Today's Photo Story - JJ Lehto, the first Finn to win Le Mans, in 1995
On December 6, 1917, Finland declared its independence after having been a part of the Kingdom of Sweden since the XIX century, then of Russia. On June 18, 1995, JJ Lehto (Jyrki Järvilehto) became the first Finn, and sole to-date, to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the McLaren F1 GTR.
Though Scandinavia only boasts five 24 Hours of Le Mans winners, it does indeed have 14 wins total thanks of course to the Dane Tom Kristensen with nine victories himself! Kristensen and John Nielsen represent Denmark, Stanley Dickens and Stefan Johansson represent Sweden, and JJ Letho who won again in 2005 with the American Champion Racing team's Audi R8 represents Finland. No Norwegian driver has ever claimed the top step on the podium…
On 18 June 2000, Audi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time. Twenty-five years later, this win by the R8 bearing the number 8 and driven by Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro is considered the key moment that paved the way to establishing the Audi legend at Le Mans.
Manthey Racing won the LMGT3 class for the second year in a row as the Manthey 1st Phorm #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 followed up on the Manthey EMA #91 car’s 2024 success. Austrian Richard Lietz was driver on both occasions – this time sharing the wheel with Ryan Hardwick and Riccardo Pera.
At the 2025 24 Hours, McLaren officially announced its Hypercar destined for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2027. The British constructor has hidden a series of numbers on the car's bodywork, and here's a breakdown.
The 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans produced an exciting battle in the LMP2 category that concluded in another success for Polish outfit Inter Europol Competition. Two years after a historic victory at the Centenary race, the team returns to winning ways thanks to the #43 Oreca 07-Gibson, shared by Jakub Śmiechowski, Tom D...