A Lap of LeMans, in 1959, in a Jaguar. Bliss!

By Deartháir Feb 11, 2010

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DulNn2tlTFs[/youtube]
Once again, The Incomparable Mr. Scroggs has sent along a find from the Tube of You. Simply put, it is a trip around the Circuit de La Sarthe with Mike Hawthorn in a Jaguar D-type prior to the race. I’m not going to spoil it by commenting any further; but it is worth watching, if only for the sheer nostalgia of it. Imagine, living in a time before the invention of colour! It must have been drab, living in a black-and-white world, but somehow they managed.

0 thoughts on “A Lap of LeMans, in 1959, in a Jaguar. Bliss!”
  1. I love what he says just after going through Tertre Rouge. It is interesting that he calls it "white house" instead of Maison Blanche. Thanks Scroggs for showing me video I had not seen before. My, the trees have grown haven't they? The race this year is June 12. Let's get it added to the Hooniversal calendar.

  2. I lift a glass to Mr. Hawthorne. Class and talent, gone too soon. Amazing footage, seeing a prototype testing at speed – IN REGULAR TRAFFIC. No barriers, no run off areas, just a nice cotton jumpsuit, some goggles, and a helmet that would help you much if you were thrown off a horse.
    Josh, I believe the Bentley Boys all called it White House, too.

  3. I love the shots of Mike Hawthorn with that honking big microphone with a big boxy windprotector strapped to his face. He must have been wired up to a massive battery to power that mic and the camera and sound equipment. And he put up with that much discomfort and fuss just to take all of us car nuts, then and now, around the circuit narrated by an expert on it. (I also love the impeccably British pronunciation of JAG-you-ahr.)

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