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Le Mans 1973 - Ferrari against Matra for almost 24 hours

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Created on June 14, 2013

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Balz Schreier

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Matra-Simca MS670B (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - François Cevert (pictured at the wheel) and Jean-Pierre Beltoise in the number 10 Matra retired prematurely after 157 laps

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Matra-Simca MS 670 B (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - Test drives

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Matra-Simca MS 670 B (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - Work on the rear spoiler

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Matra-Simca MS 670 B (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - Together with the new Ferrari 312PB, the new Matra-Simca MS 670 B was one of the main favorites at Le Mans 1973

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Matra-Simca MS670B (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - from the new MS670B onwards, cooling for the Matra brakes was now provided via an air funnel under the rear end

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Matra-Simca MS670B (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - close-up of the V12 engine of the overall winner - up to 10500 revolutions per minute were achieved

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Ferrari 312PB (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - Jacky Ickx still in the lead at this time

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Ferrari 312PB (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - To cool the famous intermediate plates between the engine and clutch, a rubber periscope was fitted behind the passenger seat of the Ferrari 312PB, which diverted the air

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Chevron B23 (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - This Chevron B23 of the Swiss Michel Dupont and Paul Blancpain was the last representative of the two-liter class to retire.

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Ferrari 312PB (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - The Ferrari 312PB of Jacky Ickx and Brian Redman was still at the front during the night. Later unfortunately retired

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Matra-Simca MS 670 B (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - Close-up of the engine

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Production cars on the advance - The photo shows the Ferrari Daytona of Andruet/Bond (second last place) and the fast Carrera RSR of Herbert Müller/van Lennep (4th place!)

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In 1973, Herbert Müller/Gijs van Lennep (CH/NL) drove their Carrera RSR to an outstanding 4th place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans

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Porsche Carrera RSR (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - Herbert Müller and Gijs van Lennep drove this Carrera RSR for the Martini Racing Team to a fabulous 4th place (after the Matra and Ferrari prototypes).

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Herbert Müller drove the Porsche Carrera at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

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Ferrari 365 GTB/4 (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - Close-up of the engine of the winner in the GT class

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Mirage M6 (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - Derek Bell in number 8 ahead of Hailwood in number 9 - both retired

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Mazda Sigma MC73 (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - This new Japanese design with twin-disc Wankel engine retired early from the race

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Chevrolet Corvette (1973) at Le Mans 1973 - John Greenwood's Corvette, fitted with Goodrich radial tires and sporting the now legendary American Stars and Stripes livery, was already eliminated on the 38th lap

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Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM (1931) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - This rare photo shows the overall winner Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM of the drivers Lord Howe and Sir Henry Birkin at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1931

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Bentley Super Sport 3000 (1927) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - The overall winner of Le Mans 1927 - Dudley Benjafield and Sammy Davis drove the "Old Number 7" to the finish line with a 21-lap lead.

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Alfa Romeo 175 S (1931) at the veteran race before Le Mans in 1973 - The legendary Alfa Romeo with 8-cylinder engines won from 1931 to 1934, although a 6-cylinder is shown here.

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Amilcar CGSS Grand Sport (1925) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - This Amilcar was at the start in Le Mans in 1925

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Aston Martin DB 3S (1954) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - this DB3S raced at Le Mans in 1954, but without success. Aston Martin's only overall victory came in 1959 with Carrol Shelby

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Aston Martin Type Le Mans (1932) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - At Le Mans 1932, the best of the Aston Martins at the start reached 5th place

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Bentley 3000 Super Sport (1926) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - This Bentley competed in Le Mans 1926, but retired early

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Bentley 4.5 Liter (1928) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - Bentley came to Le Mans with the 4.5 Liter in 1928 and won.

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Chenard et Walcker Sport (1923) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - The first winner of Le Mans was a Chenard et Walcker Sport 1923 driven by André Lagache and René Léonard

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The birth of "Le Mans Classic" - historic vehicles race at Le Mans for the first time: Chenard et Walcker Sport (1923) for the 50th anniversary of the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - The first winner of Le Mans (1923) was this Chenard et Walcker Sport driven by André Lagache and René Léonard

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Delahaye Type 135 CS Sport (1939) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - Stirling Moss is driving the Delahaye that his former team boss Rob Walker drove to 8th place at Le Mans in 1939.

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Ferrari 166 MM (1949) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - Luigi Chinetti drove this Ferrari 166MM to first place at Le Mans 1949. Chinetti also won in 1932 and 1934 on Alfa Romeo

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Ferrari Testa Rossa 250 (1958) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - This Ferrari Testa Rossa 250 was driven by Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill in 1958 and won the third overall victory for Ferrari!

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Jaguar C-Type (1953) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - The Jaguar C-Type pictured here won Le Mans in 1951 and 1953 and was also the first racing car with disc brakes at Le Mans!

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Jaguar D-Type (1954) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - The D-Types won all 24-hour races from 1955-1957

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Maserati 450 S (1957) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - Maserati never achieved great success at Le Mans - here the 1957 Maserati driven by Stirling Moss

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Peugeot Darl'Mat 402 DSE (1937) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - In the years 1937 and 1938 these Peugeot Darl'Mat were at the start and always reached places among the first 10!

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Ferrari 250 Monza (1954) at the veteran race before Le Mans 1973 - On June 7, two days before the actual Le Mans race, races for veteran vehicles took place. Here is the start of the post-war cars.

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Summary

The 24 Hours of Le Mans celebrated its 50th anniversary at the 41st edition. The thrilling duel between Ferrari and Matra, which lasted almost the entire race distance, did the legendary race proud. The former Le Mans participants were also commemorated with a special demonstration run. This report summarizes the events of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1973 and shows the then current competition cars and the historic vehicles in many pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

A look back at the first 50 years
Matra versus Ferrari - excitement was guaranteed
The 24-hour battle between Matra and Ferrari
The defect witch strikes
Duel in the pits
Spectacular duels over many laps
Porsche's road prototype in 4th place
GT victory for Ferrari
An almost successful farewell from Alfa Romeo
Special and curious facts
Results
Further information

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

It was the year of the anniversary. 50 years of Le Mans were celebrated by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the organizer of the 24-hour race. And the 41st running of the race was not lacking in excitement. The endurance race was held for the first time in 1923, and the racing community celebrated this anniversary with a parade of historic racing cars reminiscent of glorious races of the past. This supporting demonstration run alone was probably worth a visit for many Le Mans fans at the time. Looking back, this part of the event can also be seen as the birth of the Le Mans Classic. For Matra, winning Le Mans was initially the top priority, but after a triumphant start to the season with victories in Vallelunga and Dijon, the world championship title was also within reach. There was no doubt that the Matra cars were more powerful than all the competition, but they were considerably less reliable.

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