On December 18, 1956, Japan was admitted into the United Nations. On June 18, 1995, Masanori Sekiya became the first Japanese driver to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in a McLaren F1 GTR, along with J.J. Lehto and Yannick Dalmas clinching the third of his four victories at the 24 Hours.

24H Le Mans

Le Mans Legendes

24 Heures du Mans

Historique

A movie-style poster and an expectant audience

Every year, the new&nbsp;24 Hours of Le Mans&nbsp;poster marks the beginning of another chapter in the history of the great endurance race. The&nbsp;2026 artwork&nbsp;plays on the heroic aspect of the sporting endeavour, embodied by the figure of the driver. 
 
Inspired by the design of a cult movie visual, the poster depicts the tension, the beauty and the intensity of the one-of-a-kind race.

&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href="https://assets.lemans.org/explorer/pdf/courses/2026/24-heures-du-mans/poster/poster-24h-lemans-2026.pdf" target="_blank">Download the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans poster</a> &lt;&lt;&lt;

<h2>A classic film poster</h2>

Drawing on the aesthetics of classic film promotional materials,&nbsp;the 2026 poster portrays the driver in the lead role&nbsp;&ndash; alone, in a moment of stillness before the commotion. The stance spells mastery, concentration and solitude &ndash; the solitude of being alone at the wheel. 
 
In a visual representation of the phases of the round-the-clock race, this year&rsquo;s 24 Hours of Le Mans poster comes in three versions:&nbsp;day, sunset and night. Contrasting light, expert composition and shifting atmospheres translate the tension, the beauty and the emotion that make the 24 Hours of Le Mans such an exceptional event.

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l&#39;Ouest :&nbsp;&ldquo;The 24 Hours of Le Mans poster is part of our shared heritage. 
Every year, it portrays an aspect of the race, encapsulating the magnitude of passion, prowess and pride. This year&rsquo;s movie-style poster recalls our storied past while celebrating the modernity of our discipline.&quot;

<h2>Ticket Office: presale and general sale</h2>

Ticketing opens tomorrow for members

<ul>
	<li>Club ACO Members&nbsp;jump the queue with an exclusive presale opportunity (online, at the circuit or in ACO outlets in Paris, Tours and Rouen) from&nbsp;Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 November.</li>
	<li>Tickets go on sale to the&nbsp;general public from Friday 7 November, at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/tickets-2026" target="_blank">ticket.24h-lemans.com</a>&nbsp;and the usual sales outlets.</li>
</ul>

Last year, week passes sold out within a day. The event is as popular as ever! And booking is even easier, with Apple Pay and Google Pay now accepted means of payment.&nbsp;Club ACO Members enjoy a 5% discount on VIP packages, limited to two packs per member and subject to availability.

<h2>New for 2026</h2>

<ul>
	<li>New grandstands&nbsp;at La Chapelle, Maison Blanche and Karting, and all seating areas renamed and numbered for clarity.</li>
	<li>Same ticket, more time at the circuit!&nbsp;Admission on Tuesday 9 June is included in all practice and qualifying session tickets.</li>
	<li>Green Ticket:&nbsp;organisers and spectators team up to encourage soft transport. The ACO has undertaken to reinvest 5% of the proceeds from Green Ticket sales in the 24 Hours of Le Mans low-carbon strategy,&nbsp;Race to 2030.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Competition is already hotting up</h2>

Genesis&nbsp;joins the top class next year, measuring up against&nbsp;Toyota, Ferrari, Peugeot, BMW, Alpine, Cadillac and Aston Martin. 
With so many top players in the same league, the&nbsp;94th 24 Hours of Le Mans, the fourth round of the&nbsp;FIA World Endurance Championship, promises to be an edge-of-the-seat event.

Introducing the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans

The second episode of our YouTube mini-series dedicated to racing families at the 2025 24 Hours spotlights Laurens and Dries Vanthoor. From brotherhood, sibling rivalry and a shared dream of winning the Le Mans classic, Inside the Vanthoors goes behind-the-scenes to reveal the brothers' slightly different journeys.

After opening the series with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/a-youtube-mini-series-all-about-racing-families-at-the-2025-24-hours-of-le-mans-60044" target="_blank">Taylor family</a>, the second episode in our mini-series on&nbsp;iconic racing families at the 93rd running is now available at our YouTube channel.&nbsp;This new installment called Inside the Vanthoors highlights two major figures in Belgian motorsport, brothers Laurens and Dries Vanthoor, united by blood&nbsp;but battling on behalf of two different constructors.

In this episode, Laurens&nbsp;talks about taking the wheel of Porsche Penske Motorsport​&#39;s #6 <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-porsche-963-under-the-microscope-built-for-win-20-59742" target="_blank">Porsche 963</a>&nbsp;as his brother Dries represents&nbsp;BMW M Team WRT&nbsp;in the&nbsp;#15 <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-bmw-m-hybrid-v8-under-the-microscope-a-return-to-winning-ways-at-le-mans-59713" target="_blank">BMW M Hybrid V8</a>. Both drivers intend&nbsp;to make it into the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans winners&#39; circle, a dream they consider the pinnacle of their respective careers.

In Inside the Vanthoors, BMW M Team WRT team principal&nbsp;Vincent Vosse explores the contrasting characters of the two brothers and the sporting&nbsp;rivalry that pushes them to&nbsp;their limit. This episode revisits the 2025&nbsp;Hyperpole from Dries&#39; point of view before following the two drivers at different key moments in the race.&nbsp;

Check out&nbsp;Inside the Vanthoors, the second episode in&nbsp;our&nbsp;2025 24 Hours of Le Mans YouTube mini-series, at the official&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@24heuresdumans" target="_blank">24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans YouTube channel</a>.

24 Heures du Mans 2025 - Inside the Vanthoors | 2 brothers, 1 passion and a rivalry on the track

24 Heures du Mans 2025 - Dans l'intimité des frères Vanthoor | 2 frères, une passion et une rivalité sur la piste

Inside the Vanthoors: the Vanthoor brothers at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

Ferrari is celebrating its third consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans victory with a totally innovative creation – the F76. Paying tribute to the Prancing Horse’s first win in the French endurance classic in 1949, this digital hypercar exemplifies tradition, futuristic design and the spirit of Le Mans.

This year, Ferrari has left its mark on automotive history in a new way. Following in the tracks of the third 24 Hours of Le Mans triumph in a row for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-ferrari-499p-hypercar-under-the-microscope-making-of-a-le-mans-icon-59719" target="_blank">499P</a>, the Maranello-based manufacturer has revealed the Ferrari F76 &ndash; the very first hypercar designed exclusively for the digital world in the form of an NFT. The F76 name is a nod to Ferrari&rsquo;s first Le Mans win sealed 76 years ago by Luigi Chinetti and Lord Selsdon at the wheel of the iconic&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/24-hours-of-le-mans-ferraris-debut-with-the-166-mm-56964" target="_blank">166 MM</a> Barchetta.

The F76 celebrates Ferrari&rsquo;s glorious past &ndash; and opens up a new era. The 100% virtual project is created for clients of the exclusive Hyperclub programme, an initiative that allows collectors to experience the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside the official team.

See the Ferrari F76 in the video below.

Ferrari F76: The First Digital Hypercar celebrates the Legend of Le Mans

Ferrari F76 : La première hypercar numérique célèbre la légende du Mans.

The Ferrari F76 digital hypercar hails 76 years of legend at Le Mans

The 2026 Green Ticket programme is another step in the effort to become a low-carbon event. Introduced in 2022 to encourage spectators to choose ecological transport to attend the race, the Green Ticket programme has evolved to include an on-site contest, the Impact Challenge. The new version invites fans to actively share the event’s commitments.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is on the way to becoming a low-impact event. Building on the successful Green Ticket introduced in 2022, the Automobile Club de l&rsquo;Ouest (ACO) is furthering its commitment with the 2026 Green Ticket Programme. Under the new system, Green Ticket holders are active contributors to the event&rsquo;s sustainability commitments.

The programme is a joint undertaking involving spectators and organisers.

<ul>
	<li>
	Green Ticket holders elect to use soft transport to travel to the circuit: EV or hybrid car, carpool, train, bicycle, tramway or on foot.
	</li>
	<li>
	In return, they earn points in the 24 Hours of Le Mans IMPACT CHALLENGE that rewards eco-responsible behaviour.
	</li>
	<li>
	The ACO pledges to put 5% of Green Ticket proceeds towards reducing the race&rsquo;s carbon footprint.
	</li>
</ul>

<h2>The 2025 Impact Challenge hit the spot</h2>

The new programme comes in the wake of the <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-impact-challenge-a-massive-success-at-this-years-24-hours-of-le-mans-59859" target="_blank">2025 IMPACT CHALLENGE</a>&nbsp;introduced this June and included in the 24H EXPERIENCE mobile app. An interactive serious game, the challenge urges spectators to accomplish 170 missions related to sustainability, responsibility and commitment. Players earn points to enter a prize draw at the race.

The figures speak for themselves: more than 8,000 players, 205,000 QR codes scanned and 16 million points awarded. As a result, the ACO donated EUR 12,000 to the children&rsquo;s heart charity M&eacute;c&eacute;nat Chirurgie Cardiaque, demonstrating that the love of motorsport extends way beyond the track.

The 2026 Green Ticket underlines the commitment of the world&rsquo;s greatest endurance race to lead the way in sustainable innovation. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, everyone plays a part in building a greener future.

The 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans Green Ticket Programme

24 Heures du Mans 1995

It&#39;s clear that Japanese people are quite the motorsports enthusiasts given the crowds at the rounds of Super GT, the local super-touring&nbsp;championship, despite extremely narrow access roads to the circuits. It would take until 1973 to see a Japanese driver&nbsp;(actually two) for the first time at the start of the 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans, with a Sigma-Mazda (retirement). Twenty-two years later, another Japanese driver, Masanori&nbsp;Sekiya, (11&nbsp;participations) would triumph&hellip;

Photo (Copyright - Archives/ACO): The #59&nbsp;McLaren G1 GTR with which Masanori Sekiya won at the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans in 1995.

24H LE MANS

Today's Photo Story - Masanori Sekiya, first Japanese driver to win at Le Mans, in 1995

Related News

Introducing the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans

Inside the Vanthoors: the Vanthoor brothers at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

The Ferrari F76 digital hypercar hails 76 years of legend at Le Mans

The 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans Green Ticket Programme

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