1954 Le Mans

[2long]

From "The Greatest Le Mans", by Laurence Pomeroy, Technical Editor of "The Motor" comes this contemporaneous account of the 1954 TR-2 entry of Wadsworth - Dickson:

 

"Last in the quantity of miles in the 2-litre class, but by no means least in quality of performance, was the privately entered Triumph TR-2 which won the hearts of all the spectators by regular running with an absolute minimum of pit staff; and nearly stopped the hearts of the latter by coming to rest on the straight on the very last lap. The driver, however, had rightly calculated that if he went on he would have, under regulations, to do an extra lap, so he took a minute or two's respite to have a smoke before pressing the starter button and continuing on his way. There can be no doubt that the overall performance of this, the cheapest car in the race, caused a most favourable impression amongst the international crowd of spectators who would certainly have been even further pleased if they had realized that the car's fuel consumption through the race was at the rate of 34.68 m.p.g."

 

Worth noting is that the only departure from a production line car was the fitment of a 22 gallon tank, factory Al-fins, wire wheels, and a competition wind screen. Apart from the larger tank, this is the same spec as my car! The Le Mans car hit a maximum of 118 mph on the straight. Not bad! Now, can someone explain how taking a smoke break on the last lap at Le Mans was a strategic move?

 

Aloha

 

Dan

Edited October 19, 2011 by 2long

[Ashley James]

Presumably, he lacked either the fuel or the stamina/inclination to do another lap (and would have known where he stood in the time/distance ratings and could not improve his position) so waited to cross the finish line after 4pm. Had he crossed it at 3.59.59 another lap would have been obligatory to be counted as a 'finisher' as the lap at the close of the race at Le Mans has (or at that time had) to be completed

[Alec Pringle]

Indeed so Ash, the last lap had to be completed and within 30 minutes, to be counted as a finisher. One of the big 4.5l Talbots, after a troubled run, failed to qualify as a finisher on that last lap despite having covered the full 24 hours.

 

As I've understood it, from my Uncle Ken who was in the pits, the TR2 had put on a final spurt in the last hour hoping to catch the Porsche a couple of laps ahead if, as seemed likely, the Porker had to stop for a 'splash and dash'. The Porsche, however, eventually managed to finish without a further refuelling stop. Meanwhile the TR had been running with the calculated minimum necessary fuel load, minimising weight to try and maintain a margin ahead of the pursuing DB which was not expected to need a further pit stop. The efforts to catch the Porsche had eaten into the TR's negligible fuel safety margin, hence backing off the last few laps as the car faltered under hard cornering, finally halting briefly in order to take the flag running on petrol fumes . . . .

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

[John Morrison]

Clutch was slipping, and Dickson reckoned he would not finish the race if he started another lap.

 

John.

[Chris59]

Wonderfull history, Dan !

Chris.