A recently discovered photo of our T70 Lola in the middle of the grid at Zandvoort 1969. I am trying to get some results to add later.

Here is the Kodak team before the 1st race early 1972. Thanks to Kodak Pathé members of their Facebook page I have been able to add a couple more names to the group.
L-R: Francois Eschapasse,Bernard Blanchard,??,Marie-Nele Lartique, Me,John McDonnell,René Ligonnet,Francois Lebel,Bernard Dubard,Bernard Raffin. So we only have one more name to finish the line up and I will add it when it is possible.

During the time I spent in France racing with Kodak Pathé sponsorship the car was raced most week-ends either by René Ligonnet or myself. When there were no circuit races we did French Mountain races/ [Hill climbs in English] However these were very long and required much discretion to keep the car on the road as there was no where to go if we made a mistake ! These photos show that amply, Corse de Cote de Pertuis and Chamrousse, the latter being about 18 kms long ! Mountain racing is great fun once you got the hang of it !

The second of Max Scott’s Dad’s photos of the 1969 Crystal Palace preparation. The Cosworth FVA engine clearly seen in this photo was totally reliable all season.Carried me through to 3 outright International victories that year and so on to being invited to join the prestigious British Racing Drivers Club. Membership of the BRDC was later to be a saviour during recent years after my near fatal bike accident 2008 when the Club and many of my fellow members gave me much help in my hour of need.

Great newly found photo by Max Scott’s Dad of us changing the gear ratios at Crystal Palace. Max is the little boy in the back ground. Dollie looks on while we finish the job.Lovely to find these old photos, Thanks for sharing Max.

This picture just turned up on the net, shows the Lola T70 Mk3b at the 9 hour race in Kyalami where I drove with the late great Jackie Pretorius. we won the class !

Here is my neighbour Stuart Dean in his 1929 Ford Special at the races in Wales, Pendine Sands Hot rods. Stuart broke the speed record for his class at 87.6 mph. A dam good effort for a vehicle of that age on the sands. Bravo Stuart.

Echappement Classic Juin 2015

Clic-clac, merci Kodak by René Ligonnet.

Last year René Ligonnet told us about the adventure he experienced with Ecurie Moynet at the Le Mans 24hours in 1968. Now he tells us about winning the 2 litre class during Le Mans 1972 with Barrie Smith. The Lola painted to the Kodak colours was seducing many onlookers and so was the attractive mechanic.

I had decided to end my career [said René] which had started in quite a good way. It was the end of 1970, the F3 1000cc was passed its best and was the best part of my hopes. No more first experiences driving a Triumph TR3, no more crazy driving with Renault 8 Gordini in 1965 and 1966 which had stopped me taking part to the Cup Renault 8 as I was mentioned on the notoriety list ! At the end of 1970, I had to recognize that: I had missed my chances, that I will never take part in F1, nor to Indianapolis and that I will never win the Le Mans 24hours. I was worn out by my defeats/failures ? and it was time to invent for myself some new dreams.

Early 1971, I was recruited by Ford France to show their top of the range cars, Mustang, Capri 2600RS but I soon realized it was not for me. At the same time, I had stored away the Chevron F3 in the Lot, at the farm of Bernard Raffin my mechanic/manager, on the pastoral shelf of souvenirs.

At the beginning of September, I was contacted by Barrie Smith, a very British driver which I had met on a circuit as he too had a Chevron B9 F3 car and a B8 FVA. in 1969. In 1970 he used to drive a Lola T70.
Barrie had a big project to take part to the Le Mans 24 hours in 1972 with a Lola T290 in the 2 litre category as this car had originally been made for the European Trophy in the 2 litre class. First it was imperative to find some funding. I had looked for budget in the past but without much success. Barrie had a friend, Guy Edwards, who was an expert at finding sponsors and he had given Barrie some of his secrets. In short, you had to promise a trip to the moon for the price of a single tube ticket, whilst making the perfect presentation. We created a British company and we each put in the royal sum of £1. We made many contacts during the autumn 1971 and following the Salon de la Photo, we thought we had scored with Kodak. Now we had to get it together.

Signed contract.

Barrie and I made a colorful duo: in a “made in GB” french, Barrie was working on his argumentation in a rigorous way, as for me, it was in a more mundane way but I was there to help when he was hesitating on a word or a idea. This is how Mr Echapasse, our contact, slowly entered into the world of motor racing ! We were overflowing with ideas, and we showed everything from paintings of the team to our genius idea : our lady mechanic with her hands inside the Chevron engine and pompously named the first lady racing mechanic in the world. She was a friend of my wife Lina, she had never seen a motor race but this idea was going give us huge publicity. As the meeting went on, we realised that Mr Echapasse did not totally understand the scope of the project and we were obliged to make a model of a Mc Laren Canam painted yellow with all the Kodak logos and this was when he got it. The contract was signed, 500 000F were made available, which had to be reimbursed by our racing winnings and the sale of the cars at the end of the season. As a good Jesuite pupil, I was determined to honour the contract, thinking that the following year, we could double the stake and have a 3 litre Lola. Barrie did not agree with this and he wanted to do other races all the time there was money in the kitty. He was right: in the merciless world of motor racing, it is better to twist than stick ??
Now we had to get organised. Barrie was dealing with the logistics in GB, bought the van, the car, the two new FVC engines and recruited the mechanics. I was in charge of finding a workshop in Magny-Cours, accommodation and mostly to get an entry from the ACO. The Lola was delivered early April in Magny-Cours for the practice we also painted the Chevron F3 to the Kodak colors and we drove to the circuit. Mary-Nelly, our charming mechanic used to come down at the weekend to perfect her modest knowledge, which often resulted in inappropriate questions from drivers and other mechanics and also some amusing remarks from Tico Martini who had sensed deception ?
We took part to several races in Magny-Cours, Monthléry and Paul Ricard. Time passed quickly and the week of Le Mans arrived. We lodged in the small village of Volnay with the Jardin family who owned a garage, a mill and a house with rooms. We were about 10 people : Marie-Nelly, Bernard Raffin, Lina and Jacqueline Astruc who dealt with the organisation, John Mc Donnell, the chief mechanic, the Amette Brothers, Barry Sheppard and Mike Rawlings who were doing the signaling. As for Jacques Barichella, our photographer from Nice, he was the Pit manager. We had to have a fluent French speaker as a pit manager, Jacques was on his way.

Breakdown during the practice.

Our Kodak car was beautiful as it went through the technical control, with its bright yellow colour, its special Le Mans bodywork, its high level air intake and its red logos and it was just near the other two 3 litre Lola from the Ecurie Bonnier, also painted yellow. The crowd was very supportive towards us, through many autographs requests and friendly tapping on the back. As for me, I already was climbing the north face. On Wednesday, our engine was the most performing, a 1800 Cosworth FVC prepared by Geoff Richardson and we qualified just behind the 3 litre prototypes.
I knew the circuit as I had raced there in 1965 on R8 Gordini during the Rallye de l’Ouest and with the Moynet in 1968. I was quickly into the rhythm of things. Barrie was discovering the track, he needed a bit more time to get accustomed to it, but quickly we were at the same level, around 17th behind the 3 litre, a Ferrari and a Corvette, even if we had the smallest engine. During the night testing, the Marchal lighting was ok and we were going round in similar time than the daylight. It is during that night that the testing was cut short with a red flag. I was not on the track and was counting in my head the cars returning to the stands. The ambulance and the firemen were on the circuit: I realised that Lionel Noghes, my friend from F3 was not returning. He had crashed the Grac MT16 in the Dunlop bend and the car caught fire. He managed to get out of the car at the last minute but his face was badly burned as the helmet visor melted and burned round his eyes. During that time, Serge Aziosmanof (the creator of the Grac Ndlr) was chatting in front of his stand and I went to tell him about the accident.

Back in Volnay, our car was thoroughly checked and was fitted with the practice engine in order to do the Thursday timed practice. We had something Special for the race engine which Geoff Richardson had fitted with F1 camshafts.
We did what we had planned to do for the race, ie 1000 revs below the limit so there was less on the gears while accelerating a maximum in top gear. Unfortunately after about 10 laps, the car broke down with transmission problem and the whole team went back to Volnay. The evening was spent taking out the engine and trying to understand what had happened and find a remedy. The positive side was that we were 17th, the negative side was the breakdown after only a few laps. I could already see the same outcome as in 1968. I went to bed as I did not want to add stress to stress, trusting that our team would find a solution. The problem was the clutch thrust carrier was too long, thus causing the clutch to slip/disengage. The carrier was machined to the correct length by John and a new clutch was fitted. After that is all worked perfectly.
Friday was a hard working day and Barrie and myself took strict resolutions to follow orders and not to make the race into a France-England match between drivers….
We had decided that I would start the race and Barrie would finish it. It was hard for Barrie to accept this decision but even more difficult for John who argued that I did not have the necessary experience. I was tense but in good shape, the hours before the start went very quickly, and everyone was in their own bubble. I was determined to do well in this race even if I had to drive in an unnatural way, handle the car and the brakes gently so that Barrie could see the finish flag. The crowd was already there, I was so agitated during the first lap that I felt that the car was not behaving normally and I stopped for a few seconds, victim of my imagination. I relaxed, followed the orders whilst driving in a cool manner. At the front of the race, the racing was intense : Beltoise had stopped on the second lap in the Dunlop bend, there were only 3 Matras left. A TV crew who had meant to spend the whole race on Jean-Pierre stand, came on our stand to follow the race with Marie-Nelly !

Victory !

At Les Hunaudières, when the Matra pack, Alfa and Lola passed me, I was counting the cars. The most amazing was the sound of the Matras…. under the helmet, I felt my head was going to explode. The Daytonas were going very well and the Corvette left us behind on the Mulsanne straight but we caught them in the bends- slowly you find your landmarks. At Tertre Rouge, spectators, always the same ones, were making signs and I could smell chips and could hear music from the festivities. The driving sessions were running into each other and I gave the car to Barrie. Bernard checked the levels, the Amette filled up the tank and John did a debriefing. When I was not driving, I could hear the commentaries from my friend Jean-Charles Laurens, the speaker who talked very often about our Kodak! Dear friend Jean-Charles! The race went into the night, my friends, Barry and Mike at Tertre Rouge signal pits were still making signs and the lights from the festivities were shining into the night. At around midnight, as I was driving into the Dunlop bend, I felt a strange sensation ? At Tertre Rouge, I was on the wheel rim, the right back tyre punctured. I had nearly a whole lap left, about 12km. I was on the straight, the right side of the car in the grass verge, driving not too fast, around 30km/hour in order not to destroy the body and the suspension. It was quite terrifying with those mad drivers overtaking so close, hoping that my friends had their eyes wide open. I probably did that lap in about 30 minutes. When in the distance I saw the lights from the stands, I imitated Christophe Columbus and screamed in my helmet “land” ! The wheel was changed, no damage done and I drove off again. High up, behind the clouds, our star was shining bright. It started to rain : Barrie was going round like clockwork, in the stands next to ours, the Porsche 910 team who were used to win the 2 litre category, could not believe we were still in the race, their team leader accusing us of cheating. What great sporting solidarity.
Early in the morning, it was still raining and as we had forgotten to make a hole in our bucket seat, our backside was very wet. I was jealous of the Daytona drivers, seating in a dry seat!
At around 8am, a dramatic event happened behind me. Jo Bonnier driving his Lola, flew in the air after touching the Daytona of Florian Vetch between Mulsanne and Indianapolis. On the next lap, I saw the Ferrari stopped near the banks on the right and an ambulance and a stretcher. As I could not see the Lola which had fallen behind the rail, I had no idea what had happened. It was only when I cam back to the stands of the end of my session that I learned the bad news : this is Le Mans with its galleries , euphoria and fate.
Later on Barrie spun in the rain, just missing the rail but without stalling and attacking strong. Then it was my turn to have cold sweat : in the Ford bend, I felt that the car was not braking anymore. I drove to the stand, the brake pads or what was left of them, were welded to the discs which were cracked. I stayed at the wheel and the stop took 35 minutes. I drove on without changing only the pads the cracked discs were left in place !
Before going back to the pits at 2.30pm, I did my last lap, crying in my helmet but sure that we would finish the race.
Barrie had a well deserved hour of glory ! when he passed the finish, we were all standing on the rail, Bernard, Lina, Marie-Nelly, Jacqueline and the english. Of course we had not won on distance but we won the 2 litre class and this was the first Lola to ever finish the 24 hour race. It was a great result and Kodak already got their money back. Later on, Barrie told me that during the last lap, he had pulled all the stops out and recorded his fastest lap ! Good old Barrie !

Story by René Ligonnet.
Translation by Marie-Therese Smith.

Further to the article in Echappement Classic magazine June 2015 I sent to David Amette, he sent his memories of his week at Le Mans in 1972:

Herewith some of my clear memories of our week at Le Mans.
Leave England and drive the van and racecar to Volnay – unload in the Esso petrol station into a clean corner of the workshop surrounded by tractors, ploughs and other agricultural  machinery. The owner invites us all in to his office for a glass of his own Muscadet. Several bottles later! We go to the little Bar Tabac for dinner – wonderfull food (all week) and “Ratto’ [Mike Rawlings] is flirting with the owners wife – we were all laughing madly.
We stayed in a little house in the village and Mike and I would get a dozen huge brown eggs and three baugettes for our breakfast.
 
First morning in the workshop and the local school children with teacher arrived and measured and drew the Lola. Also appearing was the splendid self- appointed “squire” of the village – Raymond Jardin in riding jacket and leather boots. I still have his card – heavy machinery business.
He proved to be a great help when John Mac wanted short v-belts for the pulleys from the Hewland to the alternator that was fitted for the lights. He took Mike and Barry to a friend of his who made washing machines and dryers  and they came back with “six” correct belts – “just in case” – think we used two during the entire race.
Night time practice – lunch at the café – no wine. Daytime running – dinner at the café with several bottles of Muscadet and then bed
At scrutineering on morning we came to the “ride height” metal box on the ground. Rene engaged the inspectors is a heated conversation – John Mac and my John lifted the rear of the Lola up on the shocks and Mike and I the front and we pushed it over the box – all clear at the start and a slight scraping towards the end and the Lola was through and sank down on its shocks again! Phew!
 
I will never forget on the way to the track on Saturday morning – we were stopped by a motorcycle Gendarme and out from a huge gate rolled all of the Ferrari Daytona’s in the race! Pozzi, Maranello, NART, all the teams cars driving to the track – it don’t happen now!
Remember the race – Mike and Barry off to timing and scoring – and we were in your pit for 24 hours and “change” Great sadness when the Bonnier boys were taking the yellow “cheese” spare body sections away after he got killed. Also the sound of those V12 Matra’s and Graham Hill’s drive to take the lead in the “peeing” rain. Did Pescorolo want to finish 2nd with a “Brit” No way! And they went on to win!
Drama at 8.30am when Rene arrived with no brakes! The brake chaps – Ferodo? Had told you no pad changes on this “lightweight” little racecar – wrong! John Mac had fitted F2 corners at the front – NO quick change pads! Front body section off and John Mac and John changed the pads in under 20 minutes and off Rene roared! Smelt burning flesh after that but both John’s were OK and no complaints!
Will always remember the prize giving in the huge abbey – Graham gave a hilarious speech – you and Rene went up to collect the 2 litre trophy and snagged “driver medals” for all of us! Mine in pride of place in my car collection – I also have a 1/32nd scale model of your car in Le Mans colours complete with the huge airbox that Grand Prix made to keep the head cool for the whole race!
We went up the stairs at the abbey into this long room filled with food and hundreds of bottles of champagne! We each took a couple back to Volnay with us.
Load up the next day and home – a marvelous experience and one I will never forget – Thanks Barrie.

This is the magazine cover with our car in the lower RH corner.