24 HOURS CENTENARY – MAKES, MARQUES AND IMPRINTS ⎮ No French manufacturer had triumphed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans since Talbot-Lago in 1950 until Matra put an end to the losing sequence. The aeronautics firm took to the racetrack in the late sixties, much to the delight of French fans who discovered a new generation of drivers led by three-time winner Henri Pescarolo.