| |||
The 1931 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 9th Grand Prix of Endurance that took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 13 and 14 June 1931.
With the demise of Bentley, the favourite for an outright victory was split between the Bugatti and Alfa Romeo works teams, with a lone privateer Mercedes as an outside chance. Once again it was one of the smaller fields, with only 26 starters.
At the start of the race it was the Mercedes setting the pace from the Bugattis of Chiron and Divo. But tyre-wear was a big issue, with many cars suffering tyre blowouts and punctures. This left Marinoni leading in the works Alfa. Coming up to the first refuelling stops, the rear tyre on Maurice Rost's Bugatti blew out at full speed on the Mulsanne Straight. Rost lost control of the car and went through a fence, hitting three spectators, killing one. When more tyre issues plagued Chiron's car, the Bugatti team withdrew their remaining two cars. Tyre troubles had also cost the Mercedes team eight laps.
The Alfa Romeo of British privateers Howe and Birkin had been having a reliable race. As others were delayed they caught them up and took the lead after midnight. At 2.30am a sudden thunderstorm swept the track. Zehender went off at Indianapolis doing damage that eventually forced the works Alfa's retirement in the morning. The Talbots of the British Fox & Nicholl team were running third and fourth with the Mercedes closing in again. Ivanowski was able to source some Dunlop tyres. He and Stoffel were able to pick up their pace, and when the leading Talbot was waylaid in the morning by chassis damage, the Mercedes was up to second by noon.
At the finish, Howe and Birkin won by seven laps from the Mercedes and the remaining Talbot. This was the first win at Le Mans for an Italian car, and in a record-breaking run, they claimed all three trophies – including the Index and Biennial Cup – and broke the 3000km distance for the first time. Only six cars were classified, which has been the lowest ever number of finishers in the 24-Hour race.