Automobile Club de l'Ouest

Last updated
Automobile Club de l'Ouest
AbbreviationACO
Formation1906 [1]
Headquarters Circuit de la Sarthe
Location
Region served
International
President
Pierre Fillon [2]
Associate President
  • Patrick Gruau
  • Marie Alvarez-Garzon
  • Dominique Foussier
  • Gilles Huttepain
[3]
Secretary
François Bourdin [4]
Staff
400 [5]
Website lemans.org

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (English: Automobile Club of the West), sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organising entity behind the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race. The ACO also lobbies on behalf of French drivers on such issues as road building and maintenance, the availability of driving schools and road safety classes, and the incorporation of technical innovations into new vehicles. It also runs a roadside assistance service for its members. [6]

Contents

History

The ACO's history begins with the Automobile Club de la Sarthe, the ancestor of today's ACO, which was founded in the town of Le Mans. In 1906 that group included Amédée Bollée and Paul Jamin, winner of the 1897 Paris-Dieppe race in a Léon Bollée tricar. [7] With the help of the larger Automobile Club de France they organised a race on local public roads, on a 65-mile triangular course connecting Le Mans with Saint-Calais and La Ferté-Bernard. The 12-lap race, titled the Grand Prix de l'ACF, was held over two days and won by Ferenc Szisz driving a Renault, [8] This race, the first Grand Prix, would eventually become the French Grand Prix.

After World War I, the ACO turned its attention to designing a shorter circuit on public roads to the south of the city. The organisation's chief secretary Georges Durand, together with magazine editor Charles Faroux of La Vie Automobile and tyre manufacturer Emile Coquille, came up with the idea for a 24-hour race. The first Le Mans 24 Hours was held on 26 May 1923. [9] The very first entry was lodged with the ACO by John Duff on a Bentley. [10] [11]

World War Two and aftermath

The Le Mans circuit was occupied by the Royal Air Force in 1940 and then by the Germans at the end of that year. Le Mans was liberated in August, 1944, but it was almost five years before the 24 Hours took place again.

Following the war, the grounds of the ACO and the circuit were in ruins, bombed by the Allies and further destroyed by the Germans. The ACO set about the task of reconstruction, aided by Government Minister and Sarthe députée Christian Pineau who provided the first millions. In addition the ACO launched a loan. [12] In 1946 the British Racing Drivers' Club opened a "Le Mans Fund" for the benefit of the ACO, raising a grand total of £358 and 11 shillings, to assist with the rehabilitation of the facilities at the Le Mans circuit. [13]

Rebuilding of the circuit started on February 7, 1949, and the first post-war event at Le Mans was held on 25–26 June of that year. [14] Pineau, standing beside Charles Faroux, gave the starting signal. [15] Two new spectator stands were named for racing drivers and resistance fighters Robert Benoist [16] and Jean-Pierre Wimille. [17]

1955 Le Mans disaster

During the ACO's 24 Hours of Le Mans event in 1955, an accident occurred which killed 84 people, regarded as the worst accident in motorsport history. It led to many actions by the ACO to subsequently change buildings and the procedures used at the circuit, as well as to redesign the pit lane and front stretch where the accident occurred. It also led to a change of ACO rules for the type of cars permitted in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the following years, as well as applying a fuel-consumption formula. [18]

Presidents

Racing

The 1967 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on the Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, on July 2, 1967. Motor Sport called it "The Grand Prix of the Car Parks." It was an innovation not repeated. [20]

The ACO is responsible as a ruling body for race series, specifically sportscar series. The ACO has run or backed the following races or race series:

Current


Former

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 24 Hours of Le Mans</span> 76th 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 24 Hours of Le Mans</span> 77th 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIA World Endurance Championship</span> Auto racing championship held worldwide

The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercontinental Le Mans Cup which began in 2010 and is the first endurance series of world championship status since the demise of the World Sportscar Championship at the end of 1992. The World Endurance Championship name was previously used by the FIA from 1981 to 1985.

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The 2013 Asian Le Mans Series was the second season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's Asian Le Mans Series endurance auto racing championship. The series was initially launched in 2009 at the 1000 km of Okayama, but did not resume the following year. The project was reinitialized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) in 2012, with the Chinese S2M Group serving as the series promoter and TS Motorsport serving as organizer. It is the fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans-based series created by the ACO, following the American Le Mans Series, European Le Mans Series, and FIA World Endurance Championship. The four event season began in Inje, South Korea on 4 August and ended in Selangor, Malaysia on 8 December 2013.

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The LMP3 Cup Championship is a British-based sports car racing endurance series, endorsed by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest. The championship is designed as an initial step on the ladder to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as providing further opportunities for teams to run the increasingly popular LMP3 specification cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 European Le Mans Series</span>

The 2018 European Le Mans Series was the fifteenth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's (ACO) European Le Mans Series. The six-event season began at Circuit Paul Ricard on 15 April and finished at Algarve International Circuit on 28 October. The series is open to Le Mans Prototypes, divided into the LMP2 and LMP3 classes, and grand tourer-style racing cars in the LMGTE class.

Michel Cosson was a French businessman. He was Director-General of Les Mutuelles du Mans Assurances from 1986 to 1992 and President of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) from 1992 to 2003. A prominent figure in motor racing, he was known for aiding the financial recovery of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 1990s and the creation of similar competitions abroad.

References

  1. ↑ "Who We Are | ACO - Automobile Club de l'Ouest". lemans.org. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  2. ↑ "Executive Committee". lemans.org. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  3. ↑ "Executive Committee". lemans.org. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  4. ↑ "Executive Committee". lemans.org. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  5. ↑ "Automobile Club de l'Ouest | LinkedIn". fr.linkedin.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  6. ↑ "Who We Are | ACO - Automobile Club de l'Ouest". lemans.org. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  7. ↑ Official Program, 24 Heures du Mans, 13–14 June 2009, Page 97.
  8. ↑ Joe Saward, The World Atlas of Motor Racing, Page 35, Hamlyn, 1989.
  9. ↑ C. Clutton & J. Stanford, The Vintage Motor Car, Page 201, B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 1961.
  10. ↑ Georges Fraichard, The Le Mans Story, Page 121, The Sportsman's Book Club, 1956.
  11. ↑ "History | ACO - Automobile Club de l'Ouest". lemans.org. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  12. ↑ Georges Fraichard, The Le Mans Story, Page 58, The Sportsman's Book Club, 1956.
  13. ↑ Motor Sport, June 1946, Page 121; See also: Motor Sport, July 1946, Page 147; Motor Sport, September 1946, Page 201.
  14. ↑ Motor Sport, July 1949, Pages 270-271, 274-276.
  15. ↑ Georges Fraichard, The Le Mans Story, Page 73, The Sportsman's Book Club, 1956.
  16. ↑ Motor Sport, August 1945, Page 156; Motor Sport, October 1945, Page 216.
  17. ↑ Motor Sport, March 1949, Page 69.
  18. ↑ Motor Year Book 1957, Temple Press, Pages 166-171.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Pierre Fillon Eighth president of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest - automobilsport.com". www.automobilsport.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2012. Retrieved 2023-09-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  20. ↑ Motor Sport, July 1967, Pages 722, 724-725. See also cover photograph.


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