Stanley DICKENS

A Swedish driver

The only snag in a decade where German manufacturers, especially Porsche, have been head and shoulders above others was Jaguar's victory in front of fifty thousand ecstatic British fans in 1988. The Swiss-German team Sauber-Mercedes is the favourite to provide the feline with the answer in 1989.

Mercedes’s relationship with the Le Mans 24 Hours is tumultuous. It had participated before the war in the 1930 24 Hours race with national champion Rudolf Caracciola. It returned 22 years later and achieved a masterful double. Pierre Levegh's Mercedes was involved in the fatal accident of 1955, three years later. The manufacturer is retiring overnight and will no longer return to the 24 Hours race.

1989 was therefore the year of a real comeback. That year, Sauber-Mercedes formed part of the heritage of the "silver arrows" and achieved a new double with their beautiful metallic dress.

Stanley Dickens is the first Swedish driver to have his name on the list of winners at the Le Mans 24 Hours thanks to his victory in 1989 alongside Jochen Mass and Manuel Reuter. Stanley Dickens finished the event three times, including two podium finishes having taken part in the Le Mans 24 Hours on seven occasions. He had already finished in third place in 1988, the year before his victory. 

Stanley Dickens, Jochen Mass and Manuel Reuter were among the only three-way winning crew for which each driver holds an individual plaque. You can explore these three plaques along Avenue Leclerc.

1989 was also a great year for railway history at Le Mans. Make way for speed with the introduction of the Paris-Le Mans line of the TGV Atlantique. A round trip can be done in under two hours!