1963 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 31st Grand Prix of Endurance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans series and took place on 15 and 16 June 1963. It was also the tenth round of the 1963 World Sportscar Championship season.

This race saw the death of Brazilian driver Christian Heins when his Alpine M63 Renault was involved in a fatal accident: five hours into the race, the engine of the Bruce McLaren/Innes Ireland Aston Martin DP214 blew up, causing 20 liters of oil to be spilled on the track. Drivers Ninian Sanderson and Michael Salmon avoided the oil, but not Roy Salvadori; his Jaguar E-Type lightweight spun on the oil, became airborne, landed on its roof and burst into flames. Jean-Pierre Manzon in his René Bonnet Aerodjet LM6 hit the Jaguar and stopped in the middle of the track. Heins, who was leading his class at the time, was unable to avoid the wreck, swerved out of control and hit another vehicle. His car then spun into a lamp post and exploded into flames. Manzon and Salvadori were injured, but Heins died instantly of severe burns and massive head injuries.^[1]

Official results

Le Mans in 1963

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
1	P 3.0	21	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Lorenzo Bandini Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ferrari 250P	Ferrari 3.0L V12	339
2	GT 3.0	24	Equipe Nationale Belge	Jean Blaton Gerhard Langlois van Ophem	Ferrari 250 GTO	Ferrari 3.0L V12	323
3	P 3.0	22	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Mike Parkes Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari 250P	Ferrari 3.0L V12	323
4	GT 3.0	25	Ecurie Francorchamps	Pierre Dumay Leon Dernier	Ferrari 250 GTO	Ferrari 3.0L V12	322
5	P +3.0	12	Maranello Concessionaires Ltd.	Jack Sears Michael Salmon	Ferrari 330 LMB	Ferrari 4.0L V12	314
6	GT 3.0	26	North American Racing Team (NART)	Masten Gregory David Piper	Ferrari 250 GTO LMB	Ferrari 3.0L V12	312
7	GT +3.0	3	AC Cars Ltd. / W. Hurlock	Peter Bolton Ninian Sanderson	AC Cobra Hardtop	Ford 4.7L V8	310
8	P 3.0	28	Porsche System Engineering	Herbert Linge Edgar Barth	Porsche 718/8 WRS Spyder	Porsche 2.0L Flat-8	300
9	GT +3.0	15	Briggs S. Cunningham	Briggs S. Cunningham Bob Grossman	Jaguar E-Type Lightweight	Jaguar 3.8L I6	283
10	GT 1.3	39	Team Elite	John Wagstaff Pat Ferguson	Lotus Elite Mk14	Coventry Climax 1.2L I4	270
11	P 3.0	53	Automobiles René Bonnet	Jean-Pierre Beltoise Claude Bobrowski	René Bonnet Aérodjet LM6	Renault-Gordini 1.1L I4	269
12	GT 2.0	31	Alan Hutcherson	Alan Hutcherson Paddy Hopkirk	MG MGB Hardtop	MG 1.8L I4	264

Not Classified

Failed to complete final lap under own power or failed to cover sufficient distance (237 laps)

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
13	-	00	Owen Racing Organisation	Graham Hill Richie Ginther	Rover-BRM	Rover 2.0L Turbine	310
14	P 3.0	41	Automobiles René Bonnet	Bruno Basini Robert Bouharde	René Bonnet Aérodjet	Renault-Gordini 1.1L I4	211

Did Not Finish

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
15	P 3.0	23	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	John Surtees Willy Mairesse	Ferrari 250P	Ferrari 3.0L V12	252
16	P 3.0	50	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Bernard Boyer Guy Verrier	Alpine M63	Renault-Gordini 1.0L I4	227
17	GT 1.6	32	Sunbeam Talbot	Jackie Lewis Keith Ballisat	Sunbeam Alpine	Sunbeam 1.6L I4	200
18	GT 1.3	38	Team Elite	Frank Gardner John Coundley	Lotus Elite Mk14	Coventry Climax 1.2L I4	167
19	GT 1.6	34	Scuderia St. Ambroeus	Giancarlo Sala Romolo Rossi	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4	165
20	P +3.0	6	Lola Cars Ltd.	Richard Attwood David Hobbs	Lola Mk6 GT	Ford 4.6L V8	151
21	P +3.0	7	David Brown / Aston Martin Lagonda	William Kimberley Jo Schlesser	Aston Martin DP214	Aston Martin 3.7L I6	139
22	P +3.0	11	North American Racing Team (NART)	Dan Gurney Jim Hall	Ferrari 330 LMB	Ferrari 4.0L V12	126
23	GT +3.0	4	Ed Hugus	Ed Hugus Peter Jopp	AC Cobra Coupe	Ford 4.7L V8	127
24	GT 2.0	30	Porsche System Engineering	Heinz Schiller Ben Pon	Porsche 356B 2000GS GT	Porsche 2.0L Flat-4	115
25	P +3.0	10	North American Racing Team (NART)	Pedro Rodríguez Roger Penske	Ferrari 330 TRI/LM	Ferrari 4.0L V12	113
26	P 3.0	44	Lawrence Tune Engineering	Chris Lawrence Chris Spender	Deep Sanderson 301	BMC 1.0L I4	110
27	P 3.0	27	Porsche System Engineering	Jo Bonnier Tony Maggs	Porsche 718/8 GTR Coupe	Porsche 2.0L Flat-8	109
28	GT 3.0	20	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Fernand Tavano Carlo Maria Abate	Ferrari 250 GTO	Ferrari 3.0L V12	105
29	P 3.0	58	Jean-Georges Branche	Jean-Georges Branche Claude Dubois	Fiat-Abarth 850TC	Fiat 0.8L I4	96
30	P 3.0	42	Donald Healey Motor Company	Sir John Whitmore Bob Olthoff	Austin-Healey Sprite 1100	BMC 1.1L I4	94
31	GT 2.0	29	Porsche System Engineering	Gerhard Koch Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche 356B 2000GS GT	Porsche 2.0L Flat-4	94
32	GT 1.6	33	Sunbeam Talbot	Peter Harper Peter Procter	Sunbeam Alpine	Sunbeam 1.6L I4	93
33	P +3.0	9	Pierre Noblet	Pierre Noblet Jean Guichet	Ferrari 330 LMB	Ferrari 4.0L V12	75
34	GT 1.6	35	Scuderia St. Ambroeus	Giampiero Biscaldi Sergio Pedretti	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4	70
35	GT +3.0	19	Jean Kerguen	Jean Kerguen Jacques Dewes	Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato	Aston Martin 3.8L I6	69
36	P 3.0	49	Société des Automobiles Alpine	René Richard Piero Frescobaldi	Alpine M63	Renault-Gordini 1.0L I4	63
37	GT +3.0	8	David Brown / Aston Martin Lagonda	Innes Ireland Bruce McLaren	Aston Martin DP214	Aston Martin 3.7L I6	59
38	P 3.0	48	Société des Automobiles Alpine	José Rosinski Christian Heins	Alpine M63	Renault-Gordini 1.0L I4	50
39	P 3.0	52	Urbain Fabre	Jean-Pierre Manzon Jean Rolland	René Bonnet Aérodjet LM6	Renault-Gordini 1.0L I4	47
40	P +3.0	2	Maserati France / Johnny Simone	André Simon Lloyd Casner	Maserati Tipo 151/2	Maserati 4.9L V8	40
41	GT +3.0	16	Briggs S. Cunningham	Paul Richards Roy Salvadori	Jaguar E-Type Lightweight	Jaguar 3.8L I6	40
42	P +3.0	17	Peter J. Sargent	Peter Sargent Peter Lumsden	Lister Coupe	Jaguar 3.8L I6	29
43	P +3.0	18	David Brown / Aston Martin Lagonda	Phil Hill Lucien Bianchi	Aston Martin DP215	Aston Martin 4.0L I6	29
44	P 3.0	54	Automobiles René Bonnet	Gérard Leureau Jean Vinatier	René Bonnet RB5	Renault 0.7L I4	25
45	GT +3.0	14	Briggs S. Cunningham	Walt Hansgen Augie Pabst	Jaguar E-Type Lightweight	Jaguar 3.8L I6	8
46	GT 1.6	36	Scuderia Filipinetti	Karl Foitek Armand Schäfer	Alfa Romeo Giulietta GZ	Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4	7
47	P 3.0	51	Automobiles René Bonnet	Roger Masson Pierre Monneret	René Bonnet Aérodjet LM6	Renault-Gordini 1.0L i4	4
48	P 3.0	55	"Sarayac"	Guy Flayac Lucien Barthe	Fiat-Abarth 1000SP	Fiat 1.0L I4	3
49	P 3.0	56	Auto Union GmbH	Alain Bertaut André Guilhaudin	CD 3	DKW-Manztel 0.7L I3 (2-Stroke)	1

Statistics

• Pole Position - #10 North American Racing Team (NART) - 3:50.09
• Fastest Lap - #23 SpA Ferrari SEFAC - 3:53.3
• Distance - 4561.71 km
• Average Speed - 190.071 km/h

Trophy Winners

• Index of Performance - #21 SpA Ferrari SEFAC
• Index of Thermal Efficiency - #53 Autombiles René Bonnet
• Special A.C.O. Award - #00 Owen Racing Organisation

References