On December 15, 1896, a patent for the first rotary engine was granted to Stephen M. Balzer by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. On June 23, 1991, Mazda became both the first Japanese manufacturer and the first marque with a rotary engine to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, thanks to the 787B.

24H Le Mans

Le Mans Legendes

24 Heures du Mans

Historique

If you’re a fan of stats, read on! We have compiled some more facts and figures for you from the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans won by the AF Corse #83 Ferrari 499P.

<h2>20,009</h2>

The total number of laps completed by the competitors who saw the chequered flag at the end of the 93rd running of the legendary race. This represents approximately 272,473 km &ndash; 6.8 times the circumference of the world.

<h2>1,986</h2>

The number of marshals officiating at the race. All in all, 3,206 volunteers helped the event run smoothly.

<h2>1,901</h2>

The number of pit stops made during the race.

<h2>216</h2>

The number of cameras used to film and broadcast the event. No fewer than 148 of them were mounted inside the cars.

<h2>166</h2>

Robert Kubica was the driver who completed the greatest number of laps in this 93rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was at the wheel for 166 of the 387 laps covered by the race-winning #83 Ferrari 499P. Conversely, Proton Competition driver Giammarco Levorato, in the #88 Ford Mustang LMGT3, spent the least time on track (two laps).

<h2>6</h2>

Six slow zones were triggered during the race. They accounted for an aggregate time of 33 minutes and 29 seconds. A slow zone is activated for the safety of the marshals or rescue crews who need to intervene on the track at any given time. An 80&nbsp;kph speed limit is introduced and overtaking is strictly forbidden in the slow zone.

<h2>1</h2>

Race Control called out the safety car on just one occasion during the race when the #24 Oreca 07-Gibson of Nielsen Racing went off into the tyre barrier. The intervention lasted 39 minutes and 21 seconds.

Check out <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/24-hours-of-le-mans-this-year-s-facts-and-figures-59794" target="_blank">other key facts and figures</a> from the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans.

More key facts and figures from the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans

Porsche Penske Motorsport came within a whisker of victory at the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans, eventually settling for a hard-won runner-up spot. Despite a solid strategy and the absence of technical hitches, the #6 Porsche 963 was eclipsed by the #83 Ferrari 499P of AF Corse.

Porsche&rsquo;s dream of a 20th outright victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans so very nearly came true. After completing 387 laps of the fabled circuit, Porsche Penske Motorsport&rsquo;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;of K&eacute;vin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell crossed the finish line in second place, just&nbsp;14.084 seconds behind AF Corse&rsquo;s #83 Ferrari 499P. A tiny margin as befitted a race that was high on intensity from the moment Roger Federer waved the French national flag.

Relegated to the back of the Hypercar grid following an infringement in qualifying, the #6 Porsche wasted no time in rectifying the situation. On the very first lap, K&eacute;vin Estre overtook seven rivals to move his 963 up into the shadows of the leading group. And in less than two hours, the Hypercar that triumphed at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring at the beginning of the season figured among the contenders for outright victory. A swift pace and perfectly controlled pitstops kept the #6 Porsche in touch with the leading Ferraris through to the chequered flag.

&ldquo;We delivered an absolutely perfect race and virtually had one hand on the biggest trophy &ndash; you don&#39;t often come that close to such a triumph. What a pity!&rdquo;&nbsp;said a disappointed yet realistic&nbsp;Laurens Vanthoor. This runner-up spot is nonetheless the best result achieved by Porsche since the manufacturer&rsquo;s return to the top class with the 963, and underlines the progress made by the hybrid prototype developed in partnership with Multimatic.

<h2>Three Porsche 963s in the Top Ten</h2>

The German stable&rsquo;s overall performance was quite remarkable with three factory Porsche 963s in the Top Ten. The #5 driven by Julien Andlauer, Michael Christensen&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mathieu Jaminet&nbsp;even took the lead at the beginning of the race before a puncture and several penalties threw a spanner in the works. The trio finished with a frustrating yet promising sixth place, one lap down on the winner. 
The #4 prototype shared by Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy and Pascal Wehrlein was eighth. Rookie Wehrlein, the 2023-2024 Formula E world champion, was delighted with his race. &ldquo;We lost all chance of success relatively early on due to a penalty and bad luck with a yellow flag phase,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;However, I personally had a lot of fun &ndash; it was a great new experience. I learnt a lot and got faster and faster.&rdquo;

<h2>A 20th win the target for 2026</h2>

Notably, the three Porsche 963s all completed the race without any technical gremlins. Although the #6 crew showed superb consistency and strategy, the car occasionally lacked pure pace to threaten the winning Ferrari over the long haul. &ldquo;We got the absolute maximum out of our #6 Porsche and certainly have nothing to hide,&rdquo; said Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport. &ldquo;Of course, we also look back on the result with a teary eye: in the end, we were just 14 seconds short of overall victory. But the joy and the thanks to everyone who was involved outweigh this.&rdquo;

Porsche will therefore have to wait at least another year to clinch a 20th outright 24 Hours of Le Mans success. The Stuttgart-based firm still leads the all-time manufacturer wins table ahead of Audi (13) and Ferrari (12).

Beyond the sporting arena, Porsche continues its commitment to those less fortunate through its <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/with-racing-for-charity-porsche-builds-up-hope-lap-after-lap-59669" target="_blank">Racing for Charity</a>&nbsp;initiative, donating 500 euro per completed lap to two children&rsquo;s charities. With the three cars achieving a mammoth total of 1,159 laps, the manufacturer will hand over &euro;579,500 to Interplast Germany e.V. and Kinderherzen retten e.V. The ACO once again hailed this commitment by awarding the President&rsquo;s prize to Porsche at the Sustainable Endurance Awards by DHL.

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Porsche Penske Motorsport so close to win number 20

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.

After a promising d&eacute;but in 1999 &ndash; resulting in a third place for the #8 R8R of Biela/Theys/Pirro and a fourth place for the #7 R8R of Alboreto/Capello/A&iuml;ello &ndash; Audi returned in 2000 with the new R8. The aim was clear: secure a maiden victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The goal was achieved superbly as the #8 shared by Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro won the race, covering 368 laps, followed home by the #9 sister car, driven by Laurent Aiello, Allan McNish and St&eacute;phane Ortelli, one lap behind. Incidentally, the second-placed line-up had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans two years earlier with the Porsche 911 GT1. Car #7 of Christian Abt, Michele Alboreto and Rinaldo Capello, three laps in arrears, rounded out the podium. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m absolutely overwhelmed. You cannot have a better car for victory than that,&rdquo; said a delighted Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Audi&rsquo;s Head of Sport, at the finish.

<h2>Carte blanche</h2>

Audi dominated the race from flag to flag without laying down any team orders, giving the drivers carte blanche to battle for position on equal terms. The winners naturally appreciated the strategy. &ldquo;Dr Ullrich believed in all his drivers,&rdquo; recalled Emanuele Pirro, &ldquo;and had faith in us that we would behave professionally despite fighting for the lead with the other Audis. Nevertheless, at the end of the race, there were no hard fights [...] because we all knew that we needed to bring the cars home to the finish safely.&rdquo;

Guided by the firm&rsquo;s slogan &ldquo;Vorsprung durch Technik&rdquo; (Progress Through Technology), Audi gave plenty of evidence of the R8&rsquo;s performance and reliability. This prototype, powered by a 3.6-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, was unusual in that the rear module (gearbox and undercarriage) could be fully swapped out relatively quickly. Thanks to this design, the service crew were able to change the rear sections of the #7 and #9 in just eight minutes during the race, without compromising their competitiveness. A strategic innovation in a race as challenging as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This victory was the first of 13 that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/how-audi-stepped-up-to-the-24-hours-of-le-mans-challenge-56711" target="_blank">Audi notched up at Le Mans between 2000 and 2014</a>. A reign that had a profound impact on the history of endurance and the French endurance classic.

Enjoy a look back at the #8 Audi R8&rsquo;s 2000 Le Mans win in the photo gallery below.

Twenty-five years since Audi’s remarkable Le Mans-winning streak began with the R8

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.

The #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 entered by Manthey 1st Phorm won the LMGT3 class &ndash; the second consecutive win for the German team. Placed in the capable hands of American Ryan Hardwick, Italian Riccardo Pera and Austrian Richard Lietz, the #92 Porsche crossed the finish line 33 seconds ahead of the #21 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 of Vista AF Corse.

Qualifying in fifth position on the LMGT3 grid, the crew enjoyed a solid start to the race in a highly competitive field. The three drivers applied pressure right from the off and gradually moved through the pack,&nbsp;taking the class lead after 10 hours of the race. A long face-off then ensued with the Vista AF Corse #21 Ferrari until the early hours of the morning. The #92 Porsche managed to open up a decisive gap at dawn before taking the chequered flag after 24 hours of intense racing.

&ldquo;I still can&#39;t believe our class win! This is definitely one of the best experiences of my entire life,&rdquo; said a thrilled Ryan Hardwick. &ldquo;My family, close friends and business partners were here with me. Only the best teams win at Le Mans. Manthey and Porsche gave us the best possible support. I&rsquo;m surely the only person in the world to have won both the world jet-ski championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours&hellip; I think I&rsquo;ll keep that record for some time!&rdquo;

<h2>Lietz makes history</h2>

This win was Richard Lietz&rsquo;s sixth in the GT classes at Le Mans &ndash; all with Porsche. The ever-loyal Lietz has been behind the wheel of the German brand&rsquo;s machines for almost two decades and joins the ultra-select club of drivers with the most victories in the history of the GT classes at the French endurance classic.

&ldquo;To win as many times, first you need to be very old!&rdquo; the 41-year-old Austrian joked. &ldquo;Le Mans has often been kind to me since 2007. Manthey offered me a new opportunity at a time when I was thinking of retiring. Here we are, two years later and two more wins&hellip; We have a fast car that is perfectly balanced to look after the tyres. It was a true, old-style endurance race and I love that.&rdquo;

Although he had already appeared twice on the Le Mans podium, this was the first time Riccardo Pera made it to the top step. At the finish, the emotional Italian hailed the all-round performance of the crew and the team. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve already a WEC win to my name but here at Le Mans, I&rsquo;d never been in first place,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;After a P2 and a P3, I told my teammates that we could do better this year. And we did! The car was so fast and the team was perfect. I&rsquo;m speechless!&rdquo;

With this latest LMGT3 triumph, Porsche increased its total number of class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans to 112 and reinforced its status as the most successful make in the history of the race.

Our photo gallery below captures the highlights of the successful week enjoyed by the Manthey 1st Phorm #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 at the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans.

LMGT3: Manthey 1st Phorm and Richard Lietz hit the heights

24 Heures du Mans 1991

The sound of a rotary engine, which you either love or can&#39;t stand, is like no other. And&nbsp;its reliability is fleeting at best, so it was quite a suprise when Mazda won the 59th edition of the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans. In the wake of problems encountered by the&nbsp;Peugeots and&nbsp;Saubers, Johnny Herbert, Bertrand Gachot (both active in F1 at the time) and&nbsp;Volker Weidler claimed the top step on the podium. Well Herbert did so in spirit, he had to be transported to the medical center for dehydration as soon as he crossed the finish line and missed the podium ceremony&hellip;

Photo: Copyright - Archives/ACO

24H LE MANS

Today's Photo Story - Mazda wins the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans with a rotary engine

Related News

More key facts and figures from the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Porsche Penske Motorsport so close to win number 20

Twenty-five years since Audi’s remarkable Le Mans-winning streak began with the R8

LMGT3: Manthey 1st Phorm and Richard Lietz hit the heights

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