Jager's 'Do I Really Need This One?' 2023 Additions

Maybe this is more to Jeff's tastes from the other end of the British Racing Green spectrum. I’ve had IXO’s 1929 Le Mans winning Bentley for many years and it’s a very nice model, but as recent acquisitions have been slow, I decided to treat myself to an upgrade and get one of Spark’s versions before they all disappeared.

By 1929, the global recession was already hitting the automotive-industry hard and only 26 cars made it to the start-line for the seventh running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. There was also a lack of direct manufacturer support with more privateer entries. The entry list was also reduced to just three nations with cars only from France, Great Britain and the United States.

One manufacturer who didn’t have to worry about the global recession was Bentley thanks to the patronage of Woolf ‘Babe’ Barnato, the son of a billionaire whose wealth had come via numerous South African diamond and gold mines. However it wasn’t all plain sailing and Barnato was forced to take legal action to unlock his inheritance, but once he did, he emerged as one of the UK’s richest people in the 1920’s. A supreme sportsman, Barnato excelled at golf, cricket, shooting, swimming, boxing, power boat racing and motor car racing, and through the latter became a personal friend of both Sir Malcolm Campbell and Ettore Bugatti.

Barnato raced a variety of machinery but did not buy a Bentley until 1925. Legend has it that the playboy would have acquired a Bentley sooner had he not mistaken W.O. Bentley’s reserve for standoffishness. However, in 1925 he saved the fledgling manufacturer from bankruptcy via a cash injection of £100,000 (circa £6m today).

Barnato also single-handedly bankrolled Bentley’s 1927, 1928 and 1929 Le Mans entries. Having also funded the development of the 4½ Litre and 6½ Litre models, Barnato had his absolute pick of the company’s products when he went racing. For the 1929 Le Mans, Barnato partnered with Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin and they opted for the new 6½ Litre Speed Six, later to become famously known as ‘Old Number #1’. The four other 'Bentley Boys' had the reliable 4½ Litre models.

The race began under grey clouds and drizzling rain, but Birkin in the big Bentley Speed Six had already taken the lead by the time the cars reached the Dunlop bridge. At the end of the first lap Birkin had already set a new lap record of 7m 57s, from a standing start.

As night fell, by 10pm, Barnato in the #1 Bentley and Dunfee in the #9 Bentley had a lap's lead on the rest of the field, with the two remaining two Bentleys running 3rd and 4th. Through the night, the Bentley team kept building their lead.



By the morning, there were only a dozen cars left running but Barnato and Birkin were still running smoothly out in front. From there it was a routine run to the finish for the #1 Bentley. In the last hour, W. O. Bentley put the word out to his team to line up for a formation finish and the sight of the four Bentleys crossing the line together was quite a novelty at the time.

Barnato also went on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1930, again driving ‘Old Number #1’. With three wins from three attempts, Barnato was nicknamed ‘Mr 100%’ for his perfect starts-to-wins ratio at La Sarthe.





Car : 1929 #1 Bentley Speed Six
Team : Bentley Motors Ltd.
Drivers : Woolf Barnato (GB)/ Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin (GB)
Qualifying : N/A
Result : 1st
Model : Spark (LM029)

Great story and gorgeous model! 🖤

Great model of a great car! Those were very different days for LM...

Hard to believe this was almost 100 years ago Brooks. Obviously its a world away from todays racing, but it is an interesting story.

Thanks Julio, glad you liked both.

I thought the IXO wasn't to bad Jerry, though admittedly it doesn't replicate the canvas body which Spark have done nicely with the matte paint. Now I just need to find a new home for the IXO.

Very different days Tom. The days of one manufacturer taking out the top 4 positions will probably never be repeated.

Thanks Paul. Its highly recommended if it interests you.

Yup, I don't mind adding the odd truck to my collection.

While I won't call these cars ice scrapers like Jeff, for those of us that don't follow LMP Racing closely, they do have a repetitiveness to them only made better by creative liveries. This car looks tons better in my estimation than the bland Toyotas in the same basic colors of red, black and white. If I collected models of these cars, I could see the attraction. Nice add.