The origins of Le Mans 24 Hours go back to 1906 when the département of Sarthe won a call for tenders from the Automobile Club de France (ACF) to organise a Grand Prix race. To coordinate the event, the Automobile Club de la Sarthe (which later became the Automobile Club de l’Ouest) was founded and in just six months, a 103-kilometre circuit was devised for the first ever ACF Grand Prix. The race was a great success, won by Hungarian Ferenc Szisz in a Renault.

Georges Durand, General Secretary of the ACO, then talked about introducing an annual race at Le Mans, an idea that finally came to fruition 16 years later. When they met at the Paris Motor Show in 1922, Durand, Marcel Canit (also from the ACO) and Charles Faroux, boss of L’Auto newspaper, first came up with the idea of an eight-hour race to test the quality and reliability of the cars being produced by the still fledgling automotive industry. Rudge-Withworth importer Emile Coquille then suggested a 24-hour Grand Prix to measure endurance and speed.

Hence, on Saturday 26 May 1923, 33 cars set off around a 17-kilometre circuit for the first ever Grand Prix of Speed and Endurance/Rudge-Withworth Cup. It was won by the Chenard & Walcker driven by André Lagache and René Léonard, who covered a total 2,209 km at an average 92 kph. A legend was born...

Today the 24 Hours of Le Mans truly embodies its original name, the race having become a twice-round-the-clock sprint and a remarkable mechanical and human endeavour.

Photo (Copyright: ACO archives) – LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SATURDAY 26 & SUNDAY 27 MAY 1923, RACE. The first ever 24 Hours of Le Mans took place under the rain, which has often been a troublemaker at the race over the years.