THE RECORD THAT STOOD 55 YEARS

If records are meant to be broken, why have some stood the test of time?

Because they are that amazing. That unbeatable. And because they are the greatest feats of all time. Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points in a single NBA game (1962). The Miami Dolphins perfect 17-0 NFL season (1972). Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak in MLB (1941). The Montreal Canadians five straight Stanley Cups (1959). Decades later each still stands as a high water mark.

June 20, 1959, at the youthful age of 17 years and 126 days old, another unforgettable mark was established.

Mexican Ricardo Rodriguez became the youngest driver to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans . The record stood for an astonishing 55 years (1959-2014). While most kids where just obtaining a driver’s permit, Rodriguez was barreling down the Mulsanne Straight at over 200 kph against the likes of racing legends Phil Hill, Sterling Moss, Dan Gurney and Jim Clark.

At 4:00 p.m. that day same day, the green flag waved and Ricardo’s co-driver and older brother Pedro ran across the front straight and jumped into his car, as they did in those days to commence the twice-around-the-clock classic. The boys were running an Italian-made OSCA (Officine Specializate Constructzione Automobili Fratelli Mazerati) S750 TN in the 750cc class.

Pedro pitted for the first time on the 14th lap, and then a second time on the 30th lap, a bit more than two hours into the race. Ricardo dove into the cockpit wearing goggles and a simple helmet. And with both hands on the wheel left pit lane and into the record books as the youngest driver to ever contest one of the world’s most important races.

The #51 car ran among the top three in class until 10:30 p.m, when an oil line broke and damaged the engine. However, the accomplishment is so absolute that a 607-page coffee table book The Brothers Rodriguez by Carlos Eduardo Jalife Villalon documents it, along with the complete racing histories of Ricardo and Pedro, each former F1 drivers with 18 Le Mans races and two class wins for Pedro to their collective credit.

Although the brothers’ 1959 effort lasted only a few hours of the 24 hour race, Ricardo teamed up with Belgian André Pilette in 1960 in a Ferrari 250TR with a completely different result: 2nd overall and another record for Ricardo as the youngest driver ever on the podium of the grand race. Historians say Ricardo was upset that Pilette, in the autumn of his career, didn’t want to push harder for the win. After the race Ricardo vowed to only race the 24 Hour with his brother in the future.

Ricardo went on to become the youngest F1 driver and the youngest driver to win an FIA world championship race. Not to be outdone, Pedro participated as a team member in multiple manufacturer’s championships, two driver’s championships, and a win at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1970. He holds the fastest qualifying lap ever recorded at Le Mans with a scintillating time of 3:13.9, and is the owner of the highest top speed ever achieved at Le Mans at 404 kph. Many believe Ricardo would have added additional records to his resume, had his life not been cut short in a 1962 racing accident.

So profound were these achievements that today the first hairpin at Daytona International Speedway is named Rodriguez Hairpin and the race track in Mexico City that has hosted F1, Champ Car and NASCAR events is called Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (Autodrome Brothers Rodriguez).