Originally named "Grand Prix of Endurance," the very first 24 Hours of Le Mans was on the 26th and 27th May 1923, at the initiative of three members of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest: its President George Durand, engineer and automotive journalist Charles Faroux and industrialist Emile Coquille.

Their idea was to create a different kind of Grand Prix race (already held at Le Mans), a flagship event of motor sports barely quarter century of existence. For this, they created time trial of 24 hours, reserved for passenger cars, to test their strength and reliability. There were 33 that started the endurance test on the 26th of May 1923.

Le Mans wrote a new page of history: seventeen years after the first Grand Prix of the Automobile Club de France on 26th and 27th June 1906, the city in La Sarthe definitively established itself as the French capital of motor sports with what will become, with the Indianapolis 500 and Monaco Grand Prix, born respectively in 1911 and 1929, one of the three most prestigious races in the world.

Since 1923, the Le Mans 24 Hours has become one of the favourite testing grounds for new automotive technologies. A mission that environmental issues of the early twenty-first century make more relevant than ever: Toyota, the world leader in hybrid technology, has chosen this path, like their main rival Audi. This is probably also the case of Porsche who have announced the 2014 return of the marque that holds the record sixteen victories at Le Mans.

The 80th edition of Le Mans 24 Hours will be held on 16th and 17th June 2012. Click HERE for ticket information, and HERE to see the entry list for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Click HERE for the video of the 80th anniversary, and HERE for the TV ad of the 2012 24 Hours.

Jean-Philippe Doret

Photo: Munich (Bavaria, Germany), Audi TRAINING CENTER, 29th February 2012. After ten victories since 2000, Audi will attempt to win for the first time with a hybrid prototype at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans.