaged to famous female racer Mary Petre).

Company founder Marcel Gendron himself drove one car, with accomplished aircraft test-pilot Lucien Bossoutrot.

[1] Earlier, in private practice, Léonard's Chenard-Walcker collided with a lorry coming away from the Pontlieue hairpin but was not badly damaged.

André Guilbert, a mechanic for Reval, was testing one of the cars when he hit a delivery van head-on when exiting the Pontlieue hairpin.

Just as the cars were forming up on the grid, the AC team found their radiator mounting was cracked, and with insufficient time to do a repair had to withdraw.

[6] But at the end of the first lap it was Segrave in the Sunbeam in the lead, chased by the Bentleys, Saint-Paul's Lorraine and the two large Chenard-Walckers.

[26][6] With the new track surface, the drag of the hoods being up and fast race-pace several teams had miscalculated their fuel consumption.

Then at dusk a serious accident occurred, The Amilcar of Marius Mestivier was just about to be overtaken by André Pisart's Chenard-Walcker just after the new finish-line approaching the Mulsanne corner.

Badly injured, Saint-Paul was pulled from the wreck by Tulio Vesprini (currently running 5th) who sportingly stopped his Diatto to help and then stayed with the driver until an ambulance arrived.

Fashioning a bridge from some fencing, while lit by nearby spectators, he managed to get the car back onto the road and carried on in less than an hour.

With a trouble-free run, the leaders had pocketed a bundle of the FF500 bonus prizes – including first to 50 and 100 laps, and leading at the 11th and 12th hours[27] Fourth was the Le Du/Auclair Talbot with the Sénéchal/Loqueheux Chenard 1100 in fifth [refitting as bigger cars pitted and ran into troubles.

The delay was crucial because, despite driving hard to make up lost time, they finished just two laps short of their qualifying distance.

The Danieli brothers were just ahead of teammates Foresti / Vassaux in a strong display of reliability from the newcomer team.

[19] Small consolation for the Chrysler team for missing entry to the Biennial Cup was getting the FF500 prize for having the quietest car.

Lucien Rolland and Émile Pilain were forced by their board to sell their shares and their factory moved from Tours to Paris.

[33] And after the Italian government defaulted on its repayments for vehicles to Diatto, it was forced to dissolve its racing team at the end of the year.

There were no official class divisions for this race and these are the highest finishers in unofficial categories (used in subsequent years) related to the Index targets.