{"id":1090458,"date":"2022-06-23T07:41:19","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T06:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/?post_type=issue_content&p=1090458"},"modified":"2022-06-23T07:41:22","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T06:41:22","slug":"le-mans-victory-that-earned-graham-hill-the-triple-crown","status":"publish","type":"issue_content","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/archive\/article\/august-2022\/96\/le-mans-victory-that-earned-graham-hill-the-triple-crown\/","title":{"rendered":"Le Mans victory that earned Graham Hill the ‘Triple Crown’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The crowd figures for the 1972 Le Mans 24 Hours vary, but we can safely assume two things: firstly, that it was north of 150,000 strong; and second, that few of them realised the exact measure of the piece of history they were witnessing unfold before them.<\/p>\n

Graham Hill \u2013 already twice a Formula 1 world champion, five times a victor at the Monaco Grand Prix and winner of the 1966 Indianapolis 500 \u2013 became the first, and only driver, to complete the \u2018Triple Crown\u2019 by adding his name to the Le Mans roll of honour.<\/p>\n

Of course, he didn\u2019t do it alone, sharing the No15 Matra-Simca MS670 with a 30-year-old Henri Pescarolo. And the win made history for more than just Hill\u2019s achievement.<\/p>\n

Without a French winner since 1964 (or since 1950 if you were talking about the constructor) Pescarolo and Matra\u2019s victory broke the Anglo-Italian-German stranglehold that had lasted over two decades at La Sarthe.<\/p>\n

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Pescarolo aboard the MS670 in the Le Mans pitlane.<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

It also wrote the first chapter in Pescarolo\u2019s stunning career in the race. With 1972 being his sixth attempt at Le Mans, Pescarolo would go on to rack up a record 33 starts before his retirement after the 1999 edition, celebrating four wins along the way.<\/p>\n

This was a race of huge significance for both British and French interests, especially with the Ferrari factory team opting to skip the event having already won the World Sportscar Championship, leaving Matra as the firm favourite. But the result so nearly didn\u2019t come to fruition. Pescarolo, who had been a keystone to Matra\u2019s Formula 1 activities in the 1960s, suddenly found himself frozen out and was due to race an Alfa Romeo instead. He was only called back when the team expanded to field a fourth car for Hill. Already seething with his former employer, the prospect of sharing with a 43-year-old ex-F1 driver didn\u2019t fill Pescarolo with enthusiasm. However, he begrudgingly accepted, and in doing so secured a front-row seat for what has gone on to become a milestone in motor racing history.<\/p>\n

This is his side of the story.<\/p>\n

Henri, Le Mans 1972 now looks like such a straightforward success story, but at the time there were a lot of issues in the background, some big enough that they almost stopped you from racing that year.
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cBy 1972 I was no longer supposed to be driving for Matra. In effect I had been sacked in 1971, even though that wasn\u2019t supposed to have happened. That scumbag Jabby Crombac [the Swiss motor sport writer] told Matra boss Jean- Luc Lagard\u00e8re, \u2018That Beltoise is no use, you\u2019ll never win anything if you keep him \u2013 I\u2019ll find you a decent driver.\u2019 He sought out Chris Amon, lead driver at March in 1970, and Matra poached him for a sum that would seem derisory nowadays but was quite a lot at the time.<\/p>\n

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Hill was desperate for the win \u2013 and knew Matra was his best chance<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

\u201cAnd that was that \u2013 they decided to keep Jean-Pierre Beltoise while I found myself out of a drive, even though I\u2019d done a pretty good job with that heap of junk MS120. After that, I didn\u2019t want anything to do with Matra. For me, it was all over. After having set so many records with them in Formula 2, after almost winning the European championship in \u201968 and after having spent four months in hospital for trying to develop a car of theirs that wasn\u2019t exactly terrific, the only reward I received was to be fired. For 1972, I accepted an offer to drive an Alfa Romeo for Scuderia Filipinetti.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want to hear another word about Matra. As far as I was concerned, they no longer existed.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what brought you back?
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cThe same Jabby who had contributed to my sacking, even if that hadn\u2019t been his intention.<\/p>\n

He came up to me and said, \u2018We\u2019re planning to run four cars at Le Mans in 1972, in a bid to win, and you need to be part of the team.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n \"Henri\n
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Pescarolo in action, in front of the sister car of Fran\u00e7ois Cevert. Cevert had an oddly slow start from pole, and deliberately so, believing it bad luck to lead the opening lap<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

\u201cAfter all the work I did for Matra, the months in hospital, the only reward I received was to be fired\u201d<\/blockquote>\n

I sent him away, told him I no longer wished to talk about Matra, particularly after what he\u2019d done to me. But he persisted and persisted. Finally, I said to myself, \u2018Look, you could be a prize idiot here. You played a key role in Matra\u2019s rise to prominence, you worked harder on its cars than anyone else and now that Matra might challenge to win at Le Mans, you\u2019re going to be a prima donna and tell them to get stuffed?\u2019 After all that effort, all that development and all that work, it occurred to me that it would be stupid to turn them down on a point of principle.<\/p>\n

Finally, then, I accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Fran\u00e7ois Cevert in his prime.<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

So, what happened when you heard you\u2019d be sharing with Graham Hill?
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cThat\u2019s when it all kicked off again. I told Jabby that if Graham was my team-mate, I wouldn\u2019t be coming. It was out of the question. I\u2019d have been happy to share with Jean-Pierre [Beltoise], Fran\u00e7ois [Cevert] or [ Jean-Pierre] Jabouille, but I didn\u2019t want to drive with Graham. So Jabby told me to consider more carefully. \u2018Look, he has been world champion, he has won the Indianapolis 500 \u2013 and nobody has ever done that and won Le Mans. And he really wants to win.<\/p>\n

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Graham Hill with Matra chief Jean-Luc Lagard\u00e8re at La Sarthe, 1972.<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

You have seen him in F1 and F2. You know very well how good a driver he is.\u2019
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cNo arguments there, but all I could think about was his age [Hill was 43 at the time]. In my eyes, I was a young charger and he was ancient. I knew that as soon as there was rain or fog, or darkness descended, he\u2019d want to go and take a nap. But Jabby insisted that Graham was doing it because he really wanted to win, so eventually I agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you test the car together before the race?
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cI don\u2019t think so or at least I don\u2019t remember! I\u2019m fairly sure we didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

So he would have arrived at Le Mans without having shown any great prior motivation to win the race, nor having done any testing\u2026
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cThat\u2019s how I remember it \u2013 and there were some experienced drivers in the team too, not least Fran\u00e7ois Cevert, who qualified on pole.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team planned for slicks, but Graham insisted on rain tyres\u201d<\/blockquote>\n

I remember one particularly surprising thing about that. Fran\u00e7ois took the lead at the start, but I was able to pass him during the opening lap. I could see that he was deliberately trying not to push. After the race I went to find him, to ask what he\u2019d been doing during those first few moments. He replied, \u2018D\u2019you know something? Never in the history of Le Mans had the car that led the opening lap gone on to win the race.\u2019 He was so superstitious that he did everything he could to make sure he was lying second, which seems crazy. After that it was a fairly lively race \u2013 especially as we had been given team orders. And the consequence of that, of course, was that we all did our best to ignore them!\u201d<\/p>\n

Were the drivers supposed to stick to pre-arranged race positions?
\n<\/strong>\u201cNo, it was more a case of setting predetermined lap times. There was no designated number one crew, no favouritism. That said, you knew when they put Cevert in one car that it was going to be quick, ditto Howden Ganley [his co-driver]. But I remember that Jean-Pierre [Beltoise] and Amon had a problem \u2013 Jean-Pierre was convinced of as much but Amon thought the opposite. They even went to do some tests on the runway at the airfield across the road, to be certain one way or the other. They didn\u2019t find anything particularly wrong, but the problem reappeared very early in the race [the engine expired after two laps].<\/p>\n

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The Matra photo finish<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

The other important point about this race was the absence of Ferrari. Lagard\u00e8re had put together everything he needed to win Le Mans, but also to beat Ferrari. But in the end Ferrari didn\u2019t turn up, because they\u2019d discovered that the 312 wasn\u2019t capable of lasting 24 hours.<\/p>\n

Happily, they did turn up the following year, when we were able to beat them at Le Mans and in the championship.<\/p>\n

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A packed Circuit de la Sarthe from the air<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

In 1972, the [Ecurie Bonnier] Lolas established themselves as our closest challengers early on, while the Alfa of Andrea de Adamich was also running well. At the first stops, however, Graham struggled to strap himself in and we lost time, which allowed Fran\u00e7ois to retake the lead. Graham finally got going and when it came to my next stint I drove flat out to catch the leader. At that point, they began showing me \u2018slow\u2019 boards when I passed the signalling pits, so I had to back off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll spare you the details about our brake wear issues, because we were getting through discs faster than the others, for reasons I don\u2019t know, and various other minor details that affected our race, but we were lying second to the No14 car [Cevert and Ganley] when night fell\u2026 and then the rain came, along with my worries that Graham\u2019s eyesight might not be up to the task in difficult conditions. But that\u2019s when he excelled. It was no longer raining next time he pitted, but there was some drizzle. The team had planned to give him slicks, but he insisted they give him rain tyres.<\/p>\n

He then returned to the track, made up our deficit and put us back in the lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Here: Hill\u2019s tyre call in mixed conditions was crucial to the car\u2019s success<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

Did that decision save you an extra stop?
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cI don\u2019t recall, but we regained the lead thanks to his tyre call and his subsequent pace in the wet \u2013 but then we started to have some more braking difficulties. Despite that, we remained in contention for the lead with Cevert and Ganley. And as it was raining, there was no longer any prescribed lap time to adhere to. All of us were pushing like crazy, despite the conditions, and I\u2019ll underline once again \u2013 that\u2019s when Graham excelled. To be honest, that was probably the only approach to take. And then Jo Bonnier had his fatal accident, which cast a shadow over the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

The race wasn\u2019t stopped?
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cNo. In those days, races were never interrupted. It wasn\u2019t like the bogus form of the sport we see today. Rain or no rain, there were no safety cars or anything like that. It was proper racing \u2013 and you can quote me on that, because it\u2019s what I think. Accidents were a part of the sport. Our lead battle continued \u2013 and I don\u2019t remember whether the others had made a wrong tyre choice, or hadn\u2019t changed at the right moment, but their car was eventually caught out on slicks in the rain when it was still dark. While Ganley was crawling back to the pits, Marie-Claude Beaumont [sharing a Corvette with Henri Greder] smacked straight into the back of it, necessitating bodywork and suspension repairs when the car finally got back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you then just pace yourselves to the finish?
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cExactly. We just had to make sure we didn\u2019t commit any errors. It was a fabulous moment for me, even if I still hadn\u2019t forgiven Matra for the way I\u2019d been treated. It was also special because I had done so much development work on all the Matras, including the 660 that took off and put me in hospital for four months. It was the ultimate accolade for all the work we\u2019d been doing at Matra since 1965.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you relax a little when you saw the times Graham was doing during his first stint?
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cYou know, when there were only two drivers per car there was never much time to relax between stints. You couldn\u2019t wander too far away in case you were needed. You spent most of your time getting in or out of the car!\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you switch every time you refuelled?
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cNo, we were doing double or triple stints, each lasting a bit less than one hour. But I was keeping an eye on Graham\u2019s progress and immediately felt reassured.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s insane to think you hadn\u2019t talked to each other to discuss the race before you got there. It\u2019s inconceivable today that you wouldn\u2019t practise driver changes, try out different seats, belt settings, head-rest heights…
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cNo, but you have to remember that the sport wasn\u2019t the same back then. We were all used to jumping into different cars every weekend.<\/p>\n

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The author Pascal Dro (left) with Pescarolo reminiscing at his home in France<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

There were a dozen F1 grands prix in the world championship and a similar number of races in the World Sports Car Championship. Matra might not have been doing all the sports car races that season, but most weekends I was just like everybody else, racing in a couple of different events. Switching between cars and changing seats was a matter of routine for all of us. As for Graham, he had confidence in the team. He was quite canny and seemed sure that Matra might be ready to win. That was another reason he wanted to do it! Neither he nor Howden had any problem settling in \u2013 but then you tend to adapt quickly when you know you are in a team that\u2019s capable of victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBack then races were never interrupted, rain or no rain\u201d<\/blockquote>\n

After the race, did you shake hands and go your separate ways, or did you remain close?
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cGraham and I already had a good relationship, not least because I\u2019d qualified as a licensed pilot at the age of 16 and flying was a common interest. It was my first love and from a young age I\u2019d wanted to be a fighter pilot. It was a bit strange at first, because I\u2019d arrive at the airfield on my moped but was then allowed to take off with four passengers\u2026 Going back to the race, I think it would\u2019ve been close between the two leading Matras, if it hadn\u2019t been for Marie-Claude Beaumont\u2019s intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though the other car had been significantly faster in qualifying?
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cGraham certainly didn\u2019t set out to take pole \u2013 and in my case it was normal procedure to set the car up to last 24 hours. That was the biggest difference between guys like Cevert and Beltoise or Larrousse and I. They would jump in to prove how fast they were, whereas G\u00e9rard and I took a longer-term view. I don\u2019t remember even trying to go for pole \u2013 I\u2019d just have been preparing the car for the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

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While 19 drivers since have attempted to equal Graham Hill\u2019s achievement, none as yet has managed to replicate the Triple Crown. The only active drivers to hold two of the three required victories are Fernando Alonso (Indy 500) and Juan Pablo Montoya (Le Mans 24 Hours)<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

I called Howden Ganley to tell him we\u2019d be having this chat and he told me you hadn\u2019t spoken for years \u2013 and that you should call him! He didn\u2019t have the same profile as Graham, so how did he end up with the team?
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cThrough Jabby, again\u2026 As far as he was concerned, French drivers might as well not have existed. And Jean-Luc Lagard\u00e8re listened to him, unfortunately. But I have to accept that what happened to me was partly my fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

How come?
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cLagard\u00e8re was a great team leader, but he wasn\u2019t much of a psychologist. He never understood that somebody who was shy in life could also be an absolute assassin behind the steering wheel. When Matra needed a replacement for Jackie Stewart in 1968, after his F2 accident at Jarama, Johnny Servoz-Gavin would have taken the lift to the fifth floor, stuck a foot in Lagard\u00e8re\u2019s door and explained why he was the best choice. Me, I\u2019d have gone up to the fifth floor, waited for the lift door to open\u2026 and then pressed the button to go back down! I would never have entered his office to sell myself. In his mind, it wasn\u2019t possible for somebody that shy to be a star driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

You won the race again the following season, this time with G\u00e9rard Larrousse.
\n<\/strong><\/em>\u201cWe won everything in 1973 \u2013 Le Mans and the world championship \u2013 but I didn\u2019t receive any offers from F1 teams. The best I\u2019d had was at the end of 1971, when Ron Tauranac wanted me to sign for Brabham. Like an idiot I turned him down, because I\u2019d been driving for Frank Williams, who took out his violin and promised me he was hiring a new engineer and so on, but that didn\u2019t work out too well. He next tried the same with Alan Jones, but this time the engineer was Patrick Head! The strange thing was, for Le Mans and other major races, the grid was full of F1 drivers \u2013 but there was no promotion in the other direction. F1 was a closed shop and winning endurance races wasn\u2019t going to earn you a better F1 seat. I\u2019d hoped it would, but it didn\u2019t open any doors \u2013 and I think the same thing applies today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"author":633,"featured_media":1098079,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[121828],"tags":[34235,36567,126569,118464,124197],"issue_decade":[122153],"issue_year":[129434],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/1090458"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/issue_content"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1090458"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/1090458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1103326,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/1090458\/revisions\/1103326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1098079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1090458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1090458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1090458"},{"taxonomy":"issue_decade","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_decade?post=1090458"},{"taxonomy":"issue_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_year?post=1090458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}