1927 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1927 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 5th Grand Prix of Endurance, was a motor race which took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 18 and 19 June 1927.

It is commonly remembered due to the infamous White House crash, a major accident that involved eight cars including all three of the widely tipped Bentley team's entries, and caused the retirement of two of them.

In a race missing many major manufacturers, the three Bentleys had been comfortably leading from the start, putting a lap on the rest on the field.

Schneider had spun at the White House curves blocking the road when the lead Bentley, unsighted, hit it at speed.

Example targets included the following:[2] Grand Garage Saint-Didier, the large Parisian car-dealership sponsoring the Index competition, boosted its prize-money to a substantial FF50000.

Concerned about the advent of specialised racing fuels with expensive high-octane ratings, the ACO now dictated that all cars had to use the same commercial-grade gasoline.

Peugeot, Chenard-Walcker, OM and Lorraine-Dietrich (winners of the event for the previous two years) all stayed away, and Rolland-Pilain withdrew a few weeks before the race.

Dudley Benjafield and Sammy Davis were again paired in the same 3-litre car, nicknamed "Old Number 7", which they had crashed just an hour from the finish in the 1926 race.

Woolf Barnato's financial investment had meant over 1400 3-litre models had now been built and a second 3 litre was entered for the French Baron André d'Erlanger and George Duller.

One was driven by Le Mans veterans Fernand Vallon (formerly driving for Corre La Licorne) and Lucien Desvaux (ex-Salmson and Chrysler) while the other had debutantes Albert Clément and Henri Guibert.

[2] Bentley experimented with fitting more powerful Italian Memini carburettors but Benjafield's car caught fire with them at Mulsanne corner.

While Boussod was badly shaken and Grégoire was bruised, the other two were in much worse shape: Bourcier had a crushed leg and Fenaille had a severe head injury, ending up in a coma.

Lucien Lemesle, a local mechanic answered and Grégoire had just enough time to explain the peculiarities of his unusual car before the start of the race.

This early-race performance was yet more remarkable as, at the time, the cars were required to run with their hoods erected for the first twenty laps (about three hours) of the race.

Pushing to make up time, he was put off-line by an overtaking car and spun at the tricky Maison Blanche ("White House") curves approaching the pit straight.

[4][11] The S-sequence of curves was narrow and fast with the view of the exit obscured by the distinctive white farmhouse that gave the section its name.

Trying to avoid the car he slid off to the right into the roadside ditch at over 70 mph (110 kp/h), hitting with such force that the driver was thrown out into the middle of the road.

[7][27] The SARA was also able to continue after repairs, but ran into mechanical troubles over the night and was disqualified at half-time just three laps short of its 12-hour target distance.

They were just finishing repairs when they were declared hors course[10] The rain became a heavy thunderstorm and many drivers chose to pull over to wait out the worst of the squalls, which eventually abated around 5.30am as dawn arrived.

First their leading car, that had survived the White House crash and been running as high as third through the night was put out with magneto failure just after dawn.

Seventh and last classified finisher was the Tracta of Jean-Albert Grégoire, with arguably the most heroic drive of the race, having met its target distance by four laps.

Despite being battered, bruised and driving with a bandage wrapped around his head under his helmet, Grégoire had driven fifteen of the first twenty hours.

His business partner, Pierre Fenaille, was in his coma for a fortnight and took two years to recover from partial paralysis and the severe head trauma.

[16] After this race's disappointment, the Fasto team had a complete change of fortune when all finished at the ensuing Spa 24-Hours including fourth overall for Thelussin/Brosseau.

[12] Despite the slower pace and shorter distance set than the 1926 Le Mans, the dramatic events surrounding the Maison Blanche crash meant that the race gained much wider press coverage than had been the case in previous years.

In particular, Davis's honourable and heroic actions in searching the wreckage for his compatriots and rivals, before continuing the race in the teeth of adversity, gained him high praise.

That such actions had been taken by a group of young men who had previously been much better known for their lavish parties and fast-living lifestyles only added to the popular appeal.

[6][4] The Autocar magazine fuelled the Bentley team's reputation by hosting a grand post-race party at the Savoy Hotel in central London.

[26][6][27][7] Clement's early-race efforts were also rewarded with two FF1000 prizes, from the French Automobile Club du Nord and Morris- Léon Bollée, for setting the fastest lap.

[28] Although there were no official engine classes, the highest finishers in unofficial categories aligned with the Index targets are in Bold text.