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64-538: When he was allowed to bring the rules and racing formulae of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to North America with the creation of the Petit Le Mans in 1998, Don Panoz attempted to build a series inspired by the Petit Le Mans. The aged IMSA GT Championship was taken over and became the new American Le Mans Series, and met with much success in 1999 . Europe had lacked a major sports prototype series since

128-555: A break as all applications that year were deemed unfit by the ACO. Frederic Sausset, a quadruple amputee, drove a modified Morgan LMP2 in the 2016 race. Financial problems forced Welter Racing to cancel its 2017 Garage 56 run with the Green4U Panoz Racing GT-EV, a biomethane -fuel prototype featuring a 3-cylinder 1.2-liter engine fueled by biomethane stored in cryogenic tanks. Welter Racing went on to develop

192-452: A car inspection on Monday and Tuesday. Currently, these sessions are held in the evening, with two separate two-hour sessions held each night. Friday serves as a day of rest, and a parade of all the drivers through Le Mans is held. Test days held at the end of April or beginning of May served as a pre-qualification weeding out the slowest cars. However, in 2005 the exorbitant cost of transporting cars to and from Le Mans led organizers to move

256-565: A hybrid electric car based on the DeltaWing's design, took the Garage 56 slot in 2014. Despite an early retirement from the race after only 23 minutes due to a gearbox issue, the ZEOD RC achieved its goals of hitting a top speed of 300 km/h (186.41 mph), and completing the first ever lap of Le Mans using exclusively electric power at racing speed. In 2015, the Garage 56 program took

320-736: A racing track. The 24 Hours of Le Mans was frequently part of the World Sportscar Championship from 1953 until that series' final season in 1992 . In 2011 , it was a part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup . Since 2012 , the race has been a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship . In the World Endurance Championship's super-season of May 2018 to June 2019, the 24 Hours of Le Mans

384-429: A relief driver can take over during a pit stop while eating and resting. Current regulations mandate that three drivers share each competing vehicle. Competing teams race in groups called "classes", or cars of similar specification, while competing simultaneously for outright placing amongst all classes. Originally, the race showcased cars as they were sold to the general public, then called "Sports Cars", in contrast with

448-448: A series run by themselves would be a better alternative for Europe. The ACO would instead attempt to attract factory backed teams with longer endurance races than ALMS and FIA SCC ran. The series would also be European based instead of international, thus it could be closer to the factories of many sportscar teams to help attract them to the series. In 2003, the ACO announced their intentions to create their own European-based series, named

512-405: A standard 4.2-litre Gibson V8 engine. LMP1 teams are subject to no such restrictions. Their extra power, lower weight, and more complex aerodynamics result in much quicker lap times; LMP1 cars also may use hybrid technology. The next class is LMGT3 , which are similar to production-based sports cars. Concept cars intended to test new automotive technologies may participate in the race under

576-460: Is 2010's 5,410 km (3,360 mi), six times the length of the Indianapolis 500 , or about 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 , tires , and braking materials. It also tests endurance, with drivers frequently racing for over two hours before

640-449: Is a series for Le Mans prototype and Grand Touring style cars broken into 4 classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. It began on 17 April 2005 and ended on 13 November 2005 after 5 rounds. Overall winner in bold . Points are awarded to the top 8 finishers in the order of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. Teams with multiple entries do not have their cars combined, each entry number is scored separately in the championship. Cars failing to complete 70% of

704-520: Is also one of the races alongside the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring that make up the informal Triple Crown of endurance racing . Run since 1923, it is the oldest active endurance racing event in the world. Unlike fixed-distance races whose winner is determined by minimum time, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is won by the car that covers the greatest distance in 24 hours. The cars on this track are able to achieve speeds of 366 km/h (227 mph), and reached 407 km/h (253 mph) on

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768-451: Is that cars must be switched off while refueling in the pits. Not only is this safer and less of a fire hazard, but it is also another test of reliability, demanding a guaranteed ability to restart many times under race conditions. Another element of this rule is that mechanics are not allowed to work on the car while it is being refuelled (other than helping a driver in or out of the car), which has led teams to adapt innovative ways to decrease

832-560: Is track marshals waving safety flags during the race's final lap, congratulating the winners and other finishers. Le Mans was the venue for the first televised instance of a winning driver celebrating by spraying champagne instead of drinking it. When Dan Gurney won the 1967 race with co-driver A. J. Foyt , the two drivers mounted the victory podium, and Gurney was handed a magnum of champagne. Looking down, he saw Ford CEO Henry Ford II , team owner Carroll Shelby and their wives, as well as several journalists who had predicted disaster for

896-457: The 1969 race, Jacky Ickx opposed it by walking across the track while his competitors ran. Although he was nearly hit by a faster competitor's car while walking, Ickx took the time to fasten his safety belts before pulling away. Privateer John Woolfe died in an accident on the first lap of that race; Ickx won. 2005 Le Mans Series season The 2005 Le Mans Endurance Series was the second season of ACO 's Le Mans Endurance Series . It

960-573: The 4 Hours of Silverstone race would be dropped from the calendar due to a date not being able to be found. The 4 Hours of Barcelona would also be replaced by a second 4 Hours of Le Castellet race at Circuit Paul Ricard . New ACO Generation II LMP3 ruleset regulation built cars were also eligible for the LMP3 Class in the category featuring manufactured chassis's such as the Ginetta G61-LT-P3 , Ligier JS P320 , Duqueine D-08 , and

1024-596: The ADESS-03 Evo all of which use a VK56DE 5.6L Nissan V8 naturally aspirated engine. In the 2021 season of the ELMS a LMP2 Pro-Am Cup Trophy was introduced aimed at teams who have bronze rated contracted drivers. In the 2023 season of the ELMS, it marks as the last season of the LMGTE class as it will be replaced with a GT3-Specification class to be known as LMGT3 starting in the year 2024 season with Goodyear being

1088-628: The FIA World Endurance Championship was reestablished in 2012, the ELMS had a reduced car count including officially dropping the LMP1 Prototype class from the category and its calendar was reduced to three rounds in Paul Ricard, Donington Park and Road Atlanta (Petit Le Mans). For 2013, a twenty-nine car field was announced, with eleven in the LMP2 class, ten in the LM GTE class, and five in

1152-525: The Rolex Sports Car Series ' 24 Hours of Daytona ) held all four major American endurance classics in preparation for teams to race at Le Mans . The race has approximately 60 competitors. Each car was required to have at least two seats. However, recently cars only need to have space to accommodate a second seat in the cockpit rather than the seat itself. Two doors are allowed; open cockpit cars do not require doors. Since 2014, all cars in

1216-478: The "Garage 56" banner. Such entries are classified in the race results, though are not expected to be competitive as their sole focus is to demonstrate experimental features. The program debuted in 2012 with the DeltaWing , an unusual rocket-shaped car fielded by All-American Racers and supported by Nissan. The DeltaWing concept showed promise, delivering nearly LMP2-level performance while only consuming 48% of

1280-508: The ACO deeming none of the applications sufficiently mature. 2020 saw Frederic Sausset attempting to return to Garage 56 under the SRT41 banner by fielding a specially modified Oreca 07 LMP2 car with a lineup of three disabled drivers; however, the attempt was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The SRT41 program was delayed to 2021, which saw Garage 56 successfully making a return for

1344-470: The ELMS events that included ALMS teams, very few teams actually bothered to make the trip across the Atlantic to participate in races that appeared to have very few serious competitors. Thus the entry lists for each race fell from 25 at the beginning of the season to a mere 14 at season's end, with some classes only having one or two competitors. With a lack of involvement from teams, and less interest from

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1408-653: The GTC class was dropped from the series and moved to a new support series, the GT3 Le Mans Cup . This tournament was held on the same weekends as the European Le Mans Series 4-hour events, as well as on the same week as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with shorter races than the ELMS. In 2017, it was established by ACO that the lower teams from LMP3 would drop to the year's Michelin Le Mans Cup , while

1472-504: The LMP category as rules have been changed to their benefit and to further push efficiency. The race is held in mid June, meaning the shortest night and very hot conditions for drivers, particularly in closed vehicles with poor ventilation. Rainy weather is common. The race begins in mid-afternoon and finishes the following day at the same hour the race started the previous day. Modern competitors often cover well over 5,000 km. The record

1536-682: The Le Mans Endurance Series, which would be similar to the original European Le Mans Series, but feature only 1000 km races instead of the shorter, 2 hour 45 minute races used by the ELMS, and fewer races in a season than the ALMS and FIA SCC to help keep costs down. Winners of the LMES championship would go on to earn automatic entries in the 24 Hours of Le Mans , similar to the American Le Mans Series. The series

1600-600: The Mulsanne Straight in 1988  – instigating the addition of more chicanes to the track to reduce speed reached. Racing teams must balance the demands of speed with the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without mechanical failure. The race is organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). It is held on the Circuit de la Sarthe , composed of closed public roads and dedicated sections of

1664-536: The World Championship. The race is also known as a leg of the informal Triple Crown of Motorsport which links Formula One , IndyCar , and Sports car racing to represent a career achievement for drivers. Additionally, it is seen as a leg of the Triple Crown of endurance racing , which links the three largest sports car races together, with 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Daytona forming

1728-422: The best LMP3 teams from this competition would be promoted to ELMS. During this year's season new ACO LMP2 Prototype Class regulations were introduced with licensed manufacturers such as Dallara , Onroak Automotive (Ligier), Oreca and the joint-venture Riley Tech / Multimatic with Gibson Technology being the exclusive engine supplier. In 2020, with the season heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic ,

1792-399: The bunched field at the start. This starting method inspired Porsche to locate the ignition key switch to the left of the steering wheel. In a left-hand drive car, this allowed the driver to use his left hand to start the engine and his right hand to put the transmission into gear, which in turn shaves off a few tenths of a second. Stirling Moss developed another method for speeding up

1856-496: The car with hopes of entering the car in 2018 and 2019, but ultimately did not compete due to complex issues with the car in 2018, and due to Don Panoz 's death suspending the program in 2019. The 2019 slot was also eyed by UK-based constructor Perrinn with the Project 424, an LMP1-based electric-powered car with an autonomous driving mode; however, this did not come to pass, and Garage 56 was left empty in both 2018 and 2019 due to

1920-427: The car. The car marked NASCAR's 75th anniversary, which coincided with the race's centenary. Chad Knaus , Johnson's crew chief during each of his Cup Series championships, was project manager, while the car bore #24 in honor of Hendrick vice chairman and former driver Jeff Gordon . Initially, there were no rules on the number of car drivers or how long they could drive. Although almost all teams used two drivers in

1984-635: The demise of the World Sportscar Championship in 1992. Following the success of the ALMS, Panoz attempting to bring sports prototype racing back to Europe. This led to the 2000 American Le Mans Series season , which included two races in Europe as the Nürburgring and Silverstone Circuit , as well as a round in Australia. These races would serve as a precursor to what would become the separate European Le Mans Series in 2001. The European Le Mans Series

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2048-405: The early decades, some Le Mans drivers such as Pierre Levegh and Eddie Hall attempted to run the race solo, hoping to save time by not having to change drivers. This practice was later banned. Until the 1980s, there were teams in which only two drivers competed, but by the end of the decade, the rules were changed to stipulate that at least three drivers must drive each car. By the 1990s, due to

2112-490: The exclusive tyre supplier. 24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: 24 Heures du Mans ) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans , France . It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with the Monaco Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500 —that form the Triple Crown of Motorsport , and

2176-405: The famous race as to claim victory for their commercial partners). The race was a part of the World Sportscar Championship in every season from its inception in 1953 until its demise in 1992 except the 1956 , 1975 – 1979 and 1989 – 1990 seasons , and since 2012 the race has been the part of the FIA World Endurance Championship . However, Le Mans has always had a stronger reputation than

2240-532: The first time in five years. Two of the drivers, paralyzed from the waist down, became the first disabled teammates to compete in the history of the race. In 2022, Garage 56 was once again empty. For 2023, a modified NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 stock car fielded by Hendrick Motorsports was the Garage 56 entry, with seven-times Cup champion Jimmie Johnson , 2009 Formula One world champion and NASCAR driver Jenson Button , and 2010 Le Mans overall and LMP1 winner Mike Rockenfeller driving

2304-440: The first to win them all in the same year. The "greatest distance" rule was modified with the introduction of a rolling start in 1971. Now, the car that completes the greatest distance as of the final lap's completion—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

2368-572: The fuel, but retired after a collision with an LMP1 car six hours into the race. In 2013, Garage 56 was given to the Swiss-designed hydrogen-fueled GreenGT H2, which was to be the first car without an internal combustion engine to compete at Le Mans. However, the car was pronounced unfit to take part in the race by the team a few days before the race. In 2016, the H2 went on to complete a single demonstration lap at Le Mans. The Nissan ZEOD RC ,

2432-423: The grid than Miles's, McLaren's car had covered the greatest distance over the 24 hours. With the margin of victory determined to be eight metres, McLaren and his co-driver, Chris Amon , were declared the winners. The decision cost Miles and Denny Hulme a victory. Miles had already won the other two endurance races at Sebring and Daytona. With a win at Le Mans, he would have become the first man to win all three and

2496-677: The high-profile duo. Gurney shook the bottle and sprayed everyone nearby. Gurney autographed and gave the bottle of champagne to Life photographer Flip Schulke , who used it as a lamp for years before returning it to Gurney. The first race was held on 26–27 May 1923 and has since been run annually in June with exceptions in 1956, when the race was held in July; 1968, when it was held in September due to nationwide political turmoil in May ; 2020, when it

2560-703: The importance of reliability. The oil crisis in the early 1970s led organizers to adopt a fuel economy formula known as Group C that limited the amount of fuel each car was allowed. Although it was later abandoned, fuel economy remains important as new fuel sources reduce the time spent during pit stops. Such technological innovations have had a trickle-down effect and can be incorporated into consumer cars. This has also led to faster and more exotic supercars as manufacturers seek to develop faster road cars in order to develop them into even faster GT cars. Additionally, hybrid systems (flywheel, super-capacitor, battery coupled with both petrol and diesel) have been championed in

2624-481: The media due to the lack of teams, the European Le Mans Series folded following the 2001 season. The ACO was not completely satisfied with the fact that IMSA did not fully comply with the ACO's regulations in order to help attract privateer teams, as well as the failure of the FIA Sportscar Championship to succeed in Europe. Seeing the success of the American Le Mans Series, the ACO decided that

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2688-486: The new GTC class, which used GT3 technical rules. The calendar featured five races with a duration of 3 hours. In 2014, the LMPC class was dropped and all races were expanded to 4 hours. The 2015 season saw the introduction of the new LMP3 prototype class with cars built from Ligier , Ginetta , ADESS & Norma . Each of these cars chassis are powered by 5.0L Nissan V8 naturally aspirated engines ( VK50VE ) In 2016,

2752-737: The other legs. Since 1998, the American Le Mans Series (now the IMSA Weathertech Sports Car Championship ) has held an endurance race, along with the 12 hours of Sebring, every year called " Petit Le Mans ", as a 10-hour American version. In 2014, the Weathertech Sports Car Championship (a merger of the races at Sebring; Petit Le Mans in Braselton , Georgia; the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen in Watkins Glen , New York; and

2816-472: The pits as possible. At the same time, the layout of the track required cars with better aerodynamics and stability at high speeds. While this was shared with Grand Prix racing, few tracks in Europe had straights of a length comparable to the Mulsanne . Additionally, because the road is public and thus not as meticulously maintained as permanent racing circuits, racing puts more strain on the parts, increasing

2880-410: The premier LMP1 category must have a roof due to safety concerns, with open-cockpit cars only permitted in the slightly slower LMP2 category. Since 2017, all prototype cars, LMP1 or LMP2, must have closed cockpits. Although all cars compete at the same time, as of 2021 there are separate classes. A prize is awarded to the winner of each class and the overall winner. The number of classes has varied over

2944-530: The public. These are further broken down into two sub-classes: constructors' prototypes, privateer prototypes, and two subclasses of GT cars. Competing teams have had a wide variety of organizations, ranging from competition departments of road car manufacturers (eager to prove the supremacy of their products) to professional motor racing teams (representing their commercial backers, some of which are also car manufacturers who want to win without paying for their own teams) to amateur teams (racing as much to compete in

3008-454: The race has had different regulations for safety and competition reasons partly due to its length. For many decades, cars had to run at least an hour into the race before they could refill fluids for the car, such as oil or coolant, except for fuel. This was an attempt by the ACO to help increase efficiency and reliability. Those who could not last the first hour without replacing lost fluids risked disqualification. Another rule unique to Le Mans

3072-555: The race returning to its original start time of 16:00 in 2021, 2023 and 2024 respectively. The only exceptions were as follows: Initially, the car that covered the greatest distance from its starting position was the winner. This is known to have caught out the Ford team in 1966 . With a dominant 1–2 lead, the two cars slowed to allow for a photo opportunity at the finish line, with Ken Miles slightly ahead of Bruce McLaren . However, since McLaren's car had started much farther back on

3136-511: The race stewards. 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 lined up by engine capacity. 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

3200-628: The racing very exciting. 2005 saw the series expand to a five race format with the addition of the Istanbul Racing Circuit . In 2007 , the Le Mans Series held its first and single overseas race in the continent of South America with Mil Milhas Brasil as the sixth round. In 2010, the Formula Le Mans Cup was integrated into the Le Mans Series, running alongside Le Mans Prototype cars and GT cars. As

3264-500: The same time, the ELMS races at Donington Park and Jarama were considered optional for ALMS teams. This allowed for the possibility of boosting the draw from international teams to either series. The series was unable to earn much attention from European sportscar teams, especially since the final FIA Sportscar Championship and FIA GT Championship series used similar cars, but different rules which would require teams to modify their cars or buy new cars to comply with ELMS rules. For

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3328-490: The specialised racing cars used in Grand Prix motor racing . Over time, the competing vehicles evolved away from their publicly available road car roots. Today, the race comprises two classes: the purpose-built Sports prototypes which are also known as Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and are the highest level in sports car racing, and the production-based Grand Touring (GT) cars which are similar to sports cars sold to

3392-420: The speeds of the cars and the strain it puts on drivers, additional rules to reduce driver fatigue mandated that drivers could not drive for over 240 minutes (over 4 hours) and that no one driver could run for over 840 minutes (14 hours) total. With careful management of driver stints, this makes it possible to complete the race with only two drivers (as Jeroen Bleekemolen and Cooper MacNeil did in 2014), although

3456-408: The start. His car was waiting with first gear already engaged. He switched the starter on when he jumped in without depressing the clutch. The starter motor immediately jerked the car forward, but the engine did not start due to low RPM. After a few seconds of motion, he pushed the clutch down, allowing the engine to speed up and start while the car was moving. Feeling this type of start was unsafe, in

3520-670: The test day to the first weekend of June. Pre-qualification was eliminated in 2000, meaning that all competitors invited to the test would be allowed into the race. Since 2001 the Le Mans Legend races have also been part of the schedule, usually running exhibition races during qualifying days, a few hours prior to the sessions for the Le Mans entrants. From its inception, until 2008, the race started at 16:00 local time on Saturday, and consequently from 2009 to 2019, 2022 and come 2025 & hereafter it started at 15:00 local time, with

3584-482: The time of these lengthy pit stops. Drivers can get out of the car and be replaced by another driver during refuelling. Those rules are also applied in the FIA World Endurance Championship . There are various long-standing traditions at Le Mans, including the waving of the French tricolor to start the race. This is usually followed by a fly-over featuring jets trailing blue, white, and red smoke. A similar flag tradition

3648-423: 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

3712-443: The vast majority of teams still continue to use three drivers. In 2017, the driving time rules were further changed. If necessary, officials may require a drive time limit of 80 minutes of consecutive time behind the wheel and a minimum 30-minute rest break. The rule applies only if the air temperature is at least 32 °C (89.6 °F). Although it has been a part of the World Sportscar Championship for most of its existence,

3776-569: The years, but there are now three: Hypercar, LMP2, and LMGT3. Successor to the Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) is the custom-built Hypercar (LMH or LMDh) class. It is the top class and debuted in 2021. The new technical regulations are intended to prevent cost escalations while enabling greater variety in technical approaches and car aesthetics. This is followed by the LMP2 class where teams are obliged to run one of four approved chassis—ORECA, Ligier, Dallara, or Multimatic/Riley—mated with

3840-552: Was both the second and the last round of the season. Launched when Grand Prix motor racing was the dominant form of motorsport throughout Europe, Le Mans was designed to present a different test. Instead of focusing on the ability of a car company to build the fastest machines, the 24 Hours of Le Mans would concentrate on the ability of manufacturers to build sporty yet reliable cars. This encouraged innovation in producing reliable and fuel-efficient vehicles , because endurance racing requires cars that last and spend as little time in

3904-450: Was initially previewed in an open race run under the LMES banner in 2003 at the 1000km of Le Mans , a one-off event before the season started in 2004. For the 2004 Le Mans Endurance Series , the series participated in four events, including resurrecting classic races like the 1000km Monza , 1000km Nürburgring , 1000 km Silverstone and the Spa 1000 km . Many competitors participated, making

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3968-518: Was launched for 2001 with five races, including a premier 1000 km race at Estoril , which would be the European equivalent of the 1000 mile Petit Le Mans and earn automatic entries to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for each class winner. To aid in the development of the ELMS, the 2001 season shared some races between both ALMS and ELMS. The 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans , normally ALMS races, were considered optional races for ELMS teams. At

4032-525: Was moved to 19–20 September due to the COVID-19 outbreak; and 2021, when it was moved to 21–22 August. The race has been cancelled ten times—in 1936 (a labour strike during the Great Depression ) and between 1940 and 1948 (World War II). The race usually takes place on the second weekend of June, with qualifying and practice taking place on the Wednesday and Thursday before the race, following

4096-401: Was used in the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans to determine the race winner. The top two finishers completed 355 laps, with only 13 seconds difference between them. Although "greatest distance run" determines the provisional order of finishers, additional requirements must be met for a car to be classified. All classification requirements hold except in exceptional circumstances, as determined by

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