1968:  the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the world in a frenzy
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1968: the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the world in a frenzy

In 1968, for the only time in the history of the race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans was held in September rather than June. Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi won the day with their Ford GT40. Let

Due to the political and social unrest in France in May 1968, the 36th Le Mans 24 Hours was postponed until 28-29 September. That year saw the consecration of Pedro Rodriguez and the beginning of the Henri Pescarolo legend.

24 Hours of Le Mans 1968 - if the race had taken place in June, the result would probably have been very different. Lucien Bianchi and Pedro Rodriguez took over the wheel of the Ford GT40 from Brian Redman and Jacky Ickx, both injured in Formula One races. A certain Henri Pescarolo made his mark on the race that year. In the dead of the night, in driving rain, the Matra’s windscreen wipers broke, yet he continued valiantly, becoming an instant favourite with the crowd. Meanwhile, Porsche edged a step closer to an overall win. Jo Siffert secured the constructor’s first pole position and the Porsches came in second (Spoerry and Steinemann) and third (Neerspasch and Stommelen). Thanks to Bianchi and Rodriguez’s win at Le Mans, then the last round of the world championship, Ford took the constructors title for the third time in 1968.

Elsewhere - Discord in France culminated in May, but 1968 was equally tumultuous all over the world. In January, the Tet offensive marked a milestone in the Vietnam war, while the Soviet Red Army invaded Czechoslovakia in August, halting the reforms conducted by Alexander Dubcek. Martin Luther King was assassinated in April, followed by Robert Kennedy in June, then, in November, Richard Nixon was elected president of the United States at the third attempt. The revolutionary spirit of 1968 was also evident in Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Meanwhile, Steve McQueen starred in The Thomas Crown Affair and Bullitt. Having acquired a taste for production with Bullit, he already had the film Le Mans in mind and travelled to France the following year on a reconnaissance mission.

Music - The worldwide unrest brought with it an unprecedented proliferation of musical talent. At the beginning of the year, Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay was released following his untimely death in December 1967. Two famous double albums - Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix and The White Album from The Beatles - saw the day, as did a whole host of LPs that marked the era: Aretha Franklin’s live album recorded in Paris, Simon and Garfunkel's Mrs Robinson, Steppenwolf’s Born to be Wild, Pink Floyd's A Saucerful of Secrets and Joan Baez’s album Any Day Now, a collection of Bob Dylan’s songs. As the year drew to a close, the Rolling Stones released Beggar’s Banquet with the opening track Sympathy for the Devil.1968 was also the year that Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham got together to form Led Zeppelin, signalling the birth of hard rock.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translated from French by Emma Paulay

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, LE MANS 24 HOURS, SUNDAY 29 JUNE 1968, FINISH. Lucien Bianchi (with helmet) and Pedro Rodriguez sit on the roof of their Ford GT40 to celebrate their victory.
 

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