The 24 Hours of Le Mans was created with the aim of testing the quality of production cars and their equipment in race conditions.

1923
A legend is born

The first 24 Hours of Le Mans was a relatively low-key affair. The media were more interested in speed and racing cars and paid little attention to this new event where passenger cars were pitted against one another in an endurance race. The start was given at 16:00 and the 33 competitors set off around the 17.26-km Le Mans circuit. The track was actually more like a mud bath due to the atrocious weather conditions. The next day, the weather improved so the drivers were able to pick up some speed and ended up beating several international road records. The Chenard & Walcker driven by André Lagache and René Léonard beat the 24-hour distance record as well as the record for the time taken to cover 2,000 km. They also clinched victory at this first 24 Hours of Le Mans. Only three competitors were forced to retire – the lowest proportion in the race’s history!

1955 
The terrible accident

The 23rd running of the race was set to go down in history. The world endurance championship, founded in 1953, was starting to interest the big carmakers. Alongside regulars Jaguar and Ferrari, that year’s race saw the arrival of Mercedes with a car derived from its Formula One racers and a legendary duo: Moss and Fangio. The race got off to a flying start, with Castellotti’s Ferrari keeping Hawthorn’s #6 Jaguar at arm’s length. Behind, Fangio really had to push his Mercedes hard to make up for a poor start. As he was coming in for his first pit stop, he made an unexpected manoeuvre cutting up Macklin’s Austin Healey, just after overtaking him. Macklin hit the brakes and swerved to avoid him, but Levegh’s Mercedes appeared from behind, slammed into the Austin Healey and flew into the air. It smashed into pieces and fragments of debris were scattered over the crowd. It was a horrific accident that led to 82 deaths (official figure) but that put safety at the very heart of the race’s values.

1967 
The race of the century

The grandstands were absolutely packed: more than 300,000 people had come to watch the ongoing battle between Ferrari and Ford reach its peak in June 1967. McLaren in the Ford Mk IV bagged pole, ahead of Hill’s Chaparral and its oversized rear wing that could be tilted using a pedal inside the car. The race would exceed all expectations for those there to see Ford and Ferrari. The Mark IVs held their own against the P4s, with Gurney and Foyt clinching victory at the end of the 24 hours, having covered more than 5,000 km, a first in the race’s history. Another record was broken: Andretti’s Ford was clocked at 343 km/h (213 mph), beating the lap record with an average speed of 238 km/h (148 mph).