remarkably diplomatic move (recalling the war had only ended 10 years earlier), assembled a multi-national team for the race, pairing his two best drivers Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss in the lead car, 1952 race-winner Karl Kling with Frenchman André Simon (both also in the current F1 team) and American John Fitch with one of the elder statesmen of French motor-racing, Pierre Levegh. (Belgian racing-journalist Paul Frère had originally been approached but signed to drive for Aston Martin, instead.) Jaguar arrived with three works D-types. This year's model had engine power increased from , for a top speed of almost . The team consisted of 1953 winners Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton; up-and-coming English star Mike Hawthorn (stolen from Ferrari) paired with rookie Ivor Bueb; and Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis sharing the third car with Don Beauman. They were backed up by D-Types entered by Belgium's Ecurie Francorchamps and from American Briggs Cunningham's team. Cunningham hedged his bets this year – along with the Jaguar he loaned 750 Monzas to French privateer Michel Pobejersky (racing as "Mike Sparken") and American Masten Gregory. He also brought (for the last time, as it happened) a new Cunningham C6-R, giving up on a big V8 Hemi to instead use an Indianapolis-style Offenhauser 3.0L straight-4. He and Sherwood Johnston would race it. The Maserati team did make it this year – with a pair of their elegant new 3.0L 300Ss, which had already shown promise at Sebring. They were run by the team's regular F1 drivers, one shared by Roberto Mieres and Cesare Perdisa, the other by Luigi Musso and endurance racing veteran Luigi "Gino" Valenzano. Maserati also ran a smaller A6GCS in the S-2000 class. Louis Rosier's privateer Talbot did not make the start, so the large-engined French challenge this year came from Gordini with a 3-litre T24S for F1 drivers Jean Behra and Élie Bayol. Like Maserati, they also ran a smaller T20S in the S-2000 class. There was great interest for British fans, aside from the Jaguar team. In total there were 27 British cars starting, nearly half the field. Aston Martin pared back its effort a bit, to just three DB3S (now with disc brakes and an improved 3-litre engine). They came with a good driver line-up: Peter Collins and Paul Frère, 1951 winner Peter Walker and Roy Salvadori, and rookies Tony Brooks and John Riseley-Prichard. They also