A classic race will take place this weekend, just a couple of hours’ drive southwest of Paris, France. It is the Grand Prix of endurance, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Circuit de la Sarthe (named for the region) has hosted this classic event since the mid-1920a, The race begins on an actual track and continues through the countryside with forests from side to side. The area is very dark when the sun finally sets. Luckily, street lighting has changed some of these issues, and many other changes have been made since the event began.
When the circuit was built, it was narrow and small because the speeds of the cars were made for the style of the circuit. However, following World War II (after the event was canceled for ten years), the cars returned with more power. And, by 1955, that power had disastrous consequences. An accident with Pierre Levegh killed around 90 spectators, and the circuit was then widened.
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Things remained the same for several decades, but then more accidents occurred on a circuit that is just as long as the Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, especially on the nearly two-mile Mulsanne straight along which new grandstands were constructed in 1991, The Mulsanne changed to a double chicane, one to the right and, later down the road, to the left. The Ford Chicane, just before the start/finish line, was only a single chicane, but it changed to another chicane in the early 1970s. A chicane was also installed following the starting line, which completed the changes coming to this weekend’s race.
Since its beginning, Porsche and Audi have won the most events–19 and 13 victories, respectively. Ferrari has won nine times, but the last came decades ago (1965). British giants Jaguar triumphed seven times, Bentley six, and Alfa Romeo four. French entries had three with Matra and Peugeot, Bugatti and Le Lorraine have had two each. Aston Martin, Mercedes, Renault, Rondeau, Sauber-Mercedes, BMW, McLaren, and Mazda have taken one apiece before moving to other formulas.
Toyota has had the most heartbreak. The Japanese giant began its Le Man’s challenge in the 1990s but didn’t win a race back then, beaten by Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Peugeot. The best chance came in 2016 when one of their cars dominated throughout the race. But the car driven by Kamui Kobayashi broke down with one lap to go on the straight with hydraulic troubles. Porsche went on to win that year. —
That was then. These days, Toyota is the King of Le Mans, having won four races in a row. Competition (as much as there is) has come from the likes of Alpine and Glickenhaus, and it might have come from Peugeot this year, but the French giant has postponed its challenge until the next race in Italy. Alpine surprised everyone with a victory in Sebring this past April.
It will be interesting if any team can sidetrack Toyota’s dominance.
For the rest of the classes this weekend, the LMP 2 class is up for grabs. Porsche and Ferrari will fight it out in the GTE PRO class. Everybody has a chance to win the GTE AM division.
Coverage of this classic race will begin on Saturday, June 11th, on Motortrend TV, at 9:00 AM Eastern time in the U.S.
