On 14 November 1910, Eugene Ely made the first successful take-off of a plane from a ship at sea, taking to the air from his biplane from the light cruiser USS Birmingham. He then achieved the first shipboard landing of an aircraft two months later and naval aviation was born. Two years earlier, Wilbur Wright had completed a flight that took off from Les Hunaudières Hippodrome in Le Mans on 8 August 1908.

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The #48 Oreca 07-Gibson of VDS Panis Racing took the honours in the 4 Hours of Imola, the third round of the 2025 European Le Mans Series. Meanwhile, TF Sport scooped a historic LMGT3 success for Corvette.

The VDS Panis Racing line-up of Oliver Gray, Charles Milesi and Esteban Masson drove the #48 Oreca 07-Gibson to overall victory at the 4 Hours of Imola yesterday (Sunday 6 July). At the chequered flag, the French team held an 8.8-second lead over the #43 Oreca of Inter Europol Competition. The #25 Oreca of Algarve Pro Racing, who included Th&eacute;o Pourchaire in their ranks, rounded out the podium. AO by TF won the LMP2 Pro/Am class with the #99 Oreca affectionately known as Spike. 
The race for the championship title is warming up nicely with VDS Panis Racing taking a single-point lead over IDEC Sport, with Inter Europol Competition a further 12 points in arrears.

The LMGT3 class saw a historic win for Corvette. Charlie Eastwood, the former ELMS LMP2 Pro/Am champion, was first to cross the finish line at the wheel of the TF Sport #82 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R, scoring the American manufacturer&rsquo;s first-ever European Le Mans Series victory. Two Ferrari 296 LMGT3s &ndash; #74 of Kessel Racing and #55 of Spirit Of Race &ndash; completed the podium. 
The 15 points earned took Spirit Of Race to the top of the championship standings ahead of TF Sport and Iron Dames. AF Corse lie in fourth position, just seven points behind the leaders. Everything is still to play for in the highly competitive ELMS LMGT3 class!

<h2>A third LMP3 win on the bounce for CLX Motorsport</h2>

The polesitting CLX Motorsport line-up of Paul Lanchere, Adrien Clomesnil and Theodor Jensen dominated the LMP3 class. The Swiss outfit in the #17 Ligier-Toyota fought off the challenge from Racing Spirit Of L&eacute;man (#31 Ligier-Toyota) and Eurointernational (#11 Ligier-Toyota). CLX Motorsport holds a huge 45-point lead over Inter Europol Competition at the top of the LMP3 charts.

The European Le Mans Series will be back after a summer break with the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (22-24 August). 
In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the highlights of the 4 Hours of Imola.

Race Highlights | 4 Hours of Imola 2025 | ELMS

ELMS : les highlights des 4 Heures d'Imola 2025

ELMS – VDS Panis Racing wins 4 Hours of Imola

You can now relive all the excitement of the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans wherever you are! The full replay of the race is accessible free of charge. Enjoy the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship once again from the pre-race protocol to the podium ceremony.

The AF Corse #83 Ferrari 499P took the chequered flag at 4.00 pm on Sunday 15 June to win the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans. Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson clinched victory ahead of the Hypercars fielded by Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota. This success marks the third successive Le Mans triumph for the 499P and the 12th overall win for Ferrari at the French endurance classic. You can see how the race panned out on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAyiedQr454" target="_blank">the 24 Hours of Le Mans YouTube channel</a>.

In addition to Ferrari&rsquo;s Hypercar achievement, two other crews topped the podium in their respective classes: the #43 Oreca 07-Gibson of Inter Europol Competition, and the #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 run by Manthey 1st Phorm.

Watch the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans full race replay!

Over the past two decades, Le Mans Classic has become an international benchmark in historic motorsport. Each edition is a sell-out, attracting over 200,000 spectators eager to see the 700 cars on the racetrack. Faced with growing demand, especially for the more recent cars that graced endurance racing from the 1960s to the 2010s, Peter Auto has decided to progress the biennial Le Mans Classic to a 12-monthly fixture to embrace the increasingly rich programme and appeal to a wider, multigenerational audience.

Henceforth, Le Mans Classic will be held annually and alternate between two complementary formats: Le Mans Classic Heritage and Le Mans Classic Legend.

<h2>Le Mans Classic Legend from 2026</h2>

From 2026, Le Mans Classic Legend will replay the contemporary history of endurance, featuring cars entered between 1976 and 2015. This edition will host five grids illustrating the main technical and aesthetic evolutions that have transformed the discipline:

<ul>
	<li>Grid 6 &ndash; The Turbo Era (1976&ndash;1982): Highlighting the massive influx of turbocharged Le Mans prototypes &ndash; a period marked by technical innovation and a boom in performance.</li>
	<li>Grid 7 &ndash; Group C Racing (1983&ndash;1993): The Group C era saw the greatest manufacturers &ndash; including Porsche, Jaguar, Mercedes and Toyota &ndash; and independent teams wage a battle against a backdrop of spectacular performance and technical creativity. These legendary prototypes wrote some of the finest pages in 24 Hours of Le Mans and World Endurance Championship history (Peugeot 905 Evo, Porsche 962C, Mercedes-Benz C11, etc.).</li>
	<li>Grid&nbsp; 8 &ndash; Endurance Racing Legends 1 (1994&ndash;2000): Bringing together the prototypes and GTs that marked the rebirth of endurance in the 1990s with the resurgence of prestigious makes and pioneering aerodynamics (Ferrari F40 LM, McLaren F1 GTR, Porsche 911 GT1, etc.).</li>
	<li>Grid&nbsp; 9 &ndash; Endurance Racing Legends 2 (2001&ndash;2010): The natural continuation of the previous grid, with a technological escalation through to 2005 for prototypes and 2010 for GTs (Chrysler Viper GTS-R, Audi R8 LMP, Bentley Speed 8, etc.).</li>
	<li>Grid 10 &ndash; Legend of Le Mans (2006&ndash;2015): Featuring the emblematic GTEs and LMP prototypes that competed in major international championships such as the WEC, IMSA, ELMS and ILMS, and especially the greatest endurance contests such as the 24-hours races of Le Mans and Daytona. These models strike a chord with younger racegoers and are etched in the collective memory of the noughties.</li>
</ul>

The programme will be rounded out by three support races, including the GT3 Revival Series with 40-to-50-minute sessions providing spectacular on-track entertainment.

Devised for a new generation of fans, Le Mans Classic Legend is an event to which children bring their parents to admire the cars of their youth. Clubs will also be honoured with special sessions set aside for astounding youngtimers. Of course, live music and a host of activities and entertainment will be staged during the event.

<h2>Le Mans Classic Heritage from 2027</h2>

Le Mans Classic Heritage will transport spectators back to the golden age of endurance in a tribute to the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1923 to 1975. Authenticity is the name of the game! The event will capture the mood, setting and style of bygone days and create a truly vintage racing atmosphere.

Five grids will reflect some of the glorious periods witnessed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1923 and 1975 through a selection of emblematic cars that marked the history of endurance:

<ul>
	<li>
	Grid 1 &ndash; Origins (1923&ndash;1939): pre-war models that were true endurance pioneers. Some of the cars are over 90 years old and have unsynchronised gearboxes and rear brakes only. And yet they reach speeds exceeding 160&nbsp;kph on the Mulsanne Straight! Their presence revives the spirit of the early years of Le Mans and tells the tales of heroic feats when the race was a challenge for plucky amateurs.
	</li>
	<li>
	Grid 2 &ndash; Le Mans Reborn (1949&ndash;1956): a tribute to the renaissance of the 24 Hours of Le Mans after the Second World War. It brings together iconic cars that marked the golden age of endurance in the 1950s, when the elegance of the silhouette rivalled with mechanical audacity in models such as the Jaguar XK, Jaguar C-Type, Austin Healey, DB HBR and Triumph TR2.
	</li>
	<li>
	Grid 3 &ndash; Sixties 1 (1957&ndash;1961): This grid, at the crossroads of the fifties and sixties, showcases the first &ldquo;modern&rdquo; GTs and prototypes that competed in the greatest endurance races. It features models that shaped the history of the world championship: Ferrari 250 GT SWB, Porsche 718 RSK, DB HBR5, Maserati Tipo 61 &ldquo;Birdcage&rdquo;, etc.
	</li>
	<li>Grid 4 &ndash; Sixties 2 (1962&ndash;1966): This grid gives pride of place to the GTs and sports cars of the decade during a period of transition marked by significant technical progress. Spectators will have the chance to admire legends such as the Ford GT40, the Porsche 911 2.0L, the Ferrari 250 LM and 275 GTB/4, the Jaguar E-Type, etc. Ford&rsquo;s first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans was the beginning of the legendary face-off with Ferrari, immortalised in James Mangold&rsquo;s popular movie Ford v Ferrari (aka Le Mans &rsquo;66 ).</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Grid 5 &ndash; Classic Endurance (1967&ndash;1975): this grid features the giants of the three-way battle between Ford, Ferrari and Porsche, finely tuned 3-litre prototypes and Group 5 GTs.&nbsp; These powerful yet elegant machines embody the innovation and technical excesses of the time. The cast of V8, V12 and flat-twelve engines will roar once again like an echo of bygone times. A grid that will revive the intense golden days of international endurance racing.</li>
</ul>

Exceptional thematic support races will also be held.

<h2>Historic Racing by Peter Auto rebranded as Le Mans Classic Series</h2>

Since 2010, the Historic Racing by Peter Auto series has showcased the history of touring cars and endurance, from the 1950s to the 2010s, at Europe&rsquo;s finest racing venues such as Spa-Francorchamps (Spa Classic), Le Castellet (Dix Mille Tours), Dijon-Prenois (Grand Prix de l&rsquo;&Acirc;ge d&rsquo;Or), Imola (Imola Classic) and Estoril (Estoril&nbsp;Classic).

From 2026, the Historic Racing series will be renamed Le Mans Classic Series. By capitalising on the worldwide renown of Le Mans, these competitions will enjoy a greater impact among fans, sponsors and the media.

Like the contemporary series, participants in the Le Mans Classic Series who can field an eligible model will receive preferential treatment when applying to appear at Le Mans Classic Legend or Heritage, the highlight of the year in La Sarthe.

This will thus build a bridge between the work accomplished all year round and the preparation of a major event like Le Mans Classic, placing it at the pinnacle of historic races. It will also provide an opportunity to promote our drivers and teams and strengthen our attachment to the living history of racing.

Le Mans Classic to become an annual event

During the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans race week, hydrogen took center stage. On track, in the village, and throughout the city, this energy carrier showcased its potential through spectacular demonstrations and real-world applications. From the Ligier Bosch JS2 RH2 to the Alpenglow Hy6 reaching over 312 km/h, and from the hydrogen inspection bus to the hydrogen-powered aircraft, motorsport’s move toward decarbonization is clearly underway.

During the week-long event of the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, hydrogen demonstrated to spectators its potential on the track and its various uses, already well established. On the track, the Le Mans circuit, the Le Mans airfield, and the streets of Le Mans were able to accommodate various hydrogen vehicles. This energy carrier, which will be introduced in competitions, in endurance racing, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and in the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship starting in 2028, is one of the solutions for decarbonizing motor racing and mobility. 
 
In the ACO H2 village, racing prototypes were on display, as well as MissionH24, a collaborative program between the ACO and H24Project, as well as a TotalEnergies H2 station, which allowed the Alpenglow Hy6 and the Ligier Bosch JS2 RH2 to be refueled before their demonstrations on the legendary Sarthe circuit. Relive the 312.9 km/h of the Alpenglow Hy6 but also the official inspection of the track by hydrogen bus or the presentation of a hydrogen plane or the announcement of the MissionH24-Toyota Gazoo Racing partnership

MissionH24 - L'hydrogène en pistes aux 24 Heures du Mans 2025

Hydrogen on the Tracks at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first successful flight in 1903 at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina, where a monument and museum stand to their honour today. L&eacute;on Boll&eacute;e subsequently invited them to France, Wilbur agreed and came over with one of the Flyers that he&rsquo;d used for tests in June and July 1908. He gave a public flight demonstration on 8 August 1908, taking off from Les Hunaudi&egrave;res Hippodrome, right next to the renowned Mulsanne Straight that forms part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit.

Photo: copyright ACO archives.

24H LE MANS

Today’s Photo Story – In 1908, Wilbur Wright flies by the Mulsanne Straight!

Related News

ELMS – VDS Panis Racing wins 4 Hours of Imola

Watch the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans full race replay!

Le Mans Classic to become an annual event

Hydrogen on the Tracks at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

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