1937 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 14th Grand Prix of Endurance. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 19 and 20 June 1937. The race was won by Jean-Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist in Roger Labric's works-supported Bugatti team, in one of the streamlined new Type 57G cars, at a record pace and exceeding 2000 miles in the race for the first time.

The race was also notable for one of the most serious accidents in the race's history. An hour into the race, French driver René Kippeurt lost control of his Bugatti tourer at the notorious Maison Blanche corner. His car slammed into the roadside bank and rolled, throwing the driver onto the circuit. Coming around the blind corner, cars took desperate evasive actions to avoid the wreck and the unconscious driver. Ten other cars were involved, including the Frazer Nash of Pat Fairfield which rammed the stationary Bugatti and was then hit itself. Kippeurt died at the scene and five others were taken to hospital with Fairfield dying the next day from his injuries. For the first time, the race was stopped to allow the wreckage to be cleared.

With Sommer out after over-revving his gearbox avoiding the accident, it left a clear path for the French cars. After three hours, Wimille had a 2-lap lead. A short, sharp squall briefly slowed everyone down, but Wimille and Benoist were able to cruise to an easy outright victory by a margin of 100km, that also gave them the Index of Performance prize. French cars took the top four places, with the 1.5-class winning Aston Martin in fifth and German 2-litre Adler in sixth.