Broken lights and a policeman’s bike: Bentley’s run at first Le Mans in 1923

T he first 24 Hours of Le Mans began at 4pm on 26 May 1923. Since the clocks would go forward at 11pm, the last occasion on which France would observe a shift to summer time, it was due to finish the following afternoon at five.

The date had been chosen in the hope that spring would guarantee good weather, but as the cars lined up on a two-by-two grid the circuit was struck by a sudden and vicious hailstorm. The drivers would endure heavy rain, gloom and gusty winds through the first four hours; none of the entries was equipped with windscreen wipers, an invention already in use in the United States but yet to be adopted in Europe.

The two 5.4-litre Excelsiors – painted in the yellow of Belgium – started at the front, but they were soon overtaken by a trio of blue factory-entered three-litre Chenard et Walckers and by a dark green Bentley. Within a few laps mud had covered the cars, making their individual racing numbers all but indecipherable to spectators who had braved the inhospitable weather.

The first driver changes took place after three hours, and as the rain eased a Chenard et Walcker and a Bignan were fighting a fierce battle at the front. The Bentley, although handicapped by the fact that brakes were fitted only to its rear wheels, made the fastest lap of the first 12 hours in 10min 28sec, with John Duff, the owner of the car, taking an initial four-hour stint until Frank Clement, a Bentley employee, replaced him. Neither driver wore head protection nor goggles.

As dusk fell, the lighting system installed by the Société des Appareils Magondeaux of Paris went into action. Army searchlights mounted on lorries illuminated the corners and lights had been strung above the track between the pits and the