Roundel Circles

If a marque/model of car completed the Le Mans 24-hour race at (or above) a pre-set average distance/speed, it qualified to compete in the Rudge-Whitworth Biennial Cup competition (originally Triennial) and was bestowed with a small red/white/blue roundel. Thus, if you saw a marque/model of car in the race bearing such a roundel, it had qualified to compete for the Biennial Cup in the previous year’s race; it did not have to be the exact vehicle that competed in the previous year’s race.

The last occasion on which the competition was held was 1959-60, and that was the 26th Biennial Cup competition. Even though Rudge-Whitworth was a British company, the roundel colors were reversed from the traditional British “blue-white-red” to the French “red-white-blue” probably due to the fact that initial support for the prize was provided by Emile Coquille, Managing Director of the French subsidiary of the Rudge-Whitworth Company.

L Scott George
Curator / Vice President
CH Motorcars LLC / Miles Collier Collections Revs Institute, www.revsinstitute.org

Here is an example of the concentric circle decal or roundel:

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