The preparation for an endurance race such as Le Mans is all-important. Drivers need to be at the peak of physical fitness with a clear head and razor-sharp reactions. What they do not need is a hangover, which is why the triumphant 1953 drive of Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton has entered Jaguar folklore. Following the 1952 débâcle at Le Mans, Jaguar was anxious to make amends the following year. And this time it boasted an innovation which worked – disc brakes. The inclusion of these at the expense of the traditional drum gave the Jaguar drivers a crucial advantage, allowing them to brake later into corners. The team, which had won in 1951 with Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead, entered three works C-types – to be driven by Walker and Stirling Moss, Whitehead and Jimmy Stewart, and, as reserves, Rolt and Hamilton. The last-named pair would only be able to race if one of the 60 accepted starters dropped out beforehand. Rolt and Hamilton waited more in hope than expectation but by the Friday evening nobody had withdrawn. They were duly informed that their services would not be required.
So they did what most sportsmen would have done in such circumstances – they went out and got drunk … very drunk. Rolt, a former army officer, and Hamilton, an ex-fighter pilot and generally larger-than-life character, drowned their sorrows with a vengeance, and by the early hours of Saturday morning they were suitably mellow. It was then that Jaguar team manager ‘Lofty’ England finally caught up with them, sitting on a pavement, and informed them that a team had made a late withdrawal from the 24-Hour Race. They were in the race after all. The news that in just over 12 hours’ time they would be haring around Le Mans at 100mph (160.9km/h) should have had an instant sobering effect, but so much alcohol had been consumed that they were still feeling decidedly the worse for wear on the Saturday afternoon. Neither relished the prospect of taking the first stint at the wheel so they tossed a coin to decide who would not start. Rolt lost the toss.
Fortunately the fresh air soon cleared their hangovers and after an hour Rolt found himself in third place behind Moss/Walker and the Ferrari 375MM of Luigi Villoresi and Alberto Ascari. During the second hour Moss made two stops to clear a blocked fuel pipe, thereby dropping to twenty-first and allowing Villoresi to take the lead. But Rolt responded to the challenge by passing the Ferrari and setting a new lap record at 4min 30sec (115mph/185.1km/h), over ten seconds faster than Ascari had gone the previous year. Ascari’s reply was equally emphatic, lowering the lap record to 4min 27.4sec and instigating a battle with the Jaguar which would last right through the night. But the Jaguar’s superior braking always gave it the upper hand and by dawn on Sunday it had a two-lap advantage. After both cars had made routine stops around 8.30a.m., the Ferrari was heard to have a slipping clutch. Within two hours it had retired, leaving the way clear for Rolt and Hamilton to proceed to an unlikely win.
Although tired following their Friday night excesses, they managed to drive 2,540 miles (4,088km) at an average speed of 105⅞mph (170.3km/h) – the first time a Le Mans winner’s speed had topped 100mph (160.9km/h). In fact the first seven cars home all averaged over 100mph. Moss and Walker fought their way back up the field to finish second, with Whitehead and Stewart fourth behind a Chrysler-engined 5.5-litre Cunningham.
As the Jaguar team toasted its success, two of its number were observed celebrating rather more gingerly than usual.