STORY OF THE DAY: Chinetti’s marathon delivers Ferrari’s first Le Mans victory

On 25–26 June 1949, Luigi Chinetti and Lord Selsdon won the revived 24 Hours of Le Mans in Ferrari 166 MM number 22. The privately entered Touring barchetta covered more than 3,170 kilometres and defeated the larger-engined Delage of Henri Louveau and Juan Jover. It was Ferrari’s first appearance at Le Mans and its first overall victory there, while Chinetti became a three-time winner of the race.

The defining feature of the victory was Chinetti’s extraordinary workload. Concerned about preserving the Ferrari’s clutch and gearbox, he remained at the wheel for more than 22 hours, with Selsdon completing only a comparatively short stint. Fatigue and mechanical restraint shaped the contest as much as outright speed, yet Chinetti maintained the pressure through the closing stages and brought the small two-litre car home ahead of machinery with greater engine capacity.

The 166 MM was built around a tubular-steel chassis and powered by a front-mounted 60-degree V12 of 1,995.02 cc, producing approximately 140 horsepower at 6,600 rpm. Touring’s Superleggera method supported thin aluminium panels on a framework of small-diameter tubes, helping the open barchetta weigh about 650 kilograms dry. Its combination of low mass, compact dimensions and efficient V12 performance made it exceptionally well suited to long, fast road races; the “MM” designation acknowledged the Mille Miglia, which the model had already won in 1949.

Luigi Chinetti was Italian-born and later became a naturalised American, combining exceptional endurance-racing experience with a pivotal commercial relationship to Ferrari. He had already won Le Mans in 1932 and 1934 and became the only driver to win the race both before and after the Second World War. Peter Mitchell-Thomson, Lord Selsdon, was a British peer and gentleman driver who had previously finished fourth at Le Mans in 1939; he owned and entered number 22. Their partnership joined Chinetti’s stamina and Ferrari advocacy to Selsdon’s private backing, making both men central to the victory that established Ferrari at Le Mans.