1956 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 24th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 28 and 29 July 1956.

Following the events of 1955, the front stretch and pit lane were redesigned in order to enhance driver and spectator safety. This involved a change to the layout of the Dunlop curve, shortening the overall length of the track by 31 meters.

This race saw the death of French driver Louis Héry when his Monopole was involved in an accident early in the race.

Official results

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
1	S 5.0	4	Ecurie Ecosse	Ninian Sanderson Ron Flockhart	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6	300
2	S 3.0	8	Aston Martin Ltd.	Stirling Moss Peter Collins	Aston Martin DB3S	Aston Martin 2.9L I6	299
3	S 3.0	12	Scuderia Ferrari	Olivier Gendebien Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari 625LM Touring	Ferrari 2.5L I4	293
4	S 5.0	5	Equipe Nationale Belge	Jacques Swaters Freddy Rousselle	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6	284
5	S 1.5	25	Porsche KG	Richard von Frankenberg Wolfgang von Trips	Porsche 550A/4 RS Coupe	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4	282
6	S 5.0	1	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Mike Hawthorn Ivor Bueb	Jaguar D-Type FI	Jaguar 3.4L I6	280
7	S 1.1	36	Lotus Engineering	Reg Bicknell Peter Jopp	Lotus 11	Coventry Climax 1.1L I4	253
8	S 1.1	33	Cooper Car Company	Ed Hugus John Bentley	Cooper T39	Coventry Climax 1.1L I4	252
9	S 1.5	30	Claude Bourillot	Claude Bourillot Henri Perroud	Maserati 150S	Maserati 1.5L I4	245
10	S 750	40	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Gérard Laureau Paul Armagnac	DB HBR5	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2	231
11	S 750	45	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Jean-Claude Vidilles Jean Thépenier	DB HBR	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2	225
12	S 750	46	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	André Héchard Roger Masson	DB HBR	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2	220
13	S 1.5	34	Porsche KG	Roland Bourel Maurice Slotine	Porsche 356A/4	Porsche 1.3L Flat-4	212
14	S 1.1	41	Just-Emile Vernet	Jean-Marie Dumazer Lucien Campion	VP 166R	Renault 0.8L I4	210

Not Classified

Failed to complete final lap under own power.

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
15	S 3.0	14	Aston Martin Ltd.	Tony Brooks Reg Parnell	Aston Martin DBR1/250	Aston Martin 2.5L I6	246

Did Not Finish

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
16	S 3.0	17	Automobiles Talbot	Louis Rosier Jean Behra	Talbot-Lago Sport 2500	Maserati 2.5L I6	220
17	S 5.0	6	Roger Walshaw	Roger Walshaw Peter Bolton	Jaguar XK140	Jaguar 3.5L I6	209
18	S 3.0	9	Aston Martin Ltd.	Peter Walker Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin DB3S	Aston Martin 2.9L I6	173
19	S 1.5	32	Lotus Engineering	Colin Chapman Herbert MacKay-Fraser	Lotus 11	Coventry Climax 1.5L I4	172
20	S 2.0	22	Jean Lucas	Francois Picard Robert Tappan	Ferrari 500 TR	Ferrari 2.0L I4	137
21	S 1.5	24	Porsche KG	Umberto Maglioli Hans Herrmann	Porsche 550A/4 RS	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4	136
22	S 1.1	37	René Breuil	Jean Py Yves Dommée	RB	Fiat-O.S.C.A. 1.1L I4	116
23	S 3.0	10	Scuderia Ferrari	André Simon Phil Hill	Ferrari 625LM Touring	Ferrari 2.5L I4	107
24	S 2.0	23	Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd.	Richard Stoop Tony Gaze	Frazer Nash Sebring	Bristol 2.0L I6	100
25	S 3.0	16	Automobiles Gordini	Hermano da Silva Ramos André Guelfi	Gordini T23S	Gordini 2.5L I6	90
26	S 1.1	35	Lotus Engineering	Cliff Allison Keith Hall	Lotus 11	Coventry Climax 1.1L I4	89
27	S 3.0	19	Jean-Paul Colas	Serge Nersessian Georges Monneret	Salmson 2300S	Salmson 2.3L I4	80
28	S 3.0	15	Automobiles Gordini	Robert Manzon Jean Guichet	Gordini T15S	Gordini 2.5L I8	80
29	S 2.0	20	Equipe Nationale Belge	Alain de Changy Lucien Bianchi	Ferrari 500 TR	Ferrari 2.0L I4	76
30	S 1.5	29	Automobiles Gordini	André Milhoux Charles de Clareur	Gordini T17S	Gordini 1.5L I6	67
31	S 750	48	Moretti Automobili	Marcel Lauga Jean-Michel Durif	Moretti 750 Gran Sport Zagato	Moretti 0.7L I4	62
32	S 1.5	26	Porsche KG	Max Nathan Helm Glöckler	Porsche 356 Carrera 1500	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4	61
33	S 2.0	21	Pierre Meyrat	Pierre Meyrat Fernand Tavano	Ferrari 500 TR	Ferrari 2.0L I4	61
34	S 3.0	7	Prince Paul Metternich	Prince Paul Metternich Wittigo von Einsiedel	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	Mercedes-Benz 3.0L I6	58
35	S 750	49	Automobiles Panhard	Jean Hémard Pierre Flahaut	Monopole X88	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2	50
36	S 1.5	27	Wolfgang Seidel	Mathieu Hezemans Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche 550A/4 RS	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4	48
37	S 750	50	Automobiles Panhard	Pierre Chancel André Beaulieux	Monopole X88	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2	46
38	S 1.5	28	Gustave Olivier	Claude Storez Helmut Polensky	Porsche 550/4 Spyder	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4	45
39	S 750	52	Automobili Stanguellini	René Philippe Faure Gilbert Foury	Stanguellini 750 Sport	Stanguellini 0.7L I4	36
40	S 1.5	31	Louis Cornet	Louis Cornet Robert Mougin	Maserati 150S	Maserati 1.5L I4	35
41	S 3.0	18	Automobiles Talbot	Geoffredo Zehender Jean Lucas	Talbot-Lago Sport 2500	Maserati 2.5L I6	32
42	S 750	53	Automobili Stanguellini	Pierre Duval Georges Guyot	Stanguellini 750 Sport	Stanguellini 0.7L I4	23
43	S 750	47	Moretti Automobili	Marceau Esculus Francois Guillaud	Moretti 750 Gran Sport	Moretti 0.7L I4	22
44	S 750	51	Louis Héry	Louis Héry Lucien Pailler	Monopole X86	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2	5
45	S 750	42	Automobili O.S.C.A.	Jean Laroche Rémy Radix	O.S.C.A. Sport 750	O.S.C.A. 0.7L I4	4
46	S 5.0	3	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Jack Fairman Ken Wharton	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6	3
47	S 5.0	2	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Paul Frère Desmond Titterington	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6	2
48	S 3.0	11	Scuderia Ferrari	Alfonso de Portago Duncan Hamilton	Ferrari 625LM Touring	Ferrari 2.5L I4	2
49	S 750	44	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Fernand Carpentier Pierre Savary	DB HBR5	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2	2