Just got this from my old pal Barry Sheppard….. Thanks to him.
Le Mans 1972 with the Kodak Lola Team

I was invited along with Mike Rawlings to generally assist and specifically handle pit signalling for Barrie Smith and Rene Ligonnet with their entry of a Lola T292. The car was of a new design and novel in that it had a long spacer between engine and gearbox for improved balance and the mainshaft from the gearbox was therefore extended to mate with the clutch and the whole somewhat experimental. Barrie had commissioned some aerodynamic enhancements which were added to the body in aluminium and carried out by Grand Prix Metalcraft. These included “fences” down either top corner running into fins which gave greater stability otherwise the car was more or less untried and undeveloped. Barrie supplied some new reflective sheet material in red and white so Mike and I made a board with a white face, Kodak in Red at the top and a set of numerals for display to the drivers.

Barrie, Mike and I left for France via Hoverloyd hovercraft from Pegwell Bay in Barrie’s Capri Mk 1 3 litre which had benefited from the fitment of a set of Bilstein dampers which made it handle very enjoyably. The base in France was the garage of Monsieur Jardin?…in Volnay a little way out from the circuit. Mike and I were billeted with grandpere Raymond “Bulldozer” Jardin? an extraordinary character of some 70 plus years old, built like a bulldozer and extremely fit. Our breakfast was cornflakes in calvados and he referred to Mike as “la (ou le Marie Therese?) bicyclette” as he was rather skinny in those days.

We assisted with preparation and one of my tasks was to find a suitable rubber drive band for the alternator as this was a unique set up and was throwing its belts in practice. I tried all the motor parts supplies and could not find one to suit the dimensions, in desperation I tried a washing machine company in Le Mans and found one of the correct length and, lo and behold, it did the 24 hours.

During practice the transmission and clutch proved troublesome and John MacDonald did his best to modify components but the race started with much pessimism as to the durability of the car. Pit signalling then was at the exit of Mulsanne bend probably three miles from the main pits and we were designated a box per team which consisted of a concrete open fronted box with a wind up telephone and the bank from which the signals were hung out some ten yards away. Bearing in mind the state of the car Mike and I booked a dinner table at the nearby golf club for 8.00pm on the basis that we would be lucky if the car managed four hours. Towards eight the car was circulating consistently at the four minute mark so I went to ask the latest that we could take the table and re booked for 9.30. The car continued its steady run and we had to miss supper altogether, there was no other food available and we were hungry. Over and above, the promised relief crew did not turn up until about midnight and told us they could only do two hours. Mike and I walked back to the main pits and found a hot dog or similar and had to walk straight back to relieve the French crew. The degree of excitement of the whole scene is difficult to describe but I will never forget the night scene, watching the stopwatch and at 3 minutes 50 looking to the left towards the corner and seeing the distinctive red and white lights on the rollover bar of the Lola and hanging out the board for the drivers information. The communication with the pit was by the wind up telephones which were totally unreliable and as ours broke down we had to arrange to share with another team and eventually take over one of a team that had retired. This meant that somebody in the main pit had to run backwards and forwards to the other garage to pass messages to us at Mulsanne.

Motor racing is dangerous as we all know and the morning was soured with the news that in the early morning mist Jo Bonnier had tangled with a slower car, flown over the barrier, hit trees and was killed. It was most uncomfortable to drive past the scene after the race and see the marks high up on the tree trunks.

Another outstanding memory is of the three Matras which screamed with their V12 engines. There were three cars in the team lapping at something over three minutes so for the twenty two hours that I was by the side of the track there was an earsplitting Matra passing every minute or so. Despite all the doubts about the car Barrie and Rene drove tremendously to bring it to the finish and win the two litre class.

The prizegiving was a grand affair where Barrie managed to collect several spare pilotes medals, one of which I still have. It was then back to the garage where monsieur Jardin? Had the champagne ready and grandpere did his party trick which was to handstand using the necks of two champagne bottles and then using one hand only which is an extraordinary trick at any age let alone over seventy.

I am sure that the race is still as exciting to be involved in but I cannot help thinking that it is now not as much fun.

Barry Sheppard, July 2008.