He never drove in the 24 Hours of Le Mans but his name is nevertheless forever linked to the Le Mans classic. Charles James, who helped launch the Inaltera adventure with Jean Rondeau, has died.
Charles James immediately believed in Jean Rondeau’s challenge which was to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a car of his design. Under the leadership of Charles James, then head of Inaltera wallpapers, the challenge of putting two Inalteras at the start of the 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans was successful.
➡️ Charles James (Inaltera) in 1978: Everyone must go beyond parties, castes, chapels and ideologies”
A winning bet from the first participation with an 8th place overall combined with a GTP category victory for Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo. The second Inaltera finished 3rd in the GTP class thanks to Jean Rondeau, Christine Beckers and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud. Let’s not forget that the Inaltera was built in just a few months.
Charles James and Inaltera did even better the following year by winning another GTP class victory, Jean Ragnotti and Jean Rondeau finishing at the same time just off the podium. The other two Inalteras ranked 11th and 13th. We will see an Inaltera again at the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans entered by André Chevalley Racing, 13th overall and 2nd in GTP 3.0.
➡️ “The Challenge”, “The Proof by 24 Hours”, the Inaltera-Rondeau Epic, by Charles James
The Inaltera at Le Mans are all the cars arriving in three editions. The Inaltera adventure ended in July 1977 but Charles James was also part of the victorious Rondeau adventure in 1980.
As the enthusiast that he was, Charles James was present at the 2016 Le Mans Classic to celebrate Inaltera’s 40th anniversary.
Coincidentally, Charles James died just three days before the anniversary of Jean Rondeau’s death on December 27, 1985.
Swiss
