We Review “The Yanks at Le Mans, 1980-1999”

Review by Pete Vack

A Tragic Death and a New Beginning

After completing his landmark three volume “Twice Around the Clock, The Yanks at Le Mans,” covering the years 1923 to 1979, Tim Considine was well into writing and researching Volumes IV and V, creating a history of Le Mans up to the year 1999 when he suddenly died on March 3, 2022. But the last two volumes lay unfinished. While Considine was a one-man band, a writer, historian, publisher, photographer, project manager, interviewer and fact checker, he was gone. Who could possibly replace him and help complete his magnum opus?

Tim’s wife Willie didn’t know what would happen. “His passing was devastating for our family and still hard to process. I never thought that Tim’s dream to finish the books would come true, but I should have realized that Jodi Ellis would never have let that happen.”

Jodi Ellis, who had done the layout for the first three volumes, had established highly collaborative working relationship with Tim, doing much more than just the layout. Ellis wrote, “It felt far too soon to think about the books, but I told Willie I’d love to see the volumes through to completion. I was so pleased when she agreed to move forward. Tim had done much of that work already, including marking his favorite images from a vast collection of photographers. But there was so much work yet to be done.

“When a project like this requires an exceptional talent, I always think of John Nikas. He’s a dear friend and an extraordinarily gifted writer. Without hesitation, John jumped on board, offering not just his expertise, but his invaluable support. If you haven’t read his books, I highly recommend you do so – they’re brilliant. John could write the phone book and make it an award winner.

“John soon gathered a team of talented individuals, starting with Randy Leffingwell and Sean Cridland, both award-winning authors who immediately agreed to volunteer their time, asking for nothing in return. We were also lucky to have Dave Davies on board, who brought his expertise in creating the end-of-chapter tables for these volumes, just as he had in Volumes I-III. Also coming in with help were Neil Smith (author of “On The Prowl-The Definitive History of the Walkinshaw Jaguar Sports Car Team“) and Rodger Attaway, who took on many huge tasks to complete the books. With their contributions, we had an incredible plan in place.”

In a very short amount of time, Nikas, Ellis and the team produced a cohesive, comprehensive two volume work; Volume IV covers 1980-1989, Volume V from 1990 to 1999. The look, the style, the layout are very similar to Considine’s previous work. It is a remarkable achievement and Tim, I’m sure, would have been proud.

Interviews

All five volumes of The Yanks at Le Mans are exemplary because of the use of first person, primary source interviews with the participants, drivers, mechanics, team principles, and often designers or engineers. As well as being entertaining and often hilarious, these quotes constitute a unique and valuable historical record.

Memory is of course not infallible, and often the subjects were recalling events that occurred 50 years in the past. Some of their statements can be fact checked against other sources, some cannot, but a good part of the historian’s job is to verify interview information and fact check whereever possible.

The first few years of Yanks had to rely on secondhand reports, interviews, and books. With Volume I, 1923-1959, Considine had to rely on the few quotes that could be found in journals, newspapers and magazines. But by 1952, first John Fitch, and then Phil Hill, Ed Hugus, Bruce Kessler, Carroll Shelby and others were interviewed by the author.

Despite changes in the track, the regulations, the tremendous technological advancements of the race cars, Tim kept on interviewing drivers and catching the human element, drama, ego, hubris and bravery of the drivers. Human behavior doesn’t change much. The quotes from the 1990s are as interesting and impactful as those from the 1950s.

As with the first three volumes, books, IV and V are full of interesting, personal, poignant, sometimes tragic stories told by those who were there. We were not aware of the pre-race road accident in 1980 that effectively ended the career of Peter “Perfect” Gregg, who took his own life six months later. A common theme repeated comments about driving a slower car and having the faster cars pass in the Porsche Curves. “They just drive around both sides of you…They were really hauling ass through there.” (Jay Cochran, 1993). And racing in the rain, at night, when vision and traction are very poor.

With each and every 24 hours of Le Mans and virtually every lap, there are new bits of information, different perspectives, insider’s stories not told elsewhere. And for the most part, these are recollections recorded before the onset of old age, or simply the passing of time. They are still fresh.

But it’s not all quotes by any means. Each chapter tracks how the 24 hours unfolds, the quotes adding to the narrative. A good example is Sean Cridland’s excellent chapter on the 1995 race, which saw Mario Andretti narrowly lose the race due to a series of unnecessary pit stops (one to wash the car so that the sponsors logos could be seen at the finish!). And at the end of each race chapter are the results page, listing all entries and placings, not just the U.S. drivers or teams.

The Appendices and additional chapters

A great text with hundreds of interviews, the pages filled with outstanding photography, and now the icing on the cake. What is often a brief afterthought becomes a full supporting member absolutely essential to the work. Here are the postscripts, memorials, bibliography, author biographies, index, rule changes and classes, circuit diagrams, and a listing of all the interview sources. Formally, here are the appendices:

I. Citations
II. Participants
III. Driver histories
IV. Car and engine records
V. Progression by the hour

Twenty years of Le Mans history is a lot to absorb. To keep one sane, the Appendices are a big help. The first Appendix is our favorite. These are the Citations, which lists the sources for each quote, chapter by chapter. Almost all until 1995 were as told to Considine. The next Appendix lists the participants by year, number of drivers, names, and how they placed overall. Need help with a driver? Appendix III has a driver history of all U.S. participants from 1923 to 1999 in alphabetical order. It includes birth and death dates, number of entries at Le Mans, the year, the car, and the results. Appendix IV is a list of car and engine records, but only for that volume. Do you want to know how your favorite U.S. team, car or driver did hour by hour? That is provided in Appendix V, Progression by Hour, with a chart and listing of each U.S. car, team or driver showing their placings, hour by hour.

Not an Appendix, but also useful is a chapter entitled Rule Changes & Classes, a year by year look at the changing and confusing FIA and ACO rules and classes. A must have! This is accompanied by maps of the Sarthe circuit, and how it changed from 1970 to 1999, the most significant being the addition of two chicanes on the Mulsanne Straight in 1990. This is the data that supports the hundreds of personal stories and even more photos that accompany those quote. Quite amazing.

We also appreciate the full index, with entries for Cars, People and Teams. Can’t ask for anything more!

One caveat is that all information, text, interviews and data are focused on American teams, or American drivers, or American cars. This is a big basket but amply covers the subject. It is going to make it tough for others…say the British and French…to follow suite with their own chronicles of La Sarthe. And that may leave the Americans with the last word.

Scenes from La Sarthe, Volumes IV-V

The big guys don’t always get all the press. Here is the team of Mark Hutchins and Pierre Honegger, who put together this Mazda RX7 on a shoestring budget in the Holman-Moody workshop and the Mazda became the first car with a rotary engine to officially finish at Le Mans, placing 21st. The book gave them a full sidebar of two pages and many photos.

But if you want Americans at Le Mans, no entry was more American than this Camaro-paneled NASCAR Chevy with a tubular chassis and a 400 hp engine. It was driven by Cale Yarborough, Billy Hagan and Bill Cooper. Right before Le Mans, in conjunction with the U.S.O., the team and car toured several Army bases in Europe to great applause. But Yarborough was amazed when he drove the Mulsanne Straight. “There’s a hotel down there with a patio right next to the guardrail, people sitting at little round tables under big umbrellas and all. And you go past there at 200 and something mph, just inches from their noses, and they raise a toast to you!…”

Pat Bedard, who wrote for Car and Driver, also drove at Le Mans, hustling the 924 Porsche Carrera along with Paul Miller and Manfred Schurti. They led the race despite a broken throw out arm which cause a long pit stop. Said Bedard, “How’s about that for a story of bad luck? You’re leading your class and Le Mans and your clutch throwout arm breaks. They say ‘Go to sleep, this is going to take a while!'” But fixed and still leading, it lost a wheel and eventually retired.

Victory for the Al Holbert/Hurley Haywood/Vern Schuppan Porsche 956, but just barely. At the finish Holbert was only a lap behind the Derek Bell/Jacky Ickx Porche 956 when the motor seized. Remembers Haywood, “But Al was able to get the thing back into second gear, pop the clutch. Broke the engine loose again and he was able to putter, really, at 20 mph to the start-finish line.”

Price Cobb’s first drive at Le Mans was in this Porsche 956B in 1986. He finished 9th with Dyson and Baldi. “When I was a kid and discovering road racing, Le Mans was the race. And of course, being a punk kid from Texas–you had Texans like Shelby and Jim Hall and Foyt racing at Le Mans…everything I did in my life was to get to Le Mans.”

Lyn St. James: “So, I’m on a warmup lap and it is really a long lap. And I’m going down the Mulsanne probably at 60 percent so I can check [things out on the car]. I get to the hairpin, and the brake pedal falls off!”

Ferraris were sparse at Le Mans in those years. Here is an example of “The Yanks at Le Mans” covering U.S. teams, no matter what car or driver. This is the Momo Ferrari 333 SP, Gianpiero Moretti driving, adding color and sound to the race, finishing 6th overall. The Italian Momo accessory company was sold to an American company in 1996, making it an American team.

Tommy Archer in the Chrysler Viper GTS had a frustrating time with the French Team Oreca. “There wasn’t a lot of communication…we were driving like mad to make up for lost time and no one on the radio would tell me if we were making up the laps.” Still, Archer finished 12th overall and second in class.

The Crowd Hollers for More

Will there be more? Yes, we are told that the ‘blue set’ (the first had a red cover, the second white) will cover the years 2000-2023, completing 100 years at Le Mans. This is a huge undertaking, and will consist of three volumes with hundreds of interviews. Hopefully it will be published by 2027.