LeMans ’56

On July 29th 1956, Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson crossed the finish line at the Circuit de la Sarthe, France, to win the 24Hours of LeMans. Driving a privateer Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type, the all Scottish effort fought off all other competition including, most notably, three factory Jaguar D-Types, one of which driven by 1955 winner, Mike Hawthorne. Completing a total of 300 laps of the 8.3 mile circuit at average speeds of over 150mph, Flockhart and Sanderson were joined on the podium by Aston Martin drivers Stirling Moss/Peter Collins and Ferrari drivers Olivier Gendebien/Maurice Trintignant. Ecurie Ecosse would go onto further success in 1957, again winning with Flockhart and this time new partner, Ivor Bueb. Sanderson, partnered with John Lawrence, would finish in second spot sealing a rare 1-2 privateer finish. Unfortunately, this would be the last successful LeMans outing for the team, mechanical issues would plague them for the next 5 years before financial troubles put an end to their competitive era by the mid 1960’s. Despite this, Ecurie Ecosse and the Jaguar D-Type will remain an icon for racing fans and a testament to privateer success.