1923 Inaugural Grand Prix of Endurance (24 Hours of Le Mans)

The first 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1923 allowed for only certain portions of the track to be illuminated at night, mainly the bends and the start and finishing straight, using as many lights as they could borrow from the army for the 17.26km circuit of public and private roads.

After driving down to Le Mans, Captain John Duff of DUFF & ALDINGTON, Automobile Agents, Upper St. Martin's Lane, and Frank Clement, who was Bentley's Test Driver, competed against 16 manufacturers fielding 32 cars, which, apart from a Belgian entry, were all French.

Duff was in fact Bentley's London Agent, but it was a strictly private entry rather than a Bentley Works initiative.

Walter Owen Bentley (W.O.) was not overly enamoured of the "24 hours non-stop" venture but sufficiently so to be found helping in the Bentley pit, which consisted of a tent with wooden benches.

However, contrary to the elite pit teams of today, only drivers were permitted to do any work on the car during the race.

It would be Duff and Clement's first 24-hour race, though Duff had established a stellar reputation at Brooklands, setting 38 international class records between 1920 and 1922 while driving a 1908 10-litre Fiat and a stock 3-litre Bentley.

Bentley 3 litre Chassis 141 took joint 4th place in 1923

2023 Chassis 141 sold for £3,000,000, driven by John Duff and Frank Clement in 1923
 

Bentley 3.0 Litre first registered in 1923

Clement had raced Bentleys at Brooklands and had come second at the Isle of Man 1922 Automobile RAC Tourist Trophy.

Brooklands had a 24-hour race, known as the "Double Twelve" but, having banned racing at night, it was split into two 12-hour stints.

1922: The Last 3 Litre Tourist Trophy held on the Isle of Man. Eight laps of 37.75 miles (302 miles) Frank Clement took 2nd place, W.O Bentley in 4th and Douglas Hawkes in 5th, Bentleys but taking the team prize. The winner was Jean Chassagne in a Sunbeam. The weather was appalling!

26th May 1923 Circuit de Sarthe, Le Mans France

Saturday 4pm: The weather was grim

Under starters orders…

Eighteen manufacturers entered 35 cars, 33 of them under starters orders...

No creature comforts

There was no heater in the Bentley (not for another 20 years or so anyway), no mechanical windscreen wipers (not a single car had windscreen wipers), and mudguards... well, mudguards were just extra weight and impaired the aerodynamics, so they were... minimalist.

Also, as standard, the Bentley had drum brakes fitted on the rear wheels... only.

Initially, there was a brief hail storm, followed by 4 hours of heavy rain over the open-topped cars as the circuit turned into a mud bath, making face goggles redundant.

A flying stone reduced the Bentley to one headlight for most of the night-time hours, while another punctured the petrol tank.

The petrol tank lost the team two hours while it was repaired, eventually plugging the hole. The rules stated that only the drivers, who would drive alone, could make any repairs to the car.

In the absence of any assistance, Frank Clement had to jog from where the car had run out of petrol near Arnage to the pits and then back on a borrowed bicycle. Despite the horrendous weather, 30 of the 33 vehicles completed the 24-hour run.