An Aston at Le Mans

Members of the Aston Martin team gather next to a somewhat experimental DB3 coupé which will be driven by Reg Parnell and Eric Thompson at Le Mans starting on June 14, 1952. This is actually a DB3 roadster which has been fitted with a hardtop in an attempt to make it more streamlined with a higher top speed. This was important for Aston Martin as they suffered from a half liter displacement disadvantage to the Jaguars. With a resulting power deficit, trying to be more aerodynamically efficient might help them keep pace with the Jaguars on the Mulsanne Straight. The coupé and the team members are in front of La Domaine de Beauchamps, a hotel in an old chateau, which served as Aston’s team headquarters before the race.

Behind the race car we can see the rear views of two DB2 roadsters which have been driven out to Le Mans by team members to serve as local transportation. Behind the DB3, left to right, are Forrest Lycett, a founder of the Bentley Drivers Club. Angela Brown, the daughter of Aston Martin owner David Brown, Rodney Walkerly, the tall man in the dark blazer who wrote for The Motor, Betty Parnell, standing in front of her husband Reg and Eric Thompson.

In the race this DB3 coupé, seen at the left in the Dunlop Curve, joined two works Aston DB3 roadsters  in failing to reach the finish, in the coupé’s case after only ten laps due to a failed final drive which also failed in one of the roadsters. There were also two privately entered DB2 roadsters, one of which would finish seventh. After Le Mans Astons decided that their problems were both a bad lot of final drive gears (specially produced for Le Mans) and also a mis-design in the connecting rods of the 2,9 liter version of the Aston then normal 2.6 liter unit.

Photos by Louis Klemantaski ©The Klemantaski Collection – http://www.klemcoll.com

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Tags: Aston Martin, David Brown, klemcoll, Le Mans