Among the 200 decorated trucks that took part in the 24 Heures Camions parade, one paid tribute to a French national treasure, the late Johnny Hallyday.

24 Heures Camions

24 HOURS CENTENARY – PEOPLE AND MACHINES ⎮ Sébastien Buemi recently joined nine other former winners of the 24 Hours in the Le Mans Drivers’ Hall of Fame, established in 2013 to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the famous race.

A Hall of Fame is an institution that honours major successes of individuals in a particular field, primarily in the world of sport and entertainment.

The Le Mans Drivers&#39; Hall of Fame has inducted not only former winners, but also the most senior 24 Hours drivers in their respective countries: Belgian Freddy Rousselle (1927&ndash;2013, three starts), American Dick Thompson (1920&ndash;2014, six starts), Englishman Eric Thompson (1919&ndash;2015, seven starts), French-Brazilian Hermano da Silva Ramos (born in 1925, four starts) and Japanese Kunimitsu Takahashi (1940&ndash;2022, eight starts).

The ten former winners that currently reside in the Hall of Fame have notched an impressive total of 49 victories. All tend to be associated with a specific make of car &ndash; Audi for Tom Kristensen, Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Allan McNish (Bentley too for Kristensen), Porsche for Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell, Ferrari for Olivier Gendebien, Matra for Henri Pescarolo, Toyota for S&eacute;bastien Buemi &ndash; with one exception: Yannick Dalmas, as we shall see elsewhere &ndash; even if his first Le Mans success was also a first for Peugeot.

<h3>Tom Kristensen or Jacky Ickx &ndash; who is &ldquo;Mr Le Mans&rdquo;?</h3>

Is &quot;Mr Le Mans&quot; necessarily the driver with most wins?&nbsp;As soon as he took the chequered flag on 19 June 2005 to pass Ickx&rsquo;s mark, Kristensen was quick to insist that the Belgian ace should retain his moniker. With 15 victories between them, Ickx and Kristensen represent two generations and almost half a century of the 24 Hours of Le Mans legend from the former&rsquo;s first appearance in 1966 to the latter&rsquo;s bow in 2014. Whichever of the two is the true Mr Le Mans, it is unlikely that the title will be seized by anyone else any time soon.

Tom Kristensen (born on 7 July 1967) &ndash; 18 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1997 to 2014, nine wins (1997, 2000&ndash;05, 2008, 2013), five other podium places.

Jacky Ickx (born on 1 January 1945) &ndash; 15 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1966 to 1985, six wins (1969, 1975&ndash;77, 1981&ndash;82), three other podium places.

<h3>Derek Bell, the best of British</h3>

The most successful British driver ever at Le Mans, Bell exemplifies a certain idea of loyalty. First of all, he and Ickx formed one of the most outstanding pairs of drivers ever seen in the classic French marathon, winning three of the four races they participated in as a team. Bell then went on to win twice more, each time with American Al Holbert and Hans Joachim Stuck of Germany.

Derek Bell (born on 31 October 1941) &ndash; 26 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1970 to 1996, five wins (1975, 1981&ndash;82, 1986&ndash;87), four other podium places.

<h3>Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro, partners in performance</h3>

The German and the Italian both have five Le Mans wins to their name, all achieved together! Like Kristensen, Biela and Pirro were among the pioneers of Audi&rsquo;s winning streak, after participating in the marque&rsquo;s maiden appearance in 1999. They scored their first three victories with the Danish record holder, before chalking up two more with German Marko Werner. These two wins with Werner were also the first for a Diesel-powered car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Emanuele Pirro (born on 12 January 1962) &ndash; 13 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1981 to 2010, five wins (2000&ndash;02, 2006&ndash;07), four other podium places.

Frank Biela (born on 2 August 1964) &ndash; 10 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1999 to 2008, five wins (2000&ndash;02, 2006&ndash;07), four other podium places.

<h3>Olivier Gendebien, the 24 Hours&rsquo; other King of Belgium</h3>

Thanks to Gendebien (from 1962 to 1980), and then Ickx (from 1981 to 2004), Belgian drivers held the record for most 24 Hours of Le Mans wins for over four decades. The first four-time winner in the history of the race, Gendebien was also one half of the first pairing (with American Phil Hill) to win the legendary French endurance race three times. After taking the wheel of a Porsche on his maiden appearance, Gendebien became the most successful Ferrari driver ever at the 24 Hours &ndash; a record that still stands today.

Olivier Gendebien (12 January 1924 to 2 October 1998) &ndash; eight starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1955 to 1962, four wins (1958, 1960&ndash;62), one other podium place.

<h3>Henri Pescarolo, the French legend</h3>

Pescarolo became part of 24 Hours legend before he ever won the race. In 1968, he put in an unforgettable night-time performance in the driving rain despite windscreen wiper failure. His four successes captured the hearts of the French public whose affection runs deeper than his place in the record books for most appearances in the race and his status as the only French driver to win three years in a row.

Henri Pescarolo (born on 25 September 1942) &ndash; 33 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1966 to 1999, four wins (1972&ndash;74, 1984).

<h3>Yannick Dalmas, Mr Versatility</h3>

Dalmas was indisputably one of the kingpins of sports car racing in the 1990s. He occupies a unique place in the Hall of Fame with four wins achieved in four different cars. This versatility, however, is as much a matter of circumstances as the reward for a talent that truly flourished on the Le Mans racetrack, and one that team leaders and manufacturers quickly snapped up. Today, Dalmas offers his experience to the FIA as Driver Advisor for the World Endurance Championship.

Yannick Dalmas (born on 28 July 1961) &ndash; 12 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1991 to 2002, four wins (1992, 1994&ndash;95, 1999), four other podium places.

<h3>S&eacute;bastien Buemi, the Swiss watch</h3>

From 1923 to 2010, no Swiss citizen had ever won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, in the twelve races from 2011 to 2022, a Swiss driver appeared on the highest step of the podium no fewer than eight time. In chronological order, they were Marcel F&auml;ssler (three wins), Neel Jani (one) and S&eacute;bastien Buemi, the latest inductee into the Hall of Fame on the back of his fourth triumph in 2022. At the age of 35, Buemi still has time on his side to go even further, given that Kristensen, Bell, Pirro, Biela and Pescarolo were all well over 40 years of age when they clinched their final win.

S&eacute;bastien Buemi (born on 31 October 1988) &ndash; 11 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2012, four wins (2018&ndash;2020, 2022), three other podium places.

<h3>Allan McNish, Scottish spirit</h3>

After an initial win in a Porsche 911 GT1 in 1998, the man from Dumfries joined Audi where he compiled one of the finest track records in endurance history, with two successive Le Mans wins. He also became one of the most popular drivers in the discipline with his blend of humour, charisma and skilful driving, with a few frights thrown into the mix, such as the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Allan McNish (born on 29 December 1969) &ndash; 14 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1997 to 2013, three wins (1998, 2008, 2013), five other podium places.

PHOTOS (&copy; ACO ARCHIVES) &ndash; FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: ACO President Pierre Fillon (left) and six former winners on the creation of the Hall of Fame in 2013, with (from left to right) Tom Kristensen, Derek Bell, Emanuele Pirro, Frank Biela, Yannick Dalmas and Henri Pescarolo; Jacky Ickx also holds the record for the number of pole positions at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (five, including three&nbsp; in a row); Olivier Gendebien (right) in 1959, when he was forced to retire from the 24 Hours of Le Mans; S&eacute;bastien Buemi at his induction into the Hall of Fame in 2022; Allan McNish (left) hung up his helmet in 2013 after his third Le Mans win.

24 Hours Centenary – The Le Mans Drivers' Hall of Fame

The #60 Acura AXR-06 of Meyer Shank Racing won the 61st Rolex 24 at Daytona, the opening round of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The GTP field, the new top class in endurance – known as Hypercar in the FIA WEC – made for a spectacular race.

Not only did the striking cars live up to high expectations, they surpassed them, delivering one of the most spectacular races Daytona has ever seen. Four LMDh-compliant models composed the field: the Acura AXR-06, the Porsche&nbsp;963, the Cadillac V-LMDh and the BMW M Hybrid V8. Eight out of nine cars finished, six of them ahead of competitors in other classes.

The #60 Acura AXR-06 claimed pole position and Tom Blomqvist went on to drive her to victory. The British/Swedish driver crossed the finish line 4.1 seconds ahead of the #10 Acura AXR-06 fielded by Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport. Blomqvist was teamed with Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves (his third successive win) and Simon Pagenaud (second victory in the Florida classic). The #01, #02 and #31 Cadillac V-LMDhs followed.

<h2>Proton Competition down to the line in LMP2</h2>

What an emotional rollercoaster for Proton Competition! Australian James Allen took the #55 over the line ahead of his pursuer with a mere 0.016 seconds to spare, just three days after his crew&rsquo;s Oreca&nbsp;07 had suffered severe damage in free practice. The Australian drafted past the #04 Oreca&nbsp;07 to snatch victory from Crowdstrike Racing by APR. In the last hour, a battle had been raging between Proton Competition, Crowdstrike Racing by APR, AF Corse and TDS Racing.

The other class winners were

<ul>
	<li>GTD Pro: #79 Mercedes AMG-GT3 of WeatherTech Racing;</li>
	<li>GTD: #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Heart Racing;</li>
	<li>LMP3: #17 Duqeine D08 of AWA.</li>
</ul>

2023 Rolex&nbsp;24 at Daytona <a href="https://www.imsa.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2023/01/29/Rolex-24_Results_Race_Unofficial.pdf" target="_blank">full results (provisional)</a>

The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the 12 Hours of Sebring on 15&ndash;18 March. This year&rsquo;s FIA WEC season begins with the 1000 Miles of Sebring on Friday 17 March.

Rolex 24 at Daytona: Acura and Meyer Shank Racing usher in the GTP era

24 HOURS CENTENARY – THE LE MANS EXCEPTION ⎮ Waving the French flag at the start of the race in front of thousands of spectators and TV cameras from all over the world is an incredible honour for all official starters: athletes from every discipline, retired or active drivers, industry leaders, royalty, federation presidents, astronauts and more. Of course, among them has figured the heads of major car manufacturers linked to Le Mans.

Since&nbsp;1949, the year the race returned after World War II, the Automobile Club de l&rsquo;Ouest has entrusted the waving of the French flag to an individual of some renown. Between&nbsp;1923 and&nbsp;1939, the honour was carried out by a chosen few, but not regularly.&nbsp;

Major captains of industry who directly impacted&nbsp;the history of the&nbsp;24 Hours have signaled the start. In fact, since&nbsp;1949 as many as 15 automotive industry leaders have served as official starter at Le Mans.

The first was Ford Motor Company President Henry Ford II (grandson of founder Henry Ford) in 1966. Forty-nine years later, in 2015, the privilege went to Henry&#39;s great-grandson&nbsp;and Ford Executive Chairman William Clay Ford. The two invitations are evidence of&nbsp;the American marque&#39;s legacy at the 24 Hours: Ford remains to this day the only U.S. manufacturer to claim the overall win at Le Mans.

<h3>Previous winners serve as official&nbsp;starters</h3>

Other motorsport&nbsp;leaders who have made a lasting impact&nbsp;on auto racing have been designated as official starters.

In 1970, Dr. Ferry Porsche, the son of founder&nbsp;Ferdinand Porsche, was given the honour of signaling the start to the&nbsp;51 competitors on the track&nbsp;(including seven&nbsp;Porsche 917s). What a race it turned out to be! The German marque clinched the first of its 19 wins at the&nbsp;24 Hours, against 11&nbsp;Ferrari 512 Ss!

Luca di Montezemolo, Fiat and Ferrari S.p.A. Chairman at the time, gave the start in 2009. Then, John Elkann, the current Chairman of Ferrari (and Stellantis which includes&nbsp;PSA, Fiat and&nbsp;Chrysler) did so in 2021. John Elkann:&nbsp;&quot;The&nbsp;Centenary of the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans is an opportunity to do wonderful things, and to look to the future in such a way history carries on.&quot;&nbsp;The future it seems is now with Ferrari returning this year to the head class&nbsp;(Le Mans Hypercar) at the race and in the FIA World Endurance&nbsp;Championship.

Only three&nbsp;marques have been represented by&nbsp;official starters at the 24 Hours:&nbsp;Ford (1966 and&nbsp;2015), Ferrari (2009 and&nbsp;2021) and&nbsp;Peugeot in 2006 with&nbsp;PSA Peugeot Citro&euml;n Chairman and CEO Jean-Martin Folz, then in 2020 with PSA CEO Carlos Tavares. It was at that running of the race that the French constructor (three wins in 1992, 1993 and&nbsp;2009) announced its return to endurance racing and Le Mans.

With 13 victories to the manufacturer&#39;s&nbsp;credit, Audi AG Chairman Dr. Martin Winterkorn waved the French flag in 2005. He too experienced the thrill of one of his own marque&#39;s cars winning&nbsp;the race. The achievement was made even more special when&nbsp;Tom Kristensen became the new win record-holder at Le Mans.

<h3>The automobile industry beyond manufacturers</h3>

Other auto industry heads have given the start at the 24 Hours, but without seeing their marque win that year. For example,&nbsp;seven-time winner Jaguar&#39;s president&nbsp;Sir John Egan, who waved the French flag in 1986, and&nbsp;Toyota Chairman of the Board&nbsp;Takeshi Uchiyamada who did so in 2012 (six years before the first of the hybrid car world leader&#39;s five consecutive victories at the race).

Let us not forget Matra president&nbsp;Sylvain Floirat who gave the start in 1973 and watched as the marque clinched its second win in a row, Volkswagen Group Chairman of the Executive Board&nbsp;Dr. Ferdinand Pi&euml;ch in&nbsp;2001 and American businessman and founder of Petit Le Mans&nbsp;Don Panoz in 2003.

From another sector of the auto industry, Kyohei Yokose, CEO of Sumitomo (owner of Dunlop, the winningest tyre manufacturer at Le&nbsp;Mans), gave the start in 1988.

Last year&#39;s official starter, TotalEnergies CEO&nbsp;Patrick Pouyann&eacute;: &quot;The most challenging auto endurance race&nbsp;once again proves it&#39;s a true laboratory for&nbsp;TotalEnergies and a showcase for all motorsport. As a partner of the Automobile Club de l&rsquo;Ouest, TotalEnergies is proud to provide competitors in this 90th running with 100% renewable fuel for the first time in&nbsp;the history of the race. We are contributing&nbsp;to the ACO&#39;s commitment to sustainability. It is a privilege for me to give the start.&quot;

For these world industry leaders, to give the start at the 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans is a measure of recognition and of the importance of their marque to&nbsp;the legacy&nbsp;of the race. It is an honour bestowed upon very few, and even more exceptional&nbsp;on&nbsp;10 June for the start of the&nbsp;Centenary!

&nbsp;

PHOTOS (Copyright - ACO Archives): LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 2021-2022 24 HOURS OF LE&nbsp;MANS. From top to bottom:&nbsp;the French flag given to the official starter was waved by John Elkann in 2021 and by Patrick Pouyann&eacute; in&nbsp;2022&nbsp;(at centre above with ACO president&nbsp;Pierre Fillon at right), the heads of Ferrari/Stellantis and&nbsp;TotalEnergies, respectively.

24 Hours Centenary – Big names in the automotive industry serve as official starters

24 HOURS CENTENARY – PERPETUAL INNOVATION⎮For some, the race begins on the drawing board or in the workshop, well before the cars gather on the track. Especially for Le Mans. It is the designers’ and engineers’ job to find materials that are lighter, stronger and easier to shape to attain the highest level of performance for a full 24 hours.

A racing car basically consists of two distinct parts: the chassis and body on the one hand, and the engine on the other.

In the very early years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the body was made of sheet steel, wood or canvas and bolted on to a steel chassis. Canvas being lighter than steel or wood, it was often used for the side panels and roof.&nbsp;It is worth noting that the Mini Marcos driven by Jean-Louis Marnat and Claude Ballot-L&eacute;na in 1966 was the last to be built on a largely wooden chassis. Remarkably, it finished in 15th place.

In 1923, the chassis of the race-winning Chenard &amp; Walcker consisted of pressed steel siderails and crossmembers, with thin steel plate used for the body. The engine was in cast iron, as were the gearbox and differential housing. Most pre-war racing cars were thus built, although manufacturers were starting to introduce aluminium for chassis and engine parts.

<h3>Shedding those surplus pounds</h3>

The architecture and materials had evolved steadily when the outbreak of the Second World War halted proceedings. In the 1950s, however, all designers adopted the same mantra: &ldquo;weight is the enemy&rdquo;. The challenge was then to find new materials to replace the cast iron used in engines and brake drums, for instance, and especially the steel used for chassis.

Aluminium, much lighter than cast iron, became the material of choice for many components, such as brake drums, and, subsequently, cylinder blocks and even the engines themselves. Aluminium is relatively easy to cast for mechanical components and in sheet form is sufficiently malleable to shape into body panels. However, it remains relatively flexible making it unsuitable for the tubular chassis that became the norm on fifties&rsquo; and sixties&rsquo; prototypes.

For a while, magnesium was used in the chassis tubes but it has the drawback of being difficult to extinguish in the event of a fire. This was tragically illustrated in 1955 when Pierre Levegh&rsquo;s Mercedes ignited on impact with a wall, resulting in the material being banned.

During the 1960s, Lotus developed a solution in the shape of a &ldquo;tub&rdquo; made of riveted aluminium panels. The &ldquo;unibody&rdquo; construction and the reinforcements spaced along the entire length offered greater rigidity than welded tubular steel trellis frames. Matra adopted a similar construction for the 650 in 1969, albeit with a tubular steel chassis. In 1971, the French manufacturer opted for a riveted aluminium monocoque for the 660. Alfa Romeo and Porsche, on the other hand, continued for quite some time with the tubular chassis &ndash; until the 1972 33 TT and the 1977 936 respectively.

Chassis panel composition evolved quickly in the 1970s with honeycomb bonded to thin aluminium sheet. This technique improved rigidity considerably without affecting the weight.

Since the 1960s, manufacturers had gradually turned to fibreglass for their bodywork. The technique involved placing one or more layers of fibreglass bonded with resin in large moulds to produce sleek, aerodynamic bodies much more easily than with aluminium, which was not only heavier, but more labour-intensive too. Racing teams could therefore manage a stock of replacement parts at the track and change full panels, such as a front or rear hood, rather an attempt a repair during the race.

The use of aluminium, on the other hand, became more widespread for engines and gearboxes. Progress in casting technology meant that sufficiently fine walls could be produced in this material, while maintaining ample rigidity for the engine to be fully stressed (i.e. act as a chassis at the rear of the car) and avoid an excessively heavy chassis.

<h3>McLaren and the carbon revolution</h3>

The 1990s saw the advent of carbon fibre shells. This composite material consisting of resin and carbon fibres is known as carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer, or CFRP. McLaren, who had been honing the technology in Formula One since the MP4/1 appeared in 1981, introduced it to Le Mans in 1995. It was a great success as the F1 GTR won the race on its first appearance in the hands of Yannick Dalmas, Masanori Sekiya and JJ Lehto. The benefit of CFRP is two-fold: very high torsional strength, absorbing stress without damage, and a very light weight in comparison with aluminium. It does have one drawback, however. A carbon shell takes a long time to make as it must be placed in an autoclave (high temperature under pressure) to ensure that the various components are suitably homogenised.

Carbon has also found an application in braking systems since the late 1980s. Discs in this material withstand extremely high temperatures and offer constant braking performance throughout their life. Carbon brake discs have in fact become something of a symbol at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Race fans and photographers alike delight in seeing them glow red-hot due to the heavy braking required at iconic spots, such as Mulsanne, Indianapolis, Arnage, and the Ford and Dunlop chicanes. Technological innovation certainly knows how to put on a show!

PHOTOS: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS &ndash; FROM TOP TO BOTTOM (&copy; ACO ARCHIVES): A three-shot illustration of the evolution in chassis and body materials, with the sheet steel used by Chenard &amp; Walcker (here, the 1923 Raoul Bachmann/Christian Dauvergne entry, second behind the other car of the French marque that won the inaugural 24 Hours), tubular chassis and fibreglass for the Matra 650 (fourth in 1969 with Jean-Pierre Beltoise/Piers Courage) and carbon fibre for the McLaren F1 GTR (here, the fifth-placed car driven by David Brabham/Pierre-Henri Raphanel/Lindsay Owen-Jones in 1996).

&nbsp;

From wood to CFRP – a century of evolution at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

24 Heures Camions 2018

This weekend of&nbsp;29 and&nbsp;30 September&nbsp;2018, the&nbsp;24 Heures Camions at Le&nbsp;Mans put on quite a show for the thousands of spectators in attendance, with fierce battles on the track - in both the French&nbsp;Championship and European&nbsp;Championship&nbsp;- as well as a breathtaking parade of decorated trucks. In this extraordinary procession of color&nbsp;and sound, one truck was dedicated to the memory of Johnny Hallyday. For fans of the singer, who passed away during the night between&nbsp;5 and&nbsp;6 December&nbsp;2017, it was&nbsp;the perfect reminder of how much he loved road and racing cars and&nbsp;motos.&nbsp;

24H LE MANS

24 Heures Camions: a tribute to Johnny Hallyday

Related News

24 Hours Centenary – The Le Mans Drivers' Hall of Fame

Rolex 24 at Daytona: Acura and Meyer Shank Racing usher in the GTP era

24 Hours Centenary – Big names in the automotive industry serve as official starters

From wood to CFRP – a century of evolution at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

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