Chenard & Walcker

Chenard & Walcker holds a place that no one can ever take away: that of the very first winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. On 26 and 27 May 1923, in the inaugural edition of what would become the world's greatest endurance race, it was a Chenard & Walcker Sport that crossed the line in front, driven by André Lagache and René Léonard. Founded at the end of the nineteenth century by Ernest Chenard and Henri Walcker, the company, based at Gennevilliers near Paris, was then among France's leading carmakers. For the first Le Mans, run in driving rain interrupted by hail on roads still largely without modern surfacing, the marque fielded robust, well-prepared 3-litre Sports. Lagache and Léonard completed the race in the lead, and the marque crowned its triumph by placing its second car, that of Raoul Bachmann and Christian Dauvergne, in second position: the first Le Mans in history ended in a Chenard & Walcker one-two. The company continued racing through the 1920s, distinguishing itself in particular with its daring aerodynamic small-capacity "tanks", pioneers of an approach endurance racing would rediscover again and again: efficiency over brute force. But the crisis of the 1930s hit the firm hard; it lost its independence, retreated into commercial vehicles, and gradually disappeared after the Second World War. Though the marque is gone, its Le Mans legacy is eternal. Every history of the 24 Hours begins with its name; every list of winners opens with Lagache and Léonard. In the 24 Hours museum as in the race's collective memory, the number 9 Chenard & Walcker Sport of 1923 remains the foundation stone of a monument of world sport — the car that won Le Mans first. A hundred years on, that distinction has lost none of its power: of all the names ever engraved on the roll of honour, Chenard & Walcker's will always come first.

• Country : FRA
• Founded : 1898
• Le Mans wins : 1
• First win : 1923
• Last win : 1923