Exactly 87 years ago, on May 27, 1923, Michelin tyres secured the top prize in the first ever Le Mans 24 Hours, and even enjoyed a one-two success with a brace of Chenard & Walckers.

The idea of organising a 24-hour race arose from a conversation between three friends at the 1922 French Motor which took place under the glass dome of the Grand Palais in Paris.

The inaugural Grand Prix d’Endurance de 24 heures started on May 26, 1923, and employed a 17km circuit (Le Circuit de la Sarthe) in the immediate vicinity of the French city Le Mans. Despite deplorable weather conditions, the first event proved an immense success and attracted an entry of 15 teams and 33 cars. The field featured the fastest cars of the day, from the Chenard & Walcker Sport, and Bentley 3-litre Sport, to the Bignan Desmo Sport, the Excelsior Albert 1er and the Bugatti Brescia, etc.

Exactly 30 cars came through the torrential rain to cross the finish line on May 27, 1923. Victory went to the N°9 Chenard & Walcker Sport of André Lagache and René Léonard who completed 128 laps to cover 2,209km at an average speed of 92kph. They finished ahead of the similar car of Raoul Bachmann and Christian d’Auvergne. Both these three-litre cars were competing on Michelin tyres.

Having invented the first removable, repairable cycle tyre in 1891, Michelin innovated once more in 1923 with a new low-pressure tyre that was capable of covering 15,000km. In 1935, Chenard & Walcker was bought out by La Société des Usines Chausson, a subsidiary of Peugeot…

24 Hours of Le Mans, Michelin