Le Mans 24

Le Mans 24 Hours /luh maw~ twen-tee-for ow-ers/ proper noun

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest and most prestigious active endurance sports car race, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France. This is the grandest and most punishing motor race in the world, an annual festival of speed, sleep-deprivation, and mechanical torture. It is a high-speed siege where teams battle the clock, the darkness, and the car's own will to self-destruct. For the British, Le Mans is a sacred pilgrimage, the scene of some of our greatest triumphs and most heroic failures.

The Full Story of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

When the Automobile Club de l'Ouest established the race in 1923, the goal was to find the most durable car, a machine that could withstand a 24-hour ordeal on a circuit made up largely of public roads, designed to test a car's reliability to its absolute breaking point.

This punishing formula perfectly suited the robust, over-engineered cars of W.O. Bentley. The Bentley Boys, a group of wealthy amateur racers, made the race their personal playground in the late 1920s, their five victories establishing a deep British connection to the French event. The legend was cemented in 1927 when, despite a colossal pile-up involving the entire team, one battered Bentley was coaxed back to life and limped to a famous victory.

After the war, the mantle was passed to Jaguar. The Coventry firm's C-Type and D-Type sports cars were beautiful, fast, and technically advanced. Their secret weapon was the disc brake, an aviation-derived technology that allowed them to out-brake their rivals lap after lap. Jaguar’s five wins in the 1950s, including two by the plucky Scottish privateer team Ecurie Ecosse, became a huge source of national pride. Aston Martin added to the glory with a hard-fought victory in 1959.

The circuit itself, the Circuit de la Sarthe, is a character in the story. Its most famous feature was the Mulsanne Straight, a 3.7-mile stretch of public road where cars would reach terrifying speeds. The race is also a multi-class event, with the fastest prototypes sharing the track with far slower GT cars, meaning drivers must navigate high-speed traffic for the entire 24 hours, a particularly daunting task in the rain at 3 am.

Today, the race is no longer a gentle trial of reliability. It is a flat-out sprint from start to finish, with modern prototype cars reaching incredible speeds and lasting the distance. Yet the essence remains the same. It is a supreme test of teamwork, engineering, and the sheer, bloody-minded endurance of the drivers and mechanics who push themselves and their machines to the absolute limit.

For The Record

What is the Mulsanne Straight?

It is the iconic, almost 4-mile long straight section of the Le Mans circuit, made up of a public road. For safety, two chicanes were added in 1990, as prototypes were reaching speeds of over 250 mph, putting huge strain on engines and tyres.

Why are there different types of cars in the same race?

Le Mans is a multi-class race. The fastest "Hypercar" and LMP2 prototypes are competing for the overall win, while the slower "GT" cars (based on road-going models like the Porsche 911 and Aston Martin Vantage) are competing for victory within their own class. This means drivers are constantly dealing with traffic of vastly different speeds.

What was the 'Le Mans start'?

It was the traditional start procedure from 1925 to 1969. Drivers would line up on the opposite side of the track, sprint to their parked cars at the drop of the flag, start them, and race off. It was abolished on safety grounds as drivers would often not fasten their harnesses properly in the rush.

Which British driver has the most wins?

Derek Bell is the most successful British driver at Le Mans, with five victories between 1975 and 1987, mostly driving for Porsche.

Has a British car won recently?

The last overall victory for a British manufacturer was Bentley in 2003 with their Speed 8 prototype. McLaren won in 1995 with their F1 GTR. While many winning cars have been built in Britain (like the works Mercedes and recent Toyotas), a victory by a British marque is a celebrated and now rare event.