There 24 hours of Le Mans It is the most ancient and prestigious car race in the world organized by L ‘Automobile Club de l’Ouest : run every year since 1923 on Circuit de la Sarthetrack of across 13 kilometers in the surroundings of the French city of Le Manswhich mixes technical curves, long straights and citizens. There 93rd edition of the 24 hours of Le Mans will start on June 14, 2025 at 16:00, with the Cadillac who have conquered the front row, while the best of the Ferrari will start from the seventh position. 1923 when theAutomobile Club de l’Ouest organized the first edition: since then, year after year, the race has become a Technical innovation laboratorya test bench for the technologies that we find on our road cars today.
Throughout its history, the Mans wrote epic pages of motoring: it is marked by record of victories Porsche and the pilot Tom Kristensen, but also from the tragic memory of the 1955 disaster, the most serious accident in the history of Motorsport, which caused the death of over 80 spectators. It is an event that has crossed Two world warstechnological revolutions, regulatory changes and ever new challenges, however maintaining its original charm intact: that of one Try to the limitwhere the real victory is not only crossing the finish line, but being able to do it after 24 hours of battle.
The origins of the 24 hours of Le Mans: because it was born and who founded it
To really understand why the 24 hours of Le Mans has become one of the most famous and fascinating races in the world, we must take a jump back in time, up to the roaring 1920s. We are in an era when cars are still new. The car manufacturers seek a way to demonstrate to the public – and to their own – that their cars they can resist over timefacing long journeys without breaking. And it is precisely here that the revolutionary idea was born: to create a race not based on pure speed, but on duration and reliability.
In 1923 theAutomobile Club de l’Ouest (Acco), an association based in Le Mans, organizes the first edition of a race never seen before: 24 hours uninterrupted of the race on public roads closed to traffic. 33 cars are presented at the start, including historical names such as Chenard & Walcker, Bentley And Bugatti. The track, called Circuit de la Sartheis over 13 kilometers long and alternates countryside sections, narrow curves and long straights. There is still no night lighting, i headlights Cars are everything that guides the pilots in the darkness. Among other things, many innovations we see today in seed cars, such as disc brakes and LED lightsmade their debut here.
The departure took place at 16:00as usual, and it was immediately clear that it was not a simple race. During the night, the pilots led in the dark, Between rain, fatigue and fog. Some alternated, but many guided alone for hours. The boxes were rudimentary, the risky supplies, and a failure was enough to force the retreat.
The original goal was not only to reward those who went faster, but to understand which car was able to resist prolonged stresssimilar to that of extreme daily use. A vision that today seems almost futuristic for the time. And in that year, to cross the finish line after 24 exhausting hours, they were André Lagache And René Léonard On a Chenard & Walcker Sport, which traveled 2,209 km with an average of 92 km/h. Not much if compared to today’s cars, but at the time it was a monumental performance.
From that moment, the 24 hours of Le Mans has become una of the 3 most important races of world motorsport, together with the Munich Grand Prix of Formula 1 and the 500 miles of Indianapolis.
How the 24 hours of Le Mans works and which cars participate in the race
The 24 hours of Le Mans is a race of endurancethat is, a resistance race that lasts 24 hours without interruption. Wins who travels the greater number of laps in the established time. Each car is entrusted to a crew of Three pilotswhich alternate with the steering wheel with shifts of about 1-3 hours, interspersed with breaks for sleeping, eating or recovering the energies. During the race, fuel supplies, tire change, quick maintenance and even mechanical repairs are expected, all within Technically advanced boxes. But there is a fundamental rule: the vehicle must end the race with his own forces. No external help is allowed: if the car stops on the track, the mechanics cannot intervene. It is the pilot who has to bring it back to the pits, even in push, if he wants to continue.
Two main classes participate in the 24 hours of Le Mans: the Hypercar and the LMGT3. Hypercars are prototype cars designed by scratch to run, with advanced technologies, aggressive design and aerodynamic solutions pushed. They are the top of the motorsport endurance, and there are brands at the start Ferrari, Toyota, Porsche, Peugeot, Alpine and Cadillac. The LMGT3s instead derive from high -performance road cars, adapted for competitions. Each class has its own regulations and requirements: for example, in hypercars the crews are free, while in LMGT3 it is mandatory to include Different level pilots (amateurs and professionals). In both categories the Bopa system that balances the performance between different cars to make races more balanced and spectacular. This means that a Ferrari and a Toyota, despite being very different, can play it on an equal footing.
As for the scoresthe WEC adopts a scheme similar to Formula 1: the winner of a normal race gets 25 points, the second 18, and so on until the tenth. However, the 24 hours of Le Mans is so important that doubles the score: whoever wins brings home 50 points. The medium -lasting competitions, such as 8 or 10 hours, instead offer an intermediate score (up to 38 points to the first). In addition, those who conquer pole position receives a bonus point.
Who won more in the history of the 24 hours of Le Mans
Over the years the 24 hours of Le Mans has seen manufacturers and pilots protagonists who have written indelible pages of its legend. Among the manufacturers, Porsche It is the brand with the greatest number of absolute successes, boasting well 19 wins From his first triumph in 1970 to the most recent editions. Behind other important names stand out such as Audiwith 13 successes, and the historic Ferrariwho conquered 10 wins between 1949 and 1965, marking a golden era for the rampant horse in the durability races.
At the level of pilots, the record of absolute victories belongs to the Danish Tom Kristensennicknamed “Mr. Le Mans”, with an incredible booty of 9 successes conquered between 1997 and 2013. Other legendary drivers include Jacky Iickx And Derek Bellboth with 6 wins. After a long period without success, which lasted 58 years, the Ferrari returned to win in 2023 Thanks to the new Hypercar 499p lined up by the AF Corse team. The team made up of Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi conquered the first place.
