When was the first 24 Hours of Le Mans?
Le Mans Classic
The Le Mans Classic is a biennial vintage sports car event held on the grounds of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, create by Peter Auto and Richard Mille, and associated with Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). It began in 2002 and runs every two years in July on the full 13.65 km circuit also used for the annual modern day 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Le Mans Classic event of 2002 was the first time since 1923 that the full 24-hour Circuit, part of which is public road the rest of the year, was closed specifically for an event other than the annual running of the "24 heures du Mans" with contemporary sportcars and prototypes, thus allowing car owners and gentleman drivers to experience what it must have been to race these cars on this circuit.
1971 24 Hours of Le Mans
This year, first prize for outright victory was US$13000 – barely the cost of a top-tier racing engine, and not reflecting the huge preparation and work required. But such was the stature of the race to keep drawing strong fields. Finally, after fourteen years, the ban on female drivers was lifted with the ACO accepting top French rally-driver Marie-Claude Beaumont in the Greder Corvette entry – the first female driver at Le Mans since 1951.
André Rossignol
André Rossignol was a French racing driver who became the first driver to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, winning in consecutive years. Rossignol was a driver for the French Lorraine-Dietrich automobile company, and had been on their driving team since the inaugural Le Mans in . After having finished eighth and third the first two years, Rossignol and teammate Gérard de Courcelles won the event overall in . The following year, Robert Bloch was assigned to drive with Rossignol, and the race was won once again, with all three Lorraine-Dietrichs finishing on the podium.
1961 24 Hours of Le Mans
With the dropping interest in the World Championship, from both manufacturers and fans, there were only 65 entries in total for the race. With two entries rejected, there were 55 starters and 8 reserves. It could be said that the modern Le Mans started in 1961 with the presence of significant mid- and rear-engined cars.
Bentley 4½ Litre
The 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race is a 24-hour race around the Circuit de la Sarthe. The inaugural race was held 26–27 May 1923, and attracted many drivers, mostly French. There were two foreign competitors in the first race, Frank Clement and Canadian John Duff, the latter winning the 1924 competition in his personal car, a Bentley 3 Litre.
Le Mans Legend
The Le Mans Legend is a vintage sports car race held during the 24 Hours of Le Mans festivities. Created in 2001, it was created by the Motor Racing Legends group, and supported by the ACO, organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
1966 24 Hours of Le Mans
A 2016 documentary film, produced and directed by Americans Nate Adams and Adam Carolla, features the Le Mans rivalry between Ferrari and Ford. The production was well received critically, attaining a "100%" rating on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, and a "five-star" rating on electronic commerce company Amazon.com."In 1966, Ford won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time. The following year, they won again. The year after that, they won a third time. And in 1969, a fourth. That achievement was arguably the greatest in the company's history. It came after years of struggle, more than a few public failures, and enough burnt cash to refloat the "Titanic. "Ford's Sixties Le Mans program was famously the result of a dispute between Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari—Ford had tried to purchase Ferrari (the company), only to have Enzo shut down the sale at the last minute. Ford the man vowed to get even, aiming his considerable resources at Ferrari's Le Mans record. The resulting warpath employed everyone from Bruce McLaren to Carroll Shelby and Indy 500 legend A.J. Foyt, putting the stops to Ferrari's unbroken, five-year winning streak at La Sarthe.Collectively, Ford's wins were one of countless bright moments in a golden decade for both motorsport and culture in general. That first win made it onto the front pages of European newspapers, and it actually helped sell new cars. Ferrari never won Le Mans again, but Ford wouldn't go back until 2016. When Dearborn won last year, the world went less than nuts. But that makes sense: Both Le Mans and international motorsport are different now, tamer and less raw. So is the automobile itself. Racing is no longer a brutally dangerous pastime or the kind of thing that puts whole countries on the edge of their seats. And most of all, in 2016, there is no Henry the Deuce, no world-altering grudge match, no Enzo, no Carroll. The Ford-Ferrari war pivoted on how these men operated and thought, and they made that story what it was."--Sam Smith, "Adam Carolla's 'The 24 Hour War' Is a Car Movie by Car People That Isn't Just for Car People", Road and Track, Jan. 18, 2017.
24 Hours of Le Mans
For the new decade, the race took a turn towards more extreme speeds and automotive designs. These extreme speeds led to the replacement of the typical standing "Le Mans start" with a rolling "Indianapolis start". Although production-based cars still raced, they were now in the lower classes while purpose-built sportscars became the norm. The Porsche 917, 935, and 936 were dominant throughout the decade, but a resurgence by French manufacturers Matra-Simca and Renault saw the first victories for the nation since the 1950 race. This decade is also remembered for strong performances from many privateer constructors, with two scoring the only victories for a privateer, in the decade. John Wyer's Mirage won in , while Jean Rondeau's self-titled chassis took .
24 Hours of Le Mans
Following the reconstruction of circuit facilities, the race was resumed in 1949 with renewed interest from major automobile manufacturers. 1949 was also Ferrari's first victory, the 166MM of Luigi Chinetti and Peter Mitchell-Thomson. After the formation of the World Sportscar Championship in 1953, of which Le Mans was a part, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and many others began sending multiple cars backed by their respective factories to compete for overall wins against their competitors. This competitiveness sometimes resulted in tragedy, as in the 1955 Le Mans disaster during the race in which Pierre Levegh's car crashed into a crowd of spectators, killing more than 80 people. The incident led to the widespread introduction of safety measures, not only at the circuit, but elsewhere in the motorsport world. Following the accident, the entire pit complex was razed and rebuilt further back allowing the pit straight to be widened, although there was still no barrier between the track and the pit lane. Safety standards improved but the cars got faster, and the move from open-cockpit roadsters to closed-cockpit coupés resulted in speeds of over on the Mulsanne. Ford entered the picture with the GT40, finally ending Ferrari's dominance with four straight wins (1966-1969) before the 1960s ended and the cars, and the race, changed substantially.
2002 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2002 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 70th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 15 and 16 June 2002.
Olivier Gendebien
The same year he partnered Hill and won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. Their victory came in a 3-litre Ferrari and secured the World Sportscar Championship for the Ferrari factory. They covered 2,511 miles with an average speed of 107 miles per hour. Hill became the first American to win the event and their Ferrari was the sole factory-sponsored car running at the end. Ferrari drivers took the first three positions at the conclusion of the 1961 24 Hours of Le Mans and, as they were to be again the following year, Hill and Gendebien were first, averaging 115.89 miles per hour, and establishing a race record. The duo were a natural fit and together they won the Le Mans race three times in total, with Gendebien winning it a fourth time, partnered by fellow Belgian Paul Frère in . Gendebien's record number of Le Mans victories was not exceeded until , when fellow-Belgian Jacky Ickx won for the fifth time.
American Le Mans Series
The series was created by Braselton, Georgia-based businessman Don Panoz and ran its first season in 1999. Panoz created a partnership with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), the organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to begin a 10-hour race in the spirit of Le Mans, dubbed the Petit Le Mans. The inaugural Petit Le Mans took place in 1998 as a part of the Professional SportsCar Racing series, in which Panoz was an investor. For 1999, the series changed its name to the American Le Mans Series, and adopted the ACO's rulebook.
René Léonard
René Léonard was a French racing driver who, along with André Lagache, won the inaugural running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in . Lagache and Léonard were both engineers for the Chenard et Walcker automobile company, and were chosen to drive one of the three entries in the endurance event. Their "Sport" model finished by a four lap margin over another Chenard et Walcker.
1936 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1936 24 Hours of Le Mans was originally planned to be the 14th Grand Prix of Endurance held on 14 and 15 June 1936, but was cancelled because workers were going on strike due to the general strike of May-June 1936 in France that came with the electoral victory of the Popular Front. A lack of workers to modify the streets for race use as well as officials to run the event meant that it had to be called off.
2017 24 Hours of Le Mans
The date for the 2017 Le Mans race was confirmed by the FIA World Motor Sport Council in a press conference of the sport's organiser, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), at the Musée des 24 Heures du Mans on 16 June 2016. It was the 85th running of the event, and the third of nine scheduled rounds of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship. The race was scheduled to avoid conflicting with other major motorsport events, as was the case in the edition when it clashed with the European Grand Prix.
24 Hours of Le Mans
The "greatest distance" rule was modified with the introduction of a rolling start in 1971, and now the car that completes the greatest distance as of the completion of the final lap – where "greatest distance" is measured by the start/finish line for all competitors – wins. When two cars finish the same number of laps, their finishing order is determined by the faster overall completion time. This rule was used in the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans to determine the race winner, when the top two finishers both completed 355 laps, with only 13 seconds difference between them.
List of 24 Hours of Le Mans fatalities
André Guilbert was the first driver to die in June 1925 during the race's third year, although this was due to a collision with a van while en route to the race, but is classified by race historians and authors of the official yearbooks, Christian Moity and Jean-Marc Teissedre. Marius Mestivier was the first race fatality, occurring only a few hours after Guilbert's death. The most recent death is Allan Simonsen, who died in the race of . In total, two drivers died in the 1920s, another two in the 1930s, one in the 1940s, five in the 1950s, six in the 1960s, two in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, one in the 1990s, none in the 2000s, and one in the 2010s.
1924 24 Hours of Le Mans
After the success of their inaugural 24-hour event, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) set about making further improvements. Firstly, the race-timing was moved to the summer solstice in late June to make the best use of the extended daylight as well as the higher probability of better weather. The ACO also recognised that the Triennial Cup format was unworkable after an unexpectedly large number of cars had qualified from the year before. The current trophy stayed active, but not renewed. Émile Coquille, co-organiser and representative of the sponsor Rudge-Whitworth was still keen on a multi-year format, so a compromise Biennial Cup was initiated instead. Teams had to nominate which of their cars would compete for the Triennial Cup, while all entries were eligible for the Biennial Cup.
1953 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 21st Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 13 and 14 June 1953, at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans (France). It was also the third round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship.
Endurance racing (motorsport)
As well as the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race for automobiles there is also a 24 hours event for karts which takes place at the kart circuit Alain Prost at Le Mans, France.[12] This race has taken place since 1986 and its winners list include four times Champ Car champion Sébastien Bourdais (in 1996).
Road racing
The first organized automobile race was held on July 22, 1894 from Paris to Rouen, France. The first held in the United States was a 54-mile competition from Chicago to Evanston, Illinois and return, held on November 27, 1895. By 1905, the Gordon Bennett Cup, organized by the Automobile Club de France, was considered the most important race in the world. In 1904, the "Association Internationale des Automobiles Clubs Reconnus" was formed by several European automobile clubs. In 1904 the FIM created the international cup for motorcycles. The first international motorcycle road race took place in 1905 at Dourdan, France. After disagreeing with Bennett Cup organizers over regulations limiting the number of entrants, the French automobile manufacturers responded in 1906 by organizing the first French Grand Prix race held at Le Mans. The first 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race was held in 1923.
24 Hours of Le Mans
In 2018, Toyota took their first Le Mans win with Fernando Alonso, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima driving. The 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans () will be held on June 15–16 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France.
1975 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 43rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14 and 15 June 1975.
Colloquially called the “Le Mans Economy Run”, stringent refuelling regulations were put in place. Unable to match the requisite 7mpg fuel economy the manufacturer teams from Ferrari, Alfa Romeo withdrew and Matra had retired from the sport at the end of 1974. Therefore, this only left Gulf and Ligier as front-running works-teams.
24 Hours of Le Mans
The race traditionally began with what became known as the "Le Mans start", in which cars were lined up along the length of the pits. Until 1962, cars were lined up in order of engine capacity, but beginning in 1963 qualifying times determined the lineup. The starting drivers stood on the opposite side of the front stretch. When the French flag dropped to signify the start, the drivers ran across the track, entered and started their cars without assistance, and drove away. This became a safety issue in the late 1960s when some drivers ignored their safety harnesses, then a recent invention. This led to drivers running the first few laps either improperly harnessed due to attempting to do it while driving or sometimes not even harnessed at all, leading to several deaths when cars were involved in accidents due to the bunched field at the start.
1978 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 46th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 10 and 11 June 1978.
1994 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 62nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 18 and 19 June 1994.
2018 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 86th 24 Hours of Le Mans () was an automobile endurance event that took place on 16 and 17 June 2018, at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France. It was the 86th running of the 24 Hour race organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, and the second round of the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Kart racing
As well as the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race for automobiles there is also a 24-hours event for karts which takes place at the kart circuit Alain Prost at Le Mans, France. This race has taken place since 1986 and its winners list include four-time Champ Car champion Sébastien Bourdais (in 1996).
1972 24 Hours of Le Mans
In the end, the Matra 670 of Pescarolo and Hill took the chequered flag with a comfortable margin of eleven laps over their teammates Cevert and Ganley. This was the first victory of a French car since the Rosier's Talbot-Lago victory in 1950. It also made Graham Hill the first and, to date, only driver to win the "Triple Crown" of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Indianapolis 500 and the Formula One World Championship. Although aware of the bad accident, Hill was only told of Bonnier's death after the race and was deeply affected. They were former teammates, close friends and had been the “senior statesmen” of the Formula One grid in the early 1970s.
Franck Montagny
During the break between the British Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix, Montagny was able to participate in the Le Mans 24 Hours, finishing second for Pescarolo Sport behind only the dominating Audi factory R10s. He was the first active Formula One driver to also participate at Le Mans in the same year since Bertrand Gachot in 1994.
1955 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 23rd 24 Hours of Le Mans, and took place on 11 and 12 June 1955 on Circuit de la Sarthe. It was also the fourth round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. A huge crowd had gathered for Europe's classic sports car race, around the 8.38-mile course. In the golden age of sports car racing, the top-quality entry list meant this race promised to be the most eagerly anticipated of the decade. Instead this is remembered for the disaster that killed 84 people, plus some 120 injured in the most catastrophic accident in motor racing history.
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) again lifted the replenishment window (just changed the year before) of fuel, oil and water from 30 to 32 laps (just over 430 km), but by the same token, the maximum fuel allowance for all cars was increased to 200 litres for the race.
On the track, road improvements continued with the whole back section, from Tertre Rouge around to Maison Blanche resurfaced.
24 Hours of Le Mans
The first car to enter without an engine run by pistons would be in , when Rover partnered with British Racing Motors to run a gas turbine with mixed success, repeating again in . The American Howmet Corporation would attempt to run a turbine again in with even less success. Although the engines offered great power, they were hot and fuel-inefficient.
1956 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans was a race for Sports Cars, and took place on 28 and 29 July 1956 on the Circuit de la Sarthe. The race was won by Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson driving a Jaguar D-Type for the new Ecurie Ecosse team. This race also marked the golden jubilee of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) founded in 1906, however because of the previous year's terrible accident, celebrations were deferred to 1957 to go along with the imminent 25th anniversary of the race.
2000 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 68th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 17 and 18 June 2000.
1939 24 Hours of Le Mans
By June 1939, the outbreak of World War II was less than three months away. The following year's 24 Hours of Le Mans was originally planned for June 1940, but due to the invasion of France in May the race was called off. Endurance racing would not return to Le Mans until 1949, four years after V-E day ended World War II in Europe.
Le Mans race results
The 1000 km of Le Mans was a motorcycle endurance race held annually on the Bugatti Circuit before the creation of the 24 Heures Moto.
List of 24 hours of Le Mans records
"Note": The first qualification occurred in 1963.
1938 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1938 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 15th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 17 and 18 June 1938.
1975 24 Hours of Le Mans
Since the race's inception in 1923, the Le Mans circuit had incorporated using public highways. An ambitious plan in the early 1970s had been proposed to build a new Mulsanne Straight parallel to the main road and bypassing the Mulsanne corner. However, by 1975 with the economic recession and reduced interest in motor-racing, no work had been started, and in the end the project was cancelled later in the year.
1977 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 45th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 11 and 12 June 1977.
1970 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 38th Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on 13 and 14 June 1970. It was the eighth round of the 1970 World Sportscar Championship season.
1930 24 Hours of Le Mans
Bugatti, despite having organised races for its car-owners on the Le Mans circuit, had not competed in the endurance race since the inaugural 1923 race. Wealthy French heiress Marguerite Mareuse entered her Type 40 tourer as a privateer, inviting talented driver Odette Siko as her co-driver – becoming the first women to enter the race. Based around the 1.5-litre engine of the Type 37 race-car, it put out about 45 bhp to a 4-speed gearbox.
Jean-Albert Grégoire’s small Tracta company had been very successful at Le Mans with its reliable front-wheel drive and patented Universal joint system. The works team bought two Type A models to the race (unsupercharged this time), Grégoire racing with Vallon as usual, and Bourcier with Debeugny. The smallest cars in the field were from MG Cars, making its Le Mans debut. Morris Garages was set up in 1909 by William Morris as a sales/service division of his Morris Motors. In 1928 after strong sales success, the company was relaunched as MG Car Company under Cecil Kimber. The MG M-type “Midget” was built on the Minor chassis with a plywood and fabric body. This year’s version had the 847cc engine uprated to put out 27 bhp that made it capable of 110 kp/h (70 mph). Two cars were prepared for "Sir" Francis Samuelson and Huskinson & Fane, the London MG agents.
On race-week, the competitors were allowed to do practice laps on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights between 10pm and 6am. However, the roads were not closed to the public and the ACO advised drivers it was at their own risk. The big Mercedes showed its class, able to reach 195 kp/h (120 mph) on the Mulsanne straight.
1925 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1925 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 3rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 20 and 21 June 1925. It was the last of the three races spanning 1923 to 1925 to determine the winner of the Rudge-Whitworth Triennial Cup, as well the second race of the inaugural Biennial Cup.
1988 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 56th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 11 and 12 June 1988. It was also the fifth round of the World Sports-Prototype Championship season.
Le Mans
Since the 1920s, the city has been best known for its connection with motorsports. There are two official and separate racing tracks at Le Mans, though they share certain portions. The smaller is the Bugatti Circuit (named after Ettore Bugatti, founder of the car company bearing his name), a relatively short permanent circuit, which is used for racing throughout the year and has hosted the French motorcycle Grand Prix. The longer and more famous Circuit de la Sarthe is composed partly of public roads. These are closed to the public when the track is in use for racing. Since 1923, this route has been used for the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car endurance race. Boutiques and shops are set up during the race, selling merchandise and promoting products for cars.
1964 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 32nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 20 and 21 June 1964. It was also the ninth round of the 1964 World Sportscar Championship season.
Radio Le Mans
Radio Le Mans is the English language radio service for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, as well as for numerous other sports car events.
It first broadcast at the 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans.
1963 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 31st Grand Prix of Endurance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans series and took place on 15 and 16 June 1963. It was also the tenth round of the 1963 World Sportscar Championship season.
2009 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans () was the 77th Grand Prix of Endurance, an endurance auto race run over 24 hours. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and was organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) over 13–14 June 2009 and was started by Fiat and Ferrari chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo at 15:00 local time (13:00 UTC). A test day was initially scheduled for 31 May that year, but was canceled by the ACO due to economic concerns. The race was attended by 234,800 spectators.
1933 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1933 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 11th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 17 and 18 June 1933.
1923 24 Hours of Le Mans
In an inauspicious omen, the early summertime start of the first 24 Hours of Le Mans at 4pm began just after a hailstorm, in cold rain and wind. The honour to drop the flag to start the race fell to "Monsieur" Carpé, the ACO chief timekeeper. The big Belgian Excelsiors were overtaken from the start by Robert Bloch’s Lorraine-Dietrich. What was supposed to be an “endurance trial” soon became a race along the narrow country roads.
It was perhaps surprising then that throughout the rain that lasted the first four hours, there were no major incidents. It was soon apparent that the quickest cars were the Chenard-Walcker team, the Bentley one of the Excelsiors and one of the 2-litre Bignans. The first pitstops for fuel and driver-changes did not start until after 7pm. The 38-year old Lagache and veteran Dauvergne bought their Chenard-Walckers in with a good lead. The Belgian-driven Excelsior gradually lost time with its sluggish acceleration rate. After a brief respite the rain and wind returned making for very difficult night-driving, especially as most cars chose not to run with their hoods up, as it compromised top speed and fuel economy. Most drivers were not wearing goggles because of the rain and all the mud-splatter coming off the cars ahead of them.
24 Hours of Le Mans
Over time, Le Mans has influenced events that have sprung up all around the globe, popularizing the 24-hour format at locations such as Daytona, Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, and Bathurst. The American Le Mans Series and Europe's Le Mans Series of multi-event sports car championships were spun off from 24 Hours of Le Mans regulations. Other races include the Le Mans Classic, a race for historic Le Mans race cars from years' past held on the Circuit de la Sarthe, a motorcycle version of the race which is held on the shortened Bugatti version of the same circuit, a kart race (24 Heures Karting), a truck race (24 Heures Camions), and a parody race 24 Hours of LeMons.
24 Hours of Le Mans
The race is held in June, leading at times to very hot conditions for drivers, particularly in closed vehicles with poor ventilation; rain is commonly seen. The race begins in mid-afternoon and finishes the following day at the same hour the race started the previous day. Over the 24 hours, modern competitors often cover distances well over . The record is 2010's , six times the length of the Indianapolis 500, or approximately 18 times longer than a Formula One "Grand Prix". Drivers and racing teams strive for speed and avoiding mechanical damage, as well as managing the cars' consumables, primarily fuel, tyres, and braking materials. It also tests endurance, with drivers frequently racing for over two hours before a relief driver can take over during a pit stop while they eat and rest. Current regulations mandate that three drivers share each competing vehicle.
Le Mans 24 Hours video games
The first Le Mans video game was in 1976 by Atari, an upright standing arcade game with a steering wheel and white raster graphics on a black background.
1984 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 52nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 16 – 17 June 1984. It was also the third round of the 1984 World Endurance Championship.
1953 24 Hours of Le Mans
British drivers Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton won the race with one of three factory-entered Jaguar C-Types, the first cars ever to race at Le Mans with disc brakes.
With the ongoing success of the World Championship for Grand Prix drivers, this year saw the introduction by the FIA of a World Championship for Sports Cars, creating great interest from the major sports car manufacturers. It also drew together the great endurance races in Europe and North America. The Le Mans race was the third round in the championship after the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Mille Miglia.
2011 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans ("24 Heures du Mans 2011") was the 79th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 11–12 June 2011 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). It was the third round of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, and was part of a World Championship or International Cup for the first time since 1992, when it was part of the World Sportscar Championship. The race was attended by 249,500 spectators.
1989 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 57th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 10 and 11 June 1989.
1983 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 51st Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 18 and 19 June 1983. It was also the fourth round of both the World Endurance Championship and European Endurance Championship.
1929 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1929 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 7th Grand Prix of Endurance that took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 15 and 16 June 1929.
24 Hours of Le Mans (motorcycle race)
When the Bol d'Or moved from Bugatti Circuit to Circuit Paul Ricard at the end of 1977, the ACO created the 24 Heures Moto. The race became one of "the classics" of endurance racing along with the 24 Hours of Liège, the 8 Hours Of Suzuka, and the Bol d'Or.
1997 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 65th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14 and 15 June 1997.
André Lagache
André Lagache (21 January 1885 – 2 October 1938) was a French racing driver who, along with René Léonard, won the very first 24 Hours of Le Mans in . Lagache was an engineer at automobile manufacturer Chenard et Walcker, and was chosen to drive their "Sport" model in the inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans. The duo drove a distance of over 24 hours and beat another Chenard-Walcker by a four lap margin. Lagache continued to run Le Mans for Chenard et Walcker for the next two years, but was unable to finish the event again. Lagache and Léonard however went on to win the Spa 24 Hours in 1925, the second running of that endurance event.
Luigi Chinetti
Driving an Alfa Romeo race car entered by his co-driver Raymond Sommer, Chinetti won at his very first 24 hours of Le Mans race in . The following year, with Louis Chiron as co-driver, he won the Spa 24 Hours endurance race in Belgium. He teamed up with Philippe Étancelin in to win his second 24 hours of Le Mans.
1924 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1924 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 2nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14 and 15 June 1924. It was the second part of three consecutive annual races for the Rudge-Whitworth Triennial Cup, as well simultaneously being the first race in the new 1924-25 Rudge-Whitworth Biennial Cup.
1982 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 50th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 19 and 20 June 1982. It was also the fourth round of the 1982 World Endurance CHampionship.
1995 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 63rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 17 and 18 June 1995 in one of the wettest races in the event's history with about 17 hours of steady rain.
The race was won by the #59 McLaren F1 GTR driven by JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya entered in the GT1 category. This was the first Le Mans win for a driver from Finland and for a driver from Japan. It was also McLaren's first win, at its first attempt. Such was the marque's dominance that its cars filled four of the first five places - Ferrari did it with its two cars in 1949, but other manufacturers like Jaguar, Porsche, Ford or Audi achieved their Le Mans fame only after 2, 3 or more years attempting their first win.
Cadillac Le Mans
The Cadillac Le Mans was a concept car designed by Harley Earl and developed by Cadillac. It was named for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France, in which Cadillac competed in 1950. Displayed at the 1953 General Motors Motorama in New York City, the design was a low-profile ( to the windshield frame), two-seat, fiberglass-bodied roadster. This concept showcased Cadillac's first wrap-around windshield. It was powered by a version of Cadillac's V8 engine, a power output not realized in production Cadillacs until 1955. The overall length of the Le Mans was . Though four prototypes were built, the model never went into production.
24 Hours of Le Mans (disambiguation)
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an annual sports car race in France.
1934 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1934 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 12th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 16 and 17 June 1934.
1926 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1926 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 4th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 12 and 13 June 1926. It was the first Le Mans race where the winner's average speed was over , and also the first to break the 24-hour distance record set by Selwyn Edge at Brooklands in 1907.
Moto Guzzi Le Mans
The Moto Guzzi Le Mans is a sports motorcycle first manufactured in 1976 by Italian company Moto Guzzi. It was named after the 24-hour motorcycle endurance race at Le Mans in France.
1951 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 19th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 23 and 24 June 1950. It was won by Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead in their works-entered Jaguar C-type, the first Le Mans win for the marque.
1989 24 Hours of Le Mans
The race was the last time the 24 Hours of Le Mans ran without the two chicanes on the Mulsanne Straight; for the interest of safety to reduce speeds after speeds reaching in the previous years and this race, these chicanes were installed the next year and remains in use. The speeds on the Mulsanne Straight were so high that many of the drivers were concerned if their cars would stay on the ground over the humps and bumps of the straight. There were no serious accidents, something Le Mans in the 1980s had many of.
2003 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 71st Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14 and 15 June 2003.
2014 24 Hours of Le Mans
Weather conditions at the start were dry and sunny. The air temperature throughout the race ranged from with a track temperature between . Approximately 243,000 spectators attended the event, the largest crowd since 1989. The race began at 15:00 Central European Summer Time (), with two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso having the honour of waving the French Tricolour to start the race. The 54-car field was led by Wurz's Toyota, who maintained the position for most of the opening hours, followed by Lapierre in the second Toyota and the trio of Audi cars driven by Lotterer, Bonanomi and Kristensen; the two Porsche entries of Bernhard and Jani fell back from the leaders. The experimental Nissan ZEOD RC driven by Wolfgang Reip came to a rest on the side of the circuit at the Porsche Curves on the sixth lap after suffering a failure related to its gearbox, and became the first retirement of the race after a request by the team to recover the car was rejected by the ACO. Meanwhile, Lapierre fell from second place after spinning exiting a Mulsanne chicane and bringing out the race's first slow zone procedure.
1971 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 39th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 12 and 13 June 1971. It was the ninth round of the 1971 International Championship for Makes.
1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 67th 24 Hours of Le Mans, and took place on 12 and 13 June 1999.
1930 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1930 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 8th Grand Prix of Endurance that took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 21 and 22 June 1930. It saw the first appearance of a German car and the first entry from female drivers.
24 Hours of Le Mans
Since 2012, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Because of the decision to run a World Endurance Championship super-season in the period May 2018 to June 2019, the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be run twice in the same season: it will be both the second and the last round of the season. In 2011 it was a part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, and it frequently formed a part of the World Sportscar Championship from 1953 until that series' final season in 1992.
Le Mans 24 Hours (video game)
Le Mans 24 Hours (known as Test Drive Le Mans in North America (Except for PS2 and second PC version) is a video game released for the PlayStation, Game Boy Color, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Windows (in two versions of the latter, one developed by Eutechnyx, like with the PlayStation version and the second version being a port of the Melbourne House version ported by Torus Games). Based on the famous 24 hours of Le Mans race in France, the player is invited to race the entire 24-hour endurance course or take part in a simpler arcade mode. The game also featured tracks such as Suzuka Circuit, Donington Park and Circuit de Catalunya, as well as a weather and night system.
1949 24 Hours of Le Mans
It was the first victory for a V12 engine, and until the Porsche victory in 2015 with its 2.0L hybrid-turbo, the Ferrari 1995cc engine was the smallest engine to win Le Mans outright. Such overachievement also meant a clear victory in the Index of Performance, giving a clean sweep to Ferrari of all the silverware – a spectacular effort for a company competing in its very first Le Mans, not matched until McLaren’s comprehensive win at first attempt in 1995. After being repaired, Dreyfus’ Ferrari went on the following weekend to win the Spa 24-Hours race, driven by Chinetti and Simon.
1998 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 66th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 6 and 7 June 1998.
1923 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1923 24 Hours of Le Mans, officially the 24 Hours Grand Prix of Endurance,() was the inaugural Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 26 and 27 May 1923.
Le Mans race results
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest active sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since on the Circuit de la Sarthe, France. It is one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. Since 2012, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
List of 24 hours of Le Mans records
This is a list of records in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, since 1923. This page is accurate up to and including the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans.
2018 24 Hours of Le Mans
Toyota were the second Japanese manufacturer to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, following Mazda's triumph in 1991. Fernando Alonso, Sébastien Buemi, and Kazuki Nakajima all earned their first wins. Buemi and Nakajima had come close at the 2016 race, when their car broke down whilst leading on the final lap. Alonso's win meant he had completed two of the three legs of the Triple Crown of Motorsport.
WEC Le Mans
WEC Le Mans is a racing simulation arcade game released in by Konami. It was the first racing video game to depict the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Lap of Le Mans is split up into three sections, during which the time of day changes from day to dusk, dusk to night, and night to dawn.
List of 24 Hours of Le Mans winners
The overall winners of all events since 1923 are listed here. The race has been run every year since its inception with the exception of 1936, where the race was not run due to worker strikes, and 1940 to 1948, due to World War II. Records for wins are also listed. Lower class wins are not included.
1950 24 Hours of Le Mans
A record 112 entries were received by the ACO, and they accepted 60 for the start – another record. This year there were 24 entries in the S3000, S5000 and S8000 classes. The biggest car this year carrying the #1, was a MAP Diesel that was the first car to race at Le Mans with a mid-mounted engine (a supercharged 4.9L engine), with veteran racer and 1939 winner Pierre Veyron.
Circuit de la Sarthe
The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race. Comprising private, race-specific sections of track in addition to public roads which remain accessible most of the year, its present configuration is long, making it one of the longest circuits in the world. Capacity of the race stadium, where the short "Bugatti Circuit" is situated, is 100,000. The Musée des 24 Heures du Mans is a motorsport museum located at the main entrance of the venue.
International Motor Sports Association
In the spring of 1998, Don Panoz created a partnership with the Automobile Club de L'Ouest (ACO), the organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to begin a 10-hour race in the spirit of Le Mans, dubbed the Petit Le Mans to be held at Panoz's Road Atlanta facility. After the success of the inaugural Petit Le Mans as a part of the 1998 Professional SportsCar Racing Championship season, Panoz announced a new full season championship for 1999, to be known as the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) which adopted the ACO's rulebook under PSCR sanction. The new series replaced the Professional Sports Car Racing championship as PSCR's headline series.
1959 24 Hours of Le Mans
Aston Martin finally achieved the coveted outright win, doing it with a 1-2 finish. The marque had first entered the Le Mans race in 1928, running every race since 1931 and had finished second three times and third twice before this victory.
Significant changes occurred with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) regulations this year. The FIA had issued its revamped and revised Appendix J rules for Grand Touring (GT) cars and the ACO followed other endurance races and opened its entry-list to the GT categories for the first time.
Frank Clement (racing driver)
Frank Charles Clement (15 June 1886 – 15 January 1970) was a British racing driver who, along with Canadian John Duff, won the 1924 24 Hours of Le Mans. One of the "Bentley Boys", Clement was recruited by W.O. Bentley as a test driver for Bentley Motors. He was chosen by the company to drive in the inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans in with John Duff in Duff's privately entered car. The only British team in the event, the pair finished the race in fourth after fighting for the lead for much of the race. The following year Duff returned with his private Bentley and the two won the race outright over several Lorraine-Dietrichs and Chenard-Walckers.
1925 24 Hours of Le Mans
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) was pleased with how the 1924 regulations had worked. They adjusted the hood-test so that all cars could do it at the same time. The start was the logical point and to stop drivers from jumping the gun they would be lined up on the opposite side of the track. When the flag fell, they would run across, put the hood up and then start the car and get away as quick as possible. This became the origin of the famous “Le Mans start” that was an institution of the race until 1969, when safety concerns led to its end.
1986 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 54th Grand Prix of Endurance as well as the third round of the 1986 World Sports-Prototype Championship. It took place on 31 May and 1 June 1986.
Le Mans
The first French Grand Prix took place on a 64-mile (103 km) circuit based at Le Mans in 1906.
1981 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 49th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 13 and 14 June 1981. It was also the eighth round of the 1981 World Endurance Championship of Drivers and the fifth round of the 1981 World Endurance Championship of Makes.
1949 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 17th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 25 and 26 June 1949. Luigi Chinetti won the race for a third time in the first Ferrari barchetta by driving 22.5 hours. This race also saw the death of British driver Pierre Maréchal when his Aston Martin DB2 was involved in an accident between Arnage and Maison Blanche around 1:00 a.m. Marechal had attempted to pass another car there and he hit an embankment and the hapless Briton was crushed by the overturning car.
2013 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 81st 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: "81 24 Heures du Mans") was an automobile endurance racing event held from 19 to 23 June 2013 at the Circuit de la Sarthe at Le Mans, France. It was the 81st running of the event, as organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) since 1923. The race was the third round and the premier event of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, with 32 of the race's 56 entries contesting the championship. A test day was held two weeks prior to the race on 9 June. Approximately 245,000 spectators attended the event.
24 Hours of Le Mans
In 2011, the race became the premier round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, an attempt to make a world championship for endurance racing again. In 2012, the race became the centerpiece of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the successor to the ILMC. The 2012 event was the first time the race was won by a hybrid electric vehicle, which was the Audi R18 e-tron quattro.