On January 3, 1977, Apple - founded in April of 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne - became a publicly traded company. On June 14, 1980, the #71 Porsche 935 of Dick Barbour Racing took the start at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Californian company's colors (retirement).

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The 24 Hours Centenary Race Week got underway this morning and afternoon on the track with Test Day. Here are some crucial stats to remember after this intense work day for the 62 teams.

<h2>03:29.504</h2>

The fastest time clocked at Test Day thanks to Ferrari AF Corse&#39;s #51&nbsp;Ferrari 499P and Antonio Giovinazzi during the afternoon&nbsp;session (an average of 234.1 kph). Last year, Jos&eacute; Mar&iacute;a L&oacute;pez proved quickest at the wheel of the #7&nbsp;Toyota GR010 Hybrid in&nbsp;03:29.896.

<h2>1</h2>

The top seven&nbsp;Hypercars in the final Test Day classification were all within the same second!

<h2>163</h2>

The number of laps completed by&nbsp;Cadillac Racing with its three&nbsp;V-Series.Rs, amounting to&nbsp;2,221.03 km. The&nbsp;constructor with the second most laps was Porsche (142 with three cars) ahead of Toyota (132 with two cars) and&nbsp;Ferrari (128 with two cars). The two&nbsp;Peugeot 9X8s covered&nbsp;107 laps, the two&nbsp;Glickenhaus did 95 and&nbsp;Vanwall completed 62.

<h2>342.3</h2>

The fastest top speed recorded during&nbsp;Test Day thanks to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing&#39;s #7&nbsp;Toyota GR010 Hybrid.&nbsp;Here are the top speeds in the other classes:

<ul>
	<li>LMP2 | Inter Europol Competition&#39;s #34 ORECA&nbsp;07-Gibson at&nbsp;326.8 kph</li>
	<li>LMGTE Am |&nbsp;AF Corse&#39;s #21 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo at&nbsp;303 kph</li>
	<li>Innovative Car |&nbsp;Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at&nbsp;305.6 kph</li>
</ul>

<h2>46</h2>

The highest temperature on the track in degrees Celsius. Competitors enjoyed dry conditions&nbsp;during both sessions and were therefore able to&nbsp;carry&nbsp;out tyre endurance tests. The ambient temperature rose to 29.6&deg;C.

<h2>3:53.761</h2>

The best time clocked by the Hendrick Motorsports team&#39;s #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The NASCAR&nbsp;entered in the Innovative Car class finished ahead of all LMGTE Am cars.

&nbsp;

The cars will return to the track on Wednesday 7 June at&nbsp;14:00 local time for Free Practice 1. Then, the drivers will take part in Qualifying 1 from 19:00 to&nbsp;20:00 and Free Practice&nbsp;2 from&nbsp;22:00 to&nbsp;midnight.

2023 24 Hours of Le Mans – Important Test Day stats

During six hours of track time on Sunday, the 62 teams continued preparing for the upcoming 24 Hours Centenary. Several Hypercars clocked lap times below 03:30, and Ferrari is looking good with the #50 and #51 499Ps both earning the fastest time of a session.

The symbolic &lt;03:30 per lap mark had yet to be reached this morning after the first three-hour Test Day session. But, a&nbsp;handful of Hypercar competitors&nbsp;managed to do so&nbsp;during the second session. Laurens Vanthoor in Porsche Penske Motorsport&#39;s #6&nbsp;Porsche 963 shared with&nbsp;K&eacute;vin Estre and&nbsp;Andr&eacute; Lotterer was the first to clock a lap under 03:30&nbsp;(03:29.648) thanks to a clear track and his signature determination. The time was achieved about 30 minutes into the session, soon followed by&nbsp;Antonio Fuoco and Antonio Giovinazzi in&nbsp;Ferrari AF Corse&#39;s #50 and #51&nbsp;Ferrari 499Ps, respectively, and Kamui Kobayashi in TOYOTA GAZOO Racing&#39;s #7&nbsp;Toyota GR010 Hybrid.

After Test Day had come to a close, competitors in all the classes&nbsp;took advantage of the available track&nbsp;time to fine-tune&nbsp;preparations for the big race.&nbsp;In the Peugeot camp, the #94&nbsp;9X8 completed an astonishing&nbsp;39 laps, while the&nbsp;#93, stopped in the Mulsanne Straight with a mechanical problem shortly after 12:00, only managed 16 laps in the afternoon.

The LMP2 teams&nbsp;looked to identify&nbsp;any necessary tweaks that could&nbsp;make the&nbsp;difference for qualifying, and especially for the race next Saturday. The details are key, as evidenced by the top 10 in the class clocking times&nbsp;within less than two&nbsp;seconds.&nbsp;

Like the prototypes, the&nbsp;LMGTE Am cars took full advantage of their track time. Corvette Racing&#39;s #33&nbsp;Chevrolet Corvette C8.R driven by&nbsp;Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and&nbsp;Nicolas Varrone covered&nbsp;an impressive 36 laps. You&nbsp;can sense the&nbsp;team&#39;s desire to perform extremely well for the&nbsp;C8.R&#39;s last appearance in the 24 Hours. The Americans are seeking a bit of revenge&nbsp;after 2022 when, while leading the&nbsp;LMGTE Pro grid, Alexander Sims was pushed into the barrier by another competitor shortly before the 18th hour and was forced to retire. The fastest LMGTE Am today was&nbsp;JMW Motorsport&#39;s #66 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo shared by&nbsp;Thomas Neubauer, Louis Prette and Giacomo Petrobelli.

After clocking a time similar to the&nbsp;LMGTE Am class this morning, Hendrick Motorsports&#39; #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 improved during the second session, decisively pulling away from&nbsp;the Aston Martins, Ferraris and&nbsp;Porsches. With&nbsp;03:53.761, the NASCAR adapted specifically for this race&nbsp;is a full two&nbsp;seconds faster per lap than the top GTs.

<h2>Test Day | top 5 Overall:</h2>

1. #51 Ferrari 499P |&nbsp;Ferrari AF Corse &ndash; Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/Antonio Giovinazzi &ndash; 03:29.504

2. #6 Porsche 963 |&nbsp;Porsche Penske Motorsport &ndash; K&eacute;vin Estre/Andr&eacute; Lotterer/Laurens Vanthoor &ndash; 03:29.648

3. #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid | TOYOTA GAZOO&nbsp;Racing &ndash; Mike Conway/Kamui Kobayashi/Jos&eacute; Mar&iacute;a L&oacute;pez &ndash; 03:29.827

4. #50 Ferrari 499P |&nbsp;Ferrari AF Corse &ndash; Antonio Fuoco/Miguel Molina/Nicklas Nielsen &ndash; 03:29.856

5. #75 Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport &ndash; Felipe Nasr/Mathieu Jaminet/Nicholas Tandy &ndash; 03:29.905

The top times in the three other classes:

<ul>
	<li>LMP2 |&nbsp;#28 ORECA&nbsp;07-Gibson |&nbsp;JOTA &ndash; David Heinemeier Hansson/Oliver Rasmussen/Pietro Fittipaldi &ndash; 03:35.872</li>
	<li>LMGTE Am | #66 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo |&nbsp;JMW Motorsport &ndash; Thomas Neubauer/Louis Prette/Giacomo Petrobelli &ndash; 03:56.088</li>
	<li>Innovative Car |&nbsp;#24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | Hendrick Motorsports &ndash; Jimmie Johnson/Mike Rockenfeller/Jenson Button &ndash; 03:53.761</li>
</ul>

All competitors in the 24 Hours&nbsp;Centenary will hit the track again on Wednesday&nbsp;7 June at 14:00 for the first free practice.

2023 24 Hours of Le Mans – Ferrari AF Corse dominates Test Day

They are torn between wide-eyed wonderment and the pressure of the occasion. Like most years, a host of newcomers will be adding their names to the legendary race’s roster. Big names from other disciplines will line up alongside ambitious youngsters caught up in the excitement surrounding the Hypercar class.

<h3>A new world</h3>

At Le Mans, the serious business begins quite a while before the traditional starting ceremony.&nbsp;A full week before, the drivers get a first-hand taste of the local public&rsquo;s enthusiasm for the event at Scrutineering.&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to believe that the race is still a week away,&rdquo; says&nbsp;young Alpine driver Olli Caldwell, enthralled by the extraordinary atmosphere. &ldquo;There were thousands of people in the city centre.&nbsp;Everything I&rsquo;ve seen so far has been unbelievable.&rdquo;

While the young Brit&rsquo;s excitement could be put down to his relative inexperience, Daniil Kvyat has over 100 Formula One Grands Prix to his name and yet is no less enthusiastic.&nbsp;&ldquo;Le Mans is one of those legendary races that everyone knows &ndash; it&rsquo;s unique,&rdquo; he says.&nbsp; &ldquo;I&rsquo;m impressed as the race is still a week away and yet there are so many fans here already.&rdquo; Despite their widely differing backgrounds, they all talk about their participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as an accomplishment.

For seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/why-is-there-a-nascar-on-the-2023-24-hours-of-le-mans-grid-57532" target="_blank">making his Le Mans d&eacute;but at the wheel of a jaw-dropping machine</a>, it stretches back to his earliest years.&nbsp;&ldquo;I dreamed of this race as a kid. I remember my dad telling me how the drivers used to run to their car at the start. I&rsquo;ve been fascinated by it ever since.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Belgian rookie Ulysse De Pauw, 21, racing for AF Corse, agrees:&nbsp;&ldquo;Competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is an honour, especially in the Centenary year.&nbsp;It&rsquo;s a childhood dream that has involved many sacrifices.&rdquo;

<h3>Avoiding mistakes</h3>

Coping with pressure plays a large part in a professional driver&rsquo;s performance. The 33 rookies starting the race will undoubtedly feel a touch of apprehension that is conveyed in different ways.&nbsp;Even for Johnson, who has nothing more to prove.&nbsp;&ldquo;We have put this entry together like any other racing programme,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Chevrolet wanted something competitive that would rival the LMGTE Am field. As racing drivers and a racing team, it&rsquo;s difficult not to race hard. We have a lot of pressure related to the car&rsquo;s intrinsic performance. We don&rsquo;t know where its weak points or its strong points lie, and we don&rsquo;t know how it will behave compared to the GTs.&rdquo;

His Hendrick Motorsports teammates have already competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, yet Johnson still faces a daunting challenge at the wheel of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll have to watch out for the regulations and the differences with American races. The pressure lies in these unfamiliar details and that concerns me,&rdquo; the American confesses.&nbsp;Others worry about the things that make Le Mans one of a kind.&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the first time I&rsquo;ll race at night, in total darkness,&rdquo; admits Caldwell. &ldquo;I mean, I&rsquo;ve already competed in night races in the Middle East but the racetracks are lit up over there. Finding yourself in the pitch black after Mulsanne must be strange.&rdquo;

It is important for newcomers, however, not to place an extra burden on themselves that could have a detrimental effect on the team.&nbsp;&ldquo;Our primary objective is to finish the race. Well, it&rsquo;s mine anyway!&rdquo; Caldwell continues. &ldquo;As a rookie, my job is to help the team as much as I can &ndash; and enjoy it. That would be great.&rdquo;&nbsp;Kvyat is on the same wavelength:&nbsp;&ldquo;It shouldn&rsquo;t add any extra pressure.&nbsp;If anything, I think being a rookie helps alleviate it.&rdquo;

<h3>Hypercar &ndash; The talk of the town</h3>

The presence of seven Hypercar manufacturers hasn&rsquo;t gone unnoticed among the pack of hungry young wolves. They all know that the opportunity is there in the premier league of endurance racing for those who make a name for themselves. Talent spotters have had their eye on Caldwell for some time in the single-seater world and he even did a test in the Alpine Formula One car at the end of last year. He knows that a&nbsp;strong Centenary race will score points with a view to Alpine&rsquo;s Hypercar programme. The French constructor will reveal its prototype on Friday 9 June.&nbsp;&ldquo;Everyone knows how important the 24 Hours of Le Mans is to Alpine,&quot; says Caldwell. &quot;Many teams will be watching my performance and the other youngsters so I can&rsquo;t make any stupid mistakes. I&rsquo;m aware that this race could be decisive for the next step in my career. Nothing has been confirmed yet,&nbsp;but I&rsquo;d sure love to be in the Alpine Hypercar next year.&rdquo;

As an AF Corse racer, albeit in LMGTE Am, de Pauw has noted the fans&rsquo; enthusiasm for the Ferrari 499P managed by his employer.&nbsp;&ldquo;I am here to enjoy it, but I also need to think of my future,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I can still progress and maybe, one day, end up in the Ferrari Hypercar. I&rsquo;m not feeling too much pressure yet regarding the race, but that will surely come!&rdquo;

Kvyat has already taken a step into the future as he is responsible for developing the Lamborghini LMDh that he sees as an&nbsp;&ldquo;extra challenge&rdquo;. Even NASCAR stalwart Johnson is already looking to come back:&nbsp;&ldquo;I hope this won&rsquo;t be my only Le Mans experience. I&rsquo;d love to come back later and why not with the Cadillac or Corvette programme.&rdquo;

As the 24 Hours of Le Mans turns a new leaf and heads into its second century, the race continues to nourish the dreams and ambitions of eager drivers.

How do drivers approach their first 24 Hours of Le Mans?

At the end of a round interrupted by two deployments of the safety car, Riccitelli and Mazza claimed the top step on the Ligier JS P4 podium, while Natan Bihel triumphed in the Ligier JS2 R field.

The first lap saw&nbsp;Jacopo D&rsquo;Amato (JS P4) make a&nbsp;mistake in the first hundred metres and another&nbsp;in the Indianapolis corner.&nbsp;Marc Bonnet&#39;s race in the #64 JS2 R ended after the first lap, and Steve Zacchia in the #50&nbsp;JS P4 lost all chances of a&nbsp;podium finish after suffering a flat tyre in the second.

While&nbsp;leading the race with&nbsp;a successful start, pole-sitter James Winslow at the wheel of the #4 JS P4 was&nbsp;overtaken going into the fourth lap&nbsp;by&nbsp;George King in the #60 JS P4.

Max Mayer and Natan Bihel in the JS2 R field were duelling&nbsp;for P1 when the safety car took the track 16&nbsp;minutes into the race.

The round got back underway on the heels of a&nbsp;28-minute&nbsp;neutralisation, with all competitors taking advantage of the interruption to make&nbsp;their mandatory pit stops. Mihnea Stefan in the #48 JS P4 managed to climb&nbsp;from the fourth spot to the lead in the ninth lap. However,&nbsp;the driver found himself&nbsp;penalised with a pit lane passage for non-compliance with the procedure!&nbsp;Then, the&nbsp;safety car returned to the track as a result of&nbsp;Christian Gisy&#39;s #5 JS2 R landing in the gravel trap at&nbsp;Tertre Rouge. The race finally resumed..for the final lap! Simone Ricciteli went on the offensive at the expense of&nbsp;Kevin Madsen and staved off the latter&#39;s attacks through the chequered flag. Ian Aguilera rounded out the&nbsp;podium, beating&nbsp;Anthony Nahra to the punch.

<h4>Overall&nbsp;JS P4&nbsp;podium:</h4>

1. LR Motorsport&#39;s #7 Ligier JS P4 |&nbsp;Simone Riccitelli/Jacopo Mazza |&nbsp;11 lap

2. Team Virage&#39;s #1 Ligier JS P4 |&nbsp;Kevin Madsen/Lance Fenton |&nbsp;at&nbsp;0:310

3. Pegasus Racing&#39;s #17 Ligier JS P4 |&nbsp;Dimitri Enjalbert/Anthony Nahra | at&nbsp;06:067

<h4>JS2 R&nbsp;podium:</h4>

1. M Racing&#39;s #53 Ligier JS2 R |&nbsp;Natan Bihel | 11 laps

2. ANS Motorsport&#39;s #42 Ligier JS2 R |&nbsp;Julien Lemoine | at&nbsp;02:544

3. LR Motorsport&#39;s #43 Ligier JS2 R |&nbsp;David Rodrigo | at&nbsp;02:873

Ligier European Series – Mazza-Riccitelli win third round of the season!

24 Heures du Mans 1980

The only car to have boasted the American company&#39;s rainbow apple logo, the previous year the same&nbsp;Porsche 935 allowed&nbsp;Paul Newman, Dick Barbour and&nbsp;Rolf Stommelen to claim the second step on the overall&nbsp;podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was sold at auction in&nbsp;Monterey,&nbsp;California last August for $4,840,000.

Photo (Copyright - Archives/ACO): The #71&nbsp;Porsche 935 sported the name&nbsp;Apple on its hood at the 1980&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans.

24H LE MANS

Today's Photo Story - A Porsche sponsored by Apple at Le Mans in 1980

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