LE MANS miniatures Lorraine Dietrich n°5 - (2nd place) Le Mans 1926

From 1923, Lorraine-Dietrich participated in the first edition of what would become the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1924, Lorraine finished 2nd and 3rd behind the Bentley Sport n°8 of John Duff and Frank Clement. In 1925, Gérard de Courcelles and André Rossignol win their first victory and Stalter’s number 4 and Brisson finish 3rd.

It is confident that Gérard de Courcelle associated this time with Marcel Mongin returns in 1926. The car has benefited from some modifications and the experience and preparation of the teams will make the difference.

From the 6th and 7th turns, the 2 Georges-Irat give up. At the end of the first hour, the Lorraine of Bloch is already in 2nd position, No. 4 of Stalter has moved up to 4th position and No. 5 of Marcel Mongin, more scrupulous in respecting the schedule, ranks 8th.

After Peugeot is excluded from the race, a new French-English duel takes shape with Bentley. No. 9 breaks its engine first, the survivor No. 7 of Sammy Davis clings to 3rd place. But when Gérard de Courcelles, then in 2nd position, accelerates to make it snatch and beats the lap record in 9'03' at nearly 115km/h, Bentley’s only hope is to secure a place of honor... Thirty minutes before the end of the race yet it’s drama when Davis pulls on the brakes at the end of Les Hunaudières, they do not respond and he finds himself in the sandbox, forced to give up, leaving the field open for the 3 Lorraines which take the first three places for the first time.