 Official logo of L'Automobile Club de l'Ouest | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | ACO |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1906[1] |
| Headquarters | Circuit de la Sarthe |
| Location |
|
Region served | International |
President | Pierre Fillon[2] |
Associate President |
|
Secretary | François Bourdin[2] |
| Staff | 400[3] |
| Website | lemans.org |
TheAutomobile Club de l'Ouest (English:Automobile Club of the West), sometimes abbreviated toACO, is the largestautomotive group inFrance. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organising entity behind the annual24 Hours of Le Mans race. The ACO also lobbies on behalf of French drivers on such issues as road building and maintenance, the availability of driving schools and road safety classes, and the incorporation of technical innovations into new vehicles. It also runs aroadside assistance service for its members.[1]
The ACO's history begins with the Automobile Club de la Sarthe, the ancestor of today's ACO, which was founded in the town ofLe Mans. In 1906 that group includedAmédée Bollée and Paul Jamin, winner of the 1897 Paris-Dieppe race in aLéon Bollée tricar.[4] With the help of the largerAutomobile Club de France they organised a race on local public roads, on a 65-mile triangular course connecting Le Mans withSaint-Calais andLa Ferté-Bernard. The 12-lap race, titled the Grand Prix de l'ACF, was held over two days and won byFerenc Szisz driving aRenault,[5] This race, the firstGrand Prix, would eventually become theFrench Grand Prix.
AfterWorld War I, the ACO turned its attention to designing a shorter circuit on public roads to the south of the city. The organisation's chief secretaryGeorges Durand, together with magazine editorCharles Faroux ofLa Vie Automobile andtyre manufacturerEmile Coquille, came up with the idea for a 24-hour race. The first 24 Hours of Le Mans was held on 26 May 1923.[6] The very first entry was lodged with the ACO byJohn Duff on a Bentley.[7][8]
The Le Mans circuit was occupied by theRoyal Air Force in 1940 and then by the Germans at the end of that year. Le Mans was liberated in August, 1944, but it was almost five years before the 24 Hours took place again.
Following the war, the grounds of the ACO and the circuit were in ruins, bombed by the Allies and further destroyed by the Germans. The ACO set about the task of reconstruction, aided by Government Minister andSarthedéputéeChristian Pineau who provided the first millions. In addition the ACO launched a loan.[9] In 1946 theBritish Racing Drivers' Club opened a "Le Mans Fund" for the benefit of the ACO, raising a grand total of £358 and 11 shillings, to assist with the rehabilitation of the facilities at the Le Mans circuit.[10]
Rebuilding of the circuit started on February 7, 1949, and the first post-war event at Le Mans was held on 25–26 June of that year.[11] Pineau, standing beside Charles Faroux, gave the starting signal.[12] Two new spectator stands were named for racing drivers and resistance fightersRobert Benoist[13] andJean-Pierre Wimille.[14]
During the ACO's 24 Hours of Le Mans event in 1955, an accident occurred which killed 84 people, regarded as the worst accident in motorsport history. It led to many actions by the ACO to subsequently change buildings and the procedures used at the circuit, as well as to redesign the pit lane and front stretch where the accident occurred. It also led to a change of ACO rules for the type of cars permitted in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the following years, as well as applying a fuel-consumption formula.[15]
The1967 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on the Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, on July 2, 1967.Motor Sport called it "The Grand Prix of the Car Parks." It was an innovation not repeated.[17]
The ACO is responsible as a ruling body for race series, specifically sportscar series. The ACO has run or backed the following races or race series:
Current
Former
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
