Frank Charles Clement (15 June 1886 – 15 February 1970) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

racing driver who, along with Canadian

John Duff John Francis Duff (January 17, 1895 – January 8, 1958) was a Canadian racecar driver who won many races and has been inducted in the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. He was one of only two Canadians who raced and won on England’s famous Br ...

, won the

1924 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1924 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 2nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14 and 15 June 1924. It was the second part of three consecutive annual races for the Rudge-Whitworth Triennial Cup, as well simultaneously being the first race ...

Career

One of the "

Bentley Boys The Bentley Boys were a group of wealthy British motorists who drove Bentley sports cars to victory in the 1920s and kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive. In 1925, as the marque foundered, Bentley Boy Woolf Barnato bought the ...

", Clement was recruited by W.O. Bentley as a test driver for Bentley Motors. He was chosen by the company to drive in the inaugural

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

in with John Duff in Duff's privately entered car. The only British team in the event, the pair finished the race in fourth after fighting for the lead for much of the race. The following year Duff returned with his private Bentley and the two won the race outright over several Lorraine-Dietrichs and

Chenard-Walcker Chenard-Walcker, also known as Chenard & Walcker, was a French automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer from 1898 to 1946. Chenard-Walcker then designed and manufactured trucks marketed via Peugeot sales channels until the 1970s. The facto ...

s. In a bid to win the Rudge-Whitworth Triennial Cup, the two drivers remained paired in , and Bentley offered more support by adding a second car to the team. However, their car would fail halfway through the event and would not be able to finish. Bentley improved to a three car team for 1926, and Clement was assigned to co-drive with George Duller, although once again the car was not able to finish. Over the next two years, although Bentley won Le Mans two more times, Clement's car still was unable to finish the endurance event. In Clement once again was able to last the entire event as Bentley dominated, earning the top four finishing positions. Clement ran his final Le Mans in , finishing in second place, before Bentley chose not to continue at Le Mans the following year.

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

External links

Frank Clement
at ''racingsportscars.com''. 1886 births 1970 deaths Bentley Boys English racing drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers Royal Engineers soldiers {{England-autoracing-bio-stub