1. Introduction
The Le Mans 24 Hours Endurance Race (French: 24 Heures du Mans) is a major event held in the small town of Le Mans, located 200 kilometers southwest of Paris. With 90 years of development, it has become the world's largest automotive endurance event. In 2/3 of the Le Mans race, cars have an average speed of around 370 km/h, with straight-line speeds reaching up to 404 km/h. It provides an ideal environment for car manufacturers to showcase the performance and reliability of their vehicles.
2. History
The First Grand Prix: In 1906, the world's first car Grand Prix was held in Le Mans: The Grand Prix of the French Automobile Club. Generally, that race is considered a significant milestone in the development of motorsport. In 1923, racing veterans in France, Du Hang, racing journalist Fahu, and car manufacturer Coki, founded the first Le Mans 24 Hours Endurance Race. By 2005, 73 editions had been held (none were held from 1936 and 1940 to 1948).
1955 Le Mans Disaster: On June 11, 1955, the Le Mans disaster occurred. French driver Pierre Levegh, driving a Mercedes 300SLR, crashed into Lance Macklin's Austin-Healey 100 and flew into the stands, resulting in the deaths of Levegh and 83 spectators, with 120 others injured. It's considered the deadliest accident in racing history. The race was won by Mike Hawthorn's Jaguar D-Type. French media snubbed Mike Hawthorn and teammate Bueb's champagne spraying on the podium.
Following the accident, both Mercedes and Jaguar announced their withdrawal from motorsport. Racing was banned in France, Spain, Switzerland, and Germany. Mercedes and Jaguar returned to racing only in the 1980s, while Switzerland still bans motorsport to this day.
1990s: In 1991, the Mazda 787 driven by Johnny Herbert, Volker Weidler, and Bertrand Gachot won the race, becoming the first rotary engine car to achieve this honor.
In 1999, Mark Webber's Mercedes CLR flipped twice during the practice and warm-up sessions on the Mulsanne straight. Peter Dumbreck's car suffered a similar fate during the race, shocking audiences worldwide. Mercedes eventually scrapped this race car project.
2000s: In 2006, Audi's R10 TDi won the Le Mans 24 Hours, becoming the first diesel car to win this race. The champions were Frank Biela, Marco Werner, and Emanuele Pirro.
In 2008, Danish driver Tom Kristensen secured his eighth win at Le Mans, making him the most successful driver in the history of the race.
3. Le Mans Circuit
The Le Mans 24 Hours Race has very long straight tracks, like the famous Mulsanne straight, emphasizing top speed over downforce for cornering as seen in F1 cars. In 1988, a Le Mans race car reached a top speed of 404 km/h but did not finish the race due to engine overheating. In 1989, the Mercedes Sauber C9 reached a speed of 398 km/h and won the race.
4. Race Format
The race is held every second weekend of June at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. It's organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO).
In recent years, the race is divided into four categories: LMP1 (e.g., Audi R10, Peugeot 908 HDi - similar to the previous Group C prototype), LMP2 (e.g., Courage LC75), GT1 (e.g., Chevrolet Corvette C6R and Aston Martin DBR9), and the entry-level GT2 (e.g., Ferrari F430 GT).
The Le Mans 24 Hours Race has also spawned several championships, namely the Le Mans Endurance Series and the American Le Mans Series. In 2006, Japan introduced the All-Japan Le Mans Series.
