entries after Juan Jover crashed his Z-102 Spyder during practice. Misjudging the speed of his approach to the corner after the Dunlop bridge, he hit the barriers at over 200 km/h and was thrown from the car, seriously injuring his left leg. With no apparent explanation for the crash, the team decided on safety first and scratched the other car. It was the first and last time they got to Le Mans. Race Start At 4:00pm on the Saturday, the flag fell and the race was on. As usual, Moss was lightning-quick out of the blocks and led the cars away, but the Allard blasted past him on the Mulsanne straight and was leading the closely bunched field at the end of the first lap. But Sydney Allard’s early lead barely lasted, and by lap four he had to retire with a collapsed rear suspension that severed a brake pipe. The first few laps at Le Mans means very little and it was not until after 30 minutes that the true nature of the race became apparent. Rolt had already put in a lap record at 96.48 mph, while Moss led the way, closely followed by Villoresi, Cole, Rolt, Fitch, with Karl Kling rounding out the top six. But Moss was also soon in trouble. Although he had smoothly pulled away from the chasing pack, a misfire had set in after only 20 laps, in the second hour. The unscheduled pitstop to change spark plugs, plus another later for the eventual fix – removal of a clogged fuel filter – dropped the car well down to 21st. At least Jaguar had remembered the pit regulations: A Ferrari mechanic topped up the brake system on Mike Hawthorn’s 340 MM before the specified 28 laps had been completed, thereby Hawthorn/Farina were disqualified. Whilst all this was going on, Villoresi had taken the lead. By 5pm, at the end of the first hour, the order had settled down and it became clear that the Jaguars, Ferraris and Alfa Romeos were the teams to be reckoned with. The Lancias and Talbots were quite outclassed, as were the medium-engined Aston Martins. The race continued at a fantastic pace and now it was Jaguar setting it: passing Villoresi, Rolt lifted his lap times by 5 seconds to push his lead. Then Consalvo Sanesi, in his Alfa Romeo 6C, continued to lower the lap record. Just before