1953 Le Mans: Ferrari Never Saw Britain’s Secret Weapon Coming — a Prisoner of Colditz

In June 1953, Ferrari came to Le Mans with the reigning world champion and the strongest field in racing history. Nobody was watching the quiet Englishman in the green Jaguar. They should have been. Eight years earlier, Tony Rolt had been locked inside Colditz, the most escape-proof prison in Nazi Germany where he helped design a glider to fly off the roof. This is the story of the man who escaped everything the Germans threw at him, the disc brakes that gave Jaguar a secret advantage, and the night Britain humbled Ferrari to win Le Mans at over 100mph for the first time in history. If you grew up on these stories, tell me in the comments which forgotten British racing hero I should cover next. I go through every single one.