If you’re going to make a mark, make a big one. Jaguar was still in the ‘promising youngster’ category when in 1951 it draped a slinky body over its XK120 sports car and packed it off to Le Mans. Soon after the marque was world-famous for a dominant victory. But a humiliating three-car collapse a year later desperately needed avenging, so in 1953 a three-car team travelled down from Browns Lane to face one of the toughest fields seen at Le Mans for years. Italy had Ferrari, Lancia and Alfa Romeo; France hoped for another Talbot triumph; Briggs Cunningham had reinforced his brawny V8 team and Aston Martin’s new DB3S showed promise. Only last year’s victor, Mercedes, stayed away, its sights on higher things. And the field was rife with grand prix aces: Fangio, Villoresi, Ascari, Farina and González, plus Stirling Moss and Peter Walker in the British team.

With Weber carbs and paper-thin alloy skin, the C-types were quicker and lighter, plus they packed a brave innovation – disc brakes. And there was no tougher test than braking from 155mph after three miles of Mulsanne… Driving with his friend Tony Rolt, Duncan Hamilton was full of confidence, as son Adrian recalls. “They’d stripped 120lb from those lightweight Cs, even leaving the brass badge off the nose. They weren’t as fast as the 4.5-litre Ferrari, but they braked much later. Dad felt that’s where they could win. That and reliability. They were well prepared. Dad wrote some nonsense in his book about being pissed the night before, but you couldn’t survive Le Mans unless you were in good shape.”

Cue a tense battle between the high-powered Cunninghams, Ferraris and the nimble Jaguars. Moss assumed a healthy lead early on, but dropped back when a dirty fuel filter cost him time in the pits, handing Rolt/Hamilton the lead. “Dad reckoned Le Mans was won or lost during the night,” says Adrian. “He had exceptional night vision, so he was fast in the dark.”

Briggs Cunningham was never far behind in a race that resembled more a grand prix than an endurance event. But, when clutch trouble stuck the Ferrari and the Cunningham eventually relented to another Jaguar, it secured a one-two, with C-types also fourth and ninth. Jaguar had pulled off the first win at more than 100mph.

“Tony and the old man led for something like 18 hours,” says Adrian, “and only spent 15min 16sec in the pits. After, Dad found one of the crew had put an orange in the car for him, and he kept it with him in every race after that. I still have it!”

Coronation year, Everest conquered, a Le Mans win at record speed – it couldn’t get better for Britain… could it? GC

The winners

1950 

Talbot-Lago T26 GS
Louis Rosier/Jean-Louis Rosier 
3465km
Rosier Sr allows son Jean-Louis to drive for only two laps…

1951 

Jaguar XK120C
Peter Walker/Peter Whitehead
3611km
Le Mans debuts for Stirling Moss and Porsche

1952

Mercedes-Benz 300SL (W194)
Hermann Lang/Fritz Riess
3734km
Pierre Levegh (Talbot-Lago) drives solo for almost 23hrs. He’s leading by four laps when a missed downshift triggers a race-ending crankshaft failure

1953 

Jaguar C-type
Tony Rolt/Duncan Hamilton
4088km
Jaguar wins using disc brakes

1954 

Ferrari 375 Plus
José Froilán González/Maurice Trintignant
4061km

1955 

Jaguar D-type 
Mike Hawthorn/Ivor Bueb
4135km 
Forever scarred by the accident that kills Mercedes driver Pierre Levegh and more than 80 spectators. Mercedes totally withdraws from racing at the end of the season

1956

Jaguar D-type
Ninian Sanderson/Ron Flockhart
4035km 
Pit straight widened following the previous year’s disaster. Race delayed until July while work is completed

1957 

Jaguar D-type 
Ron Flockhart/Ivor Bueb
4397km
Jaguar takes 1-2-3-4

1958

Ferrari 250 TR58
Olivier Gendebien/Phil Hill
4102km

1959 

Aston Martin DBR1/300 
Roy Salvadori/Carroll Shelby 
4348k