1975 24 Heures du Mans

In 1975, the oil crisis was in full swing, so rules promoting fuel efficiency were brought into play for the 1975 edition of the 24 Heures du Mans.

Englishman John Wyer was a veteran and successful race-team manager who’s team had won the 24 heures du Mans 3 times, first in 1959 for Aston Martin, and then in 1968 and 1969, racing the Gulf Racing GT-40’s.

Though he was looking at retirement, he could not resist the idea of trying one last time.

With the assistance of Gulf again, Wyer had two Mirage GR8’s developed for Le Mans, the only race that he and Gulf Racing chose to run in the season.

The international mix of drivers chosen for the task were Australian Vern Schuppan and Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jaussaud in car #10, and Englishman Derek Bell and Belgian Jacky Ickx teamed up in car #11.

The cars were powered by the famous Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8, modified to run at lower RPM’s to conserve fuel.


The Bell/Ickx Gulf Mirage GR8 at the 1975 24 Heures du Mans
Pen&ink and markers on 12"x 12" light-blue archival paper ... I used no blue in this artwork.
© Paul Chenard 2015 - Original art available.

The Gulf research Racing Co. Mirage GR8’s were favoured to win, and they did not dispoint!

The Bell/Ickx #11 car covered the most distance in the 24 hours, and the Schuppan/Jaussaud #10 car finished 3rd behind the Lafosse/Chasseuil Ligier JS2.

It was Derek Bell’s first of 5 Le Mans (1975, 1981. 1982, 1986, 1987) wins and it was Jacky Ickx’s 2nd of 6 Le Mans (1969, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982) wins. Schuppan was to win later in 1983, and Jaussaud in 1978 and 1980.

For John Wyer, it was a lovely retirement gift!

Ford wins in Ferrari’s Playground

History is made, most often, when the status quo is upset and turned on its ear.

The path that history takes is often formed from passion, anger, determination, and luck.

Ford was looking to stroke its international profile through racing, their “Total Performance” initiative. Win on Sunday, sell on Monday …

They approached the biggest player in international racing Ferrari with a purchase proposal, having heard though the grapevine that there might be an opportunity.

Ford’s offers were rebuked in a Ferrari nationalistic master-plan for Italian funding.

In the scorn of rejection, Ford vowed to win against Ferrari, at any cost.


Pen&ink and markers on watercolour paper
© Paul Chenard

The purse was opened wide, very wide indeed, but it did finally happen in the sweetest way possible … a 1-2-3 sweep of the 1966 24 heures du Mans with the Ford GT40s … better than a Hitchcock thriller, to the utter stunned silence of the crowd.

History was re-written …

Aston Martin DBR1 – 1959 24 heures du Mans

This is my new laser-cut illustration, showing the Carroll Shelby/Roy Salvadori Aston Martin DBR1 which won the 1959 24 heures du Mans.
My illustration is laser-cut from stainless steel, the powder-coated green; I then hand-paint the additional colours using pin-strippers paint.

The hood opens to reveal my laser-cut brushed stainless steel illustration of the famous inline 6-cylinder DBR1 engine.
The side brackets are also laser-cut illustrations, and the back-plate is powder-coated in black crinkle finish.
The piece is very limited and comes in a custom-built box.

Here are the specs:
- 22” x 13” x 3” (55.8cm x 33cm x 7.6cm)
- 11 lbs 9 oz (5.25 kg)
- $2700 CDN/£1500 GBP/€1800 EUR/$2500 USD plus shipping/fees

© Paul Chenard 2013

Ford GT40 @ 50

50 years ago this year, one of the most iconic GT/sports racing cars appeared on the scene.

In the early 1960’s, Henry Ford II launched the “Total Performance” program, hoping that the race-winning image would push Ford automotive sales worldwide.

Though the campaign covered all matter of motor sports, Ford was particularly focused on the 24 Heures du Mans, which is considered one of the world’s most prestigious races.

Ford attempted to purchase Ferrari, who had won 6 times in a row (1960-1965), hoping that together, they could win Le Mans. Ferrari back out of negotiations, having used Ford’s bid as leverage for a deal with Fiat.

This enraged Ford, and he vowed to put all of his company’s resources into beating GT/sports Ferrari on tracks worldwide, with a primary focus on Le Mans.
Pen&ink and markers on light blue archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2013

The resulting British-designed/built race car was designated the GT40, GT standing for Grand Touring, and 40 representing its overall height of 40 inches.

After a few years of ironing the bugs out, Ford’s GT40’s took the first 3 spots in the 1966 running of Le Mans, racing Mark II’s.

In the 1967, Ford returned with the American-developed and built GT40 Mark IV’s, and took the first spot, famously driven by Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt.

By 1968, Ford decided that they had reached their goal, and shut the GT40 program down. John Wyer’s Gulf Racing team (J.W. Automotive Engineering Ltd.) took some of the GT40 Mark II’s and brought them to Le Mans in a high level of fit and finish.

They took the 1968 (drivers Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi), and 1969 (Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver) 24 Heures du Mans, both in the exact same car!

By 1970, the GT40 was just another obsolete race car, and Porsche took the Le Mans rei(g)ns. Today the GT4o is a highly respected collectable.

911@50 – Porsche Carrera RSR Turbo

Porsche’s development of their sports racing cars through the 1960’s took leaps and bounds, bring serious challenges to both Ford and Ferrari on the track.

Ford dropped out of the battle once they proved their point at Le Mans, and Porsche was very ready to take up the battle.

As they developed their racing technologies, they looked into ways they could be adapted to the competition versions of the 911.

With the great success of their Porsche Carrera RSR in 1973, they saw that the next logical step was to turbo-charge it.



Prismacolor pencils and Varsol on gray archival stock
19"x 16" (48.3cm x 40.6cm) © Paul Chenard 2013

Born from this approach, the 1974 Carrera RSR Turbo was a formidable monster. Turbo-charging made it powerful, but turbo-lag made it scary.

Drivers like Herbert Müller and Gijs van Lennep managed to tame it and it achieved measured success, but it became a major development tool to Porsche’s successful 934 and it’s all-conquering 935.

Jaguar’s Return to Le Mans

At the end of the 1940's, Jaguar the car company decided to enter the world of racing, fielding their successful XK 120 sports car. And they went after one of the biggest motor sports, the 1950 24 Heures du Mans. Unfortunately, clutch failure ended their quest.

For 1951, they created a lightened, rebodied version labeled the C-Type, and succeeded. Their C-type won again the prestigious race for 1953.

They followed up with a totally new racer christened the D-Type, and won the 1955, 1956, and 1957 Le Mans races.


The Office – Jaguar D-Type CockpitPen&ink and watercolour pencils on white archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2009

The company continued with the development of other racers, but with little success.

In the early 1980's, Tom Walkingshaw Racing (TWR) took a Jaguar XJS to a win of the 1984 European Touring Car. With this success, Jaguar decided to get officially back to racing.

With company support, TWR developed the Jaguar XJR-6 for the 1987 season, and it finished 5th at Le Mans. With their other successes in the season, Jaguar won the World Sports Car Championship.


Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-9LMPen&ink, paint markers and markers on purple archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2012
For the 1988, TWR built the all-new XJR-9LM. For their assault of the famous French endurance classic, Jaguar had Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries and Andy Wallace driving their beautiful racer.

Thirty-one years after their previous Le Mans victory, Jaguar was finally in the winner’s circle again.

Carroll Shelby 1923-2012

Carroll was a firstly a racer, and a successful racer at that.

He started in MGs, and quickly moved up to Allards, Ferraris and Maseratis. He joined the Aston Martin racing team, and shared a win of the 1959 Le Mans with Roy Salvatori.

Health issues forced him out of racing shortly afterward, so he set up a driving school.

Ken Miles in an A.C. CobraPen&ink and pencil crayons on corrogated cardboard
© Paul Chenard
His European experience showed him how more advanced the European and British sport car chassis and suspension setups were against their American counterparts.

He reasoned that a British sports car fitted with an American engine could be a successful combination. He ordered a modified A.C. Ace body and chassis and fitted it with a Ford engine. From Autumn 1961 till late Summer of 1962, Shelby American developed the A.C. Cobra into powerful performance sports and race car.
Shelby Cobra 289Pen&ink, paint markers and markers on blue archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2012

Orders flooded in and the car was a success. A further development of the Cobra came as an aerodynamic coupe, in a form more apt to beat Ferraris at the long distance races such as Le Mans.

 
Cobra Daytona Coupe – Le Mans 1965Pen&ink, paint markers and markers on blue archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2012
The Cobra Coupes beat Ferrari for the 1965 GT Championship, and Shelby was also instrumental in Ford Motor Company’s successful GT 40 wins at Le Mans for 1966 and 1967. At the same time, he developed their new Mustang into successful track car with the GT350. 
Ken Miles in a Shelby Mustang GT350Pencils on white stock, digitally painted
© Paul Chenard
Though working in performance development with mostly Ford, Carroll Shelby also worked with Dodge and Oldmobile. He was a “tuner” before the word was even coined!

Shelby American has also continued creating “continuation” Shelby Cobra roadsters.

Carroll Shelby saw opportunity where others didn’t and followed through with his vision and goals. Very few can match his legacy.

Market Fresh Racing Art

I’ve started going to the local Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market to sell my art.

It’s probably not the place you’d think of trying to sell racing history art, but there are many artists selling there, and they say that, past this rather more quiet time, they do quite well at the market.

I’ve had good weekends and bad weekends financially, but I have to say that I have zero competition, and I’ve enjoyed my time there. I occasionally even have time to do some sketching, like this past weekend; I managed to get two little sketches done.

Ayrton Senna – McLaren MP4/4 – British Grand Prix 1988

Pen&ink and markers on red stock 5”x 7” (12.7cm x 17.78cm) © Paul Chenard 2012

The visitor’s reactions range from curiosity to slack-jawed shock! In the 4 weekends that I’ve been there, I’ve already developed a following. In fact, I believe I’ll get a few commissions from being there.

Schlesser/Grant - Cobra Daytona Coupe – Le Mans 1965

Pen&ink and markers on blue stock 5”x 7” (12.7cm x 17.78cm) © Paul Chenard 2012

I’m at a different location and different setup each time, but it’s actually very good training for going to tradeshows or exhibitions.

It’s a good way get known by the local racing fans too!

Le Mans Classic - July 9, 10, 11

I very proud to say that Historic Car Art will be bringing my original art and limited editions at the Le Mans Classic.

41.5"x 18.5" (105.4cm x 46.8cm), latex paint on plywood
© Paul Chenard 2010

My "Le Mans 1972" will be featured there, amongst some of my other pieces.

I hope you can pay the Historic Car Art stand a little visit!

Le Mans 1972 - French colours

I’ve been illustrating for a few years (since the Summer of 2006), but I as yet don’t have a studio; I do most of my art on the dining room table.

We just finished redecorating, which included repainting our living room, dining room, and kitchen.

I started thinking about doing a painting, but I can't really afford artists materials; the paints, brushes and canvas. So I went out and bought some brushes, and decided to use our leftover house paint on a piece of leftover premium plywood. Because I don't have a studio, I did it on my hands and knees on the basement floor in our little junk room with the washer and dryer ... cozy! This is my very FIRST painting!

41.5"x 18.5" (105.4cm x 46.8cm), latex paint on plywood
© Paul Chenard 2010

My painting features the winning Matra-Simca MS670 #15 of Henri Pescarolo and Graham Hill, followed by the second place MS670 #14 of François Cevert and Howden Ganley. The third Matra-Simca is the MS660C #16 of Jean-Pierre Jabouille and David Hobbs.

A friend in Scotland didn't believe is was done in house paint, so I created this paint key ...

The painting is available through Historic Car Art; limited edition prints are also available. It will be featured at the Le Mans Classic.

Olivier Gendebien - A Racing Talent

Belgian Olivier Gendebien and American Phil Hill celebrate their first of 3 Le Mans wins together; they also won together in 1961 and 1962. Gendebien also won in 1960 with fellow countryman Paul Frère.

Prismacolor on gray-brown archival stock © Paul Chenard 2010
Nicolas Cancelier Collection

Available as a 14.5"x 11" limited edition.

Their 3 wins together were with Ferrari; here they're driving in their winning 250 Testa Rossa.

“Go Like Hell” – A Book Review

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was kind enough to send me this book to review on my blog; here it is.

As I closed the cover of A. J. Baime’s book “Go Like Hell”, all I could think of was “hell-of-a-book”!

The book’s subtitle is “Ford, Ferrari, and their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans”, and that sums up very well the subject of his book.

Baime, an executive editor at Playboy magazine, has obviously done some extensive research to put the story together, with interviews with the some of major participants, and their associates, to get the inside perspective. I very much enjoyed finding out more of the players in this vast story, in particular Ken Miles, Phil Hill and John Surtees.

This is not at all a clinical analysis of what happened, but gets right in on the feeling of the 1950’s through to the late 1960’s, and the huge clashes of culture going on then.

These numerous culture clashes float up through the background of racing, spiraling into that landmark 1966 Le Mans: hot-rodders vs engineers, time vs development, American vs Italian, horsepower vs cylinders, corporate vs casual, global vs national, staid vs flashy, speed vs safety, individual vs team …

It’s all there, working together, bringing us through this exciting period of history.

The book is very easy to read thanks to the fine layout and design of graphic designer Brian Moore, who obviously researched his subject to bring in some subtile design touches.

Though I found only one very minor error in the book, there are two points with which I really take issue.

The title “Go Like Hell” is not a quote from the book (I couldn’t find it); it’s weak and totally misses to point of the story. “Speed and Glory” from the subtitle is a much stronger and accurate title to this book, and much more attractive.

The cover, which unfortunately was not designed by Mr. Moore, is horrendous. There are two possibly interesting front cover photos obliterated by a typographic monstrosity that looks like a “TIDE” logo. As I always tell my clients, it cost just as much to do it wrong as to do it right … unfortunately, they are not even close to doing the cover right here, and they are more than 8.36 miles off …

Most of us know this story, and we also know how it ends.
But A. J. Baime gives us the behind-the-scenes and the hard to find insights that make it enthralling.

You can pick it up here at Amazon ... you won't regret it!

Porsche 917 – 40th Anniversary of the Legend - Part 1

Racing in their Blood
Porsche’s history in motor sports started in baby steps.
First there were the regular cars modified for racing, such as the Gmund racers.

With their cars potential clearly evident, Porsche developed it’s own racers: there was, from that point on, a steady succession of more and more powerful purpose-made racers.

Porsche RS60 - Sebring 1960
Prismacolor on Strathmore gray archival paper 9"x 4"
© Paul Chenard 2008
Philip Powell Collection

The 550, the 718, the RSK, the RS60, the 904, 906, 908, 910 all met with success. As each new racer emerged, Porsche eyed more and more closely the possibility of an outright win at the 24 hours Le Mans.

The Beginning of the Legend
For 1968, the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) decided that the International Championship of Makes would run 5-liter engines and to qualify, each maker had to produce a minimum of 25 cars. Porsche decided it was time to act. They took the 908 chassis, modified and strengthened it to carry a 4.5-liter flat-12 engine, while moving the cockpit forward; the 917 was born!




Corgi #385 Porsche 917 (England) 1970's

On April 20, 1969, Porsche stunned the CSI inspectors by having all 25 of the new racers ready for their viewing.

917K - The Le Mans Dynasty
The first attempt at Le Mans with the basically undeveloped new car was not successful. It was incredibly unstable at speed, with its body and suspension in need of more development. After a fatal first-lap crash of one of the new racers, all the other 917’s failed to finish, and one lone 908 finishing an extremely close second, driven by Hans Herrmann and Gérard Larrousse.

For 1970, under John Wyer’s JWA Team guidance, Porsche chopped the tail off, reshaped the body, and tweaked the suspension and tire choice. Combined, these changes created a huge difference it the 917, which became the 917K.


Porsche 917K - Le Mans 1970
Prismacolor on Strathmore black archival paper 19"x 12"
© Paul Chenard 2009
Original art available, as are limited editions.

At Le Mans, the car was unbeatable, with a win by the Porsche Salzburg team 917K No.23, masterfully driven by Hans Herrmann and Richard “Dickie” Attwood. Porsche goal to win the celebrated race came to fruition.

The wins did not stop there, with the 917Ks of JWA, Martini Racing, and Porsche Salzburg teams also winning the 24 hours of Daytona, the 1000 km of Brands Hatch, the 1000 km of Monza, the 1000 km of Spa, the 6 hours of Watkins Glen, the 500 km of Imola, the 1000 km of Zeltweg, just to name a few.

It was also had a staring role Steve McQueen’s movie “Le Mans”.

For 1971, the amazing 917 kept on winning; Le Mans, Buenos Aires, Daytona, Sebring, the Nurburgring, Monza, Spa, Zeltweg all fell to the powerful racer.

Including that first Le Mans win in 1970, Porsche has won the historic race a record sixteen times!

Steve McQueen & Le Mans 1970
Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted
© Paul Chenard 2007

Eagle Weslake - Spa 1967

Pen & ink and Primacolor pencils on white archival stock 4"x 9" © Paul Chenard 2008

Gary Faules Collection

1967 was a big year for Americans in motor sport, and someone who was at the forefront of it was Dan Gurney.

He won, along with A. J. Foyt, the 24 Heures du Mans in a GT40 Mark IV and remains the only American to win a Formula 1 race in a car of his own construction at Spa in Belgium.

In his career, he won races in Nascar, Can-Am, Trans-Am and Indy. Later on, as a team owner/manufacturer, his cars would also win the Indy 500, and the IMSA GTP series.

Chenard et Walcker - Le Mans 1923

Adobe Illustrator sketch © Paul Chenard 2000

As I accumulated books in my racing history library, I decided to create a bookplate to label them.

For me, it was obvious that it would be based on the first Le Mans winner in 1923, a 3-litre Chenard et Walcker Sport racer, driven by André Lagache and René Léonard. In fact, a Chenard et Walcker Sport also took second place. In the following year, Chenard et Walcker took 4th and 5th place.

Chenard et Walcker was a French automobile manufacturer that began in 1900, building some sports cars, but later focusing on mostly passenger cars and commercial vans. In 1946, they were taken over by Peugeot, at which point they built only light commercial vans.

Though we are of no relation, I love that we share our name. As I get a new (to me) book, I label it with this little piece of history.

Phil Hill 1927-2008: An American Hero

Working drawing for future serigraph limited edition, pencil on board © Paul Chenard 2007


Hand-drawn birthday card, pen and ink on card
© Paul Chenard 2007
Phil Hill Collection

I’m very sad to hear that Phil Hill, one of my great heroes, has passed away.

Here is a quote from the Race Legends website:
Hill had a varied racing career beginning in 1947 and stretching over 20 years. He was remarkable in winning both his first and last race outings. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times for the team of Enzo Ferrari, Sebring 12 Hours three times and a host of sports car, endurance and Formula One races. He was also the fastest man in an MG, setting a land-speed record for the British firm. Hill was a long-time contributing editor to Road & Track Magazine.

I actually never heard of him until I started reading his Salon features in Road & Track magazine. His articulate and retrospective analysis’s actually nurtured my curiosity in the history of motor sports, and pushed me to find out more, to read as much as I could on the subject.

That’s when I really learned of his amazing accomplishments in a great variety of racers, and his artistry in Ferraris. My research also showed me that no one had encapsulated his success for the Ferrari Team in art. This led me to create a series of illustrations on his wins with them.

Mr Hill not only chose to feature them on his website, but also agreed to sign 100 prints of the series. Keep in mind that this happened just over a year ago, so it was an incredibly difficult task for him. His signature was obviously effected by the Parkinsons, but he none-the-less pushed on and did the series.

His son Derek was kind enough to take some snapshots of his dad signing, and sent them out to me, and they are now my treasured keepsakes.

Godspeed, Phil Hill 1927-2008...

1 Ferrari 750 Monza Pebble Beach 1955

2 Ferrari 250 TR Le Mans 1958

3 Ferrari 246 F1 Monza 1960

4 Ferrari 156 F1 Monza 1961

Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted © Paul Chenard 2006

This series highlights Phil Hill's great success in Ferraris, culminating with his 1961 World Championship win.

* Note: At a request of Phil Hill's Family, all Phil Hill artworks are removed from his website until sometime in November, 2008.

The Art of Racing History

I decided to stream my racing history sketches together with a soundtrack of vintage race cars.

Phil Hill driving a Ferrari 250TR, Le Mans 1958

Pencil on paper, 9"x 6" © Paul Chenard 2006

Phil Hill, co-driving with Belgian Olivier Gendebien, won his first of 3 Le Mans' in 1958. He later started driving Ferrari Formula 1 cars, becoming the 1961 Grand Prix World Champion.

Gulf Racing Ford GT40 1968

Pencil on paper 29 cm X 23 cm © Paul Chenard 2006
$200 CDN plus shipping/handling

The Gulf Racing GT40 gets wheeled from it's transporter by the team race technicians before the 1968 Le Mans, which it won. The same car won in 1969 also.

Fangio driving the Mercedes 300 SLR at LeMans 1955

Pencil on paper, 12"x 9" © Paul Chenard 2006
Geoffrey Chenard Collection