STORY OF THE DAY: A Private Dino Completes Le Mans

Pierre Laffeach, Gilles Doncieux and Yves Forestier finished seventeenth overall in Dino 246 GT number 46 at the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans. The French private entry completed the race far behind the prototypes but achieved the uncommon feat of bringing a road-derived Dino through the full endurance contest.

Their achievement was completion itself. The compact coupé was not conceived as a frontline Le Mans weapon, yet careful driving and maintenance carried it through day, darkness and morning. The result illustrated the breadth of machinery still accommodated within the event’s class structure.

The Dino 246 GT used a transversely mounted 2.4-litre V6 behind the seats, a tubular chassis and Pininfarina-designed bodywork built by Scaglietti. Its compact dimensions and balanced handling favored corners, while endurance preparation had to compensate for its origins as a production sports car.

Laffeach, Doncieux and Forestier were French privateer drivers rather than factory stars. Sharing the car among three drivers distributed the physical burden and reduced mechanical abuse. Their names matter here because collective restraint, not individual heroics, allowed an unusual Dino entry to reach the finish.