Gendebien, endurance ace

Olivier Gendebien at the wheel of his Ferrari 250 TR/59 which he shared with Phil Hill, during the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans. Magnificent photo above signed Yves Debraine, on which we can perfectly distinguish the gaze and concentration of the Belgian driver.

Gendebien and Hill battled for 20 hours at the front when the V12 of their Ferrari 250 TR/59 overheated and forced them to retire, victory went to the Aston Martin DBR1/300 of Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby.

Olivier Gendebien (1924-1998) was a Belgian driver who raced in Formula 1 (two podiums) from 1955 to 1961. Considered one of the best endurance drivers in history, Gendebien won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times for Ferrari, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Targa Florio three times each.