On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright made the first-successful flight in the Flyer, an airplane designed with his brother Wilbur, in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. Five years later, Wilbur accepted Léon Bollée's invitation and flew publicly near what is today the famous Mulsanne straight on August 8, 1908.

24H Le Mans

Le Mans Legendes

24 Heures du Mans

Historique

Every year, the 24 Hours of Le Mans brings together the greatest constructors and best engineers in the world of endurance racing. As one of the key technical partners, Brembo plays a critical role in braking system performance and reliability. The Italian company works closely with teams to design, fine-tune and monitor brakes capable of withstanding 24 hours of racing

The development of braking systems begins long before the car hits the track. As soon as the main features&nbsp;of a&nbsp;Hypercar are defined &ndash; weight, power, overall architecture &ndash; Brembo reports for duty.&nbsp;The main goal is to adapt the braking system to the specific requirements of Le Mans and the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship (WEC), including&nbsp;endurance, consistency, thermal resistance&nbsp;and integration with the car&#39;s other components. It is a strategic co-design process.

<h2>Team&nbsp;Requirements: performance, Reliability and Endurance</h2>

The 24 Hours teams expect their brakes to be efficient, reliable&nbsp;and able to withstand extreme thermal pressure. Consistent braking over 24 hours is essential, as is the ability to operate effectively in ever-changing&nbsp;circumstances: day, night, rain, traffic, etc. Braking must remain precise, stable&nbsp;and powerful at all times.

During every running of the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le Mans, Brembo deploys a dedicated team of engineers and technicians. Their mission is&nbsp;to support customer teams, ensure rigorous technical support&nbsp;and monitor brake condition in real time. During such a demanding race, Brembo&#39;s&nbsp;assistance is essential to anticipate wear and guarantee&nbsp;consistent performance.

<h2>The Crucial Role of Driver Feedback</h2>

Driver input&nbsp;is central to brake development. Brembo engineers analyse the&nbsp;feedback on parameters such as pedal responsiveness, disc bite, caliper stiffness&nbsp;and deceleration sensation. These notes, combined with telemetry data, allow settings to be optimised and&nbsp;provide a response tailored to the driver&#39;s&nbsp;style and strategic demands of the race.

On the track, brake wear is heavily scrutinized. Sensors installed on the calipers measure the thickness of the discs and carbon pads in real time. In addition, predictive models developed by Brembo are used to estimate wear changes based on temperature, driving&nbsp;style&nbsp;and thermal pressure. This dual system ensures precise monitoring and allows for the anticipation of potential replacements. 
 
During the race, certain brake adjustments are permitted primarily for cooling purposes. Teams can adjust the air duct openings to manage disc and caliper temperatures. It is also possible to change the pads or discs in the event of advanced wear, but no major structural modifications to the system are allowed&nbsp;by&nbsp;the technical regulations of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

<h2>Extending Lifespan Without Sacrificing Performance: A Balancing Act</h2>

How to reduce&nbsp;brake wear without compromising performance? Though&nbsp;possible, it does require&nbsp;specific attention. Anticipating braking, avoiding lock-ups&nbsp;and regulating pressure are all actions that help protect&nbsp;discs and pads. However, this approach shouldn&#39;t come at the expense of pure performance, especially during critical phases such as braking at the end of a straight or when overtaking.

At Le&nbsp;Mans, every element of a car counts. The braking system (employed&nbsp;up to 4,000 times in 24 hours)&nbsp;must be up to the challenge. Thanks to close collaboration with the teams and careful focus on&nbsp;the drivers, Brembo designs brakes capable of delivering performance, endurance&nbsp;and reliability. It is a behind-the-scenes effort,&nbsp;but it is crucial as competitors aim for victory in the world&#39;s greatest endurance race.

Brembo's collaboration with 24 Hours of Le Mans teams

The action is not only on the track at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. To ensure every visitor gets the most out the event, five themed Fan Zones and two exclusive villages are peppered throughout the circuit. Whether you're part of a family, passionate about innovation, a sports fan or a concert goer, here are some personalised itinerary suggestions to make your visit an unforgettable memory.

<h2>If You Are with Family</h2>

Your starting point is the Family Fan Zone located in the village. Designed for parents and children alike, this zone offers a Kids Zone to burn off energy safely, a Gaming Zone for video gamers, the Hot Wheels area and the Young Driver Criterium to learn about road safety. You will find food and drink vendors, giant screens to continue following the race and restrooms.

Must-See: take a few moments&nbsp;at the Constructors&#39; Village&nbsp;to&nbsp;admire the most beautiful cars from renowned marques like&nbsp;Alpine, BMW M, Ford, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche, Toyota, Genesis and McLaren.

<h2>If You Are a Music Lover</h2>

Your starting point is the Concert Fan Zone&nbsp;located at the Bugatti circuit between the Chemin aux Boeufs chicane and the Blue Esses.&nbsp;This&nbsp;area boasts&nbsp;a football pitch,&nbsp;a zip line for the ultimate adrenaline rush, a pop-up casino, and above all, evening concerts to dance the night away. The following is the concert programme&nbsp;for the 93rd&nbsp;24 Hours of Le Mans:

<ul>
	<li>Wednesday&nbsp;11 June, starting at&nbsp;20:00 |&nbsp;St Graal then&nbsp;Eddy de Pretto&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Thursday&nbsp;12 June, starting at&nbsp;20:00 |&nbsp;Roszalie then Pascal Obispo</li>
	<li>Friday&nbsp;13 June, starting at&nbsp;20:00 |&nbsp;PAMELA, Sam Van Der Tour B2B Paco Rabanne then&nbsp;Kungs</li>
	<li>Saturday&nbsp;14 June, starting at&nbsp;20:00 |&nbsp;DJ Loran, Kool &amp; The Gang, The Avener and the 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans show</li>
</ul>

Giant screens, food and drink, and restrooms will be available in this zone.

Make It Last: visit the Tertre Rouge&nbsp;Fan Zone where a dance floor awaits...

<h2>If You Are the Sporting Type</h2>

Your starting point is the Tertre Rouge Fan Zone&nbsp;located near the southern end of the For&ecirc;t. This area&nbsp;is a breath of fresh air with treetop adventures, laser tag&nbsp;and a climbing wall. A dance floor is also available for those with moves (and stamina). This zone&nbsp;even offers a lovely view of the track&nbsp;to follow the race.

Like the other fan&nbsp;zones, giant screens, food and drink vendors, and restrooms are available.

Must-See:&nbsp;end your adventure at the Karting circuit in the Motorsport&nbsp;Fan Zone&nbsp;to test out&nbsp;simulators, play the Batak reflex game and take a peak at&nbsp;the &quot;Racing Avenue&quot; paddock.

<h2>If You Are a Motorsport Enthusiast</h2>

Your starting point is the Karting Fan Zone located at the Karting circuit. Immerse yourself in the world of racing with driving simulators, retro gaming&nbsp;and 24H Inside for a look behind the scenes. You can also follow the race from a new spectator hill.

Giant screens, food and drinks, and restrooms are available in this area.

Must-See: continue your visit in&nbsp;the Constructors&#39; Village where the biggest names in the automotive industry (Alpine, BMW M, Ford, Genesis, McLaren, Porsche, and Toyota) showcase their latest creations.&nbsp;

<h2>If You Are Keen on Innovation</h2>

Your starting point is the ACO H2 Hydrogen Village. Explore the future with an H2 mobile station and the hydrogen prototype exhibition. You can also check out&nbsp;MissionH24&#39;s H24EVO&nbsp;as well as unique hydrogen-powered transportation options for&nbsp;trains, motorcycles, boats, rockets&nbsp;and more. Meet exhibitors Alpine, ArianeGroup, Toyota, Michelin, ENSOP&nbsp;and Kawasaki.

Make It Last: head to the Porte Est&nbsp;Fan Zone to see the&nbsp;&ldquo;Impact &amp; Us&rdquo; exhibition to&nbsp;learn more about&nbsp;environmental projects supported by Restos du C&oelig;ur, SAMJI, the League Against Cancer and many others.

<h2>A Personalised Experience</h2>

The Fan Zones at the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans are designed to offer total immersion into the world of the Le Mans classic, whatever your preferences. Don&#39;t hesitate to plan your route and experiences before you arrive. Enjoy&nbsp;the 24 Hours of Le Mans like never before!

Get a map of all spectator areas <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/new-spectator-area" target="_blank">HERE</a>.

24 Hours of Le Mans – The ideal way to enjoy every Fan Zone

After receiving a flood of applications from all over France for the upcoming third Hot Wheels™ Legends Tour, the world's best-selling miniature cars marque has announced the contest's three finalists. The final will be held on Saturday 14 June at 18:00 during the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans.

After considering&nbsp;a&nbsp;creative and bold array&nbsp;of vehicles, the French jury &ndash;&nbsp;composed of members of the Automobile Club de l&#39;Ouest, Etienne Moustache (content creator and ambassador for the third year) and&nbsp;MATTEL teams &ndash;&nbsp;met for deliberations. Three exceptional cars will be showcased during the 93rd 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans.

The jury will convene again for the final&nbsp;on Saturday 14 June.&nbsp;For this important&nbsp;decision, Hot Wheels&trade;&nbsp;designer Craig Calum will offer his expertise in selecting&nbsp;the French finalist. This year as always, the public will have a say in choosing its favourite vehicle! The big winner of the Hot Wheels&trade; Legends Tour France will be named on Saturday 14 June at 18:00 by the members of the French jury and&nbsp;ambassador &Eacute;tienne Moustache!

<h2>THE SURPRISING&nbsp;2 Deuch&nbsp;Buick V8 (Montlaur, France)</h2>

With its unlikely look&nbsp;and muscle car roar, Henri Valat&#39;s &quot;Deuch V8&quot; certainly makes an impression. Born from the fertile&nbsp;imagination of one&nbsp;special&nbsp;enthusiast, this unique model boldly combines a 2CV body with a Buick V8 engine, mounted on a custom-designed chassis.&nbsp;The culmination&nbsp;of a project launched&nbsp;in 1982, this custom creation with a resolutely Hot Wheels&trade; style has been fully&nbsp;restored by hand by&nbsp;Valat. At&nbsp;65 years old, he proved that passion for automobiles knows no age limits.&nbsp;A finalist in the 2025 Hot Wheels&trade; Legends Tour France, his supercharged 2CV was&nbsp;gunning for a spot&nbsp;in the top 3 to be invited to the legendary Le Mans circuit&nbsp;and hopefully to become a Hot Wheels&trade; miniature in its own right.

<h2>The Stunning&nbsp;Honda S2000 (Wingles, France)</h2>

A diehard fan of&nbsp;Japanese cars, S&eacute;bastien (age&nbsp;37)&nbsp;transformed his Honda S2000 into a one-of-a-kind model, as radical as it is elegant.&nbsp;Acquired in 2019, this Japanese sports car has undergone several modifications, including a rare carbon body kit installed by only two other enthusiasts in all of Europe. For&nbsp;the interior, bucket seats, harnesses&nbsp;and a roll bar are testaments to S&eacute;bastien&#39;s attention to detail. Selected among three French finalists, he&nbsp;dreams of his model becoming a 1:64 scale miniature.

<h2>The Incredible&nbsp;Nissan S14 (Annecy, France)</h2>

A longtime&nbsp;fan of&nbsp;mechanics and Japanese culture, Micka&euml;l Lahais has brought&nbsp;a true legend of the 1990s back to life: the&nbsp;Nissan S14.&nbsp;With its sharp look and 200 hp turbo engine, this iconic drift model has always thrilled the public.&nbsp;But in Lahais&#39;&nbsp;hands, the S14 has become&nbsp;much more than a car. It is now a singular model meticulously modified to reflect his vision of tuning on a scale of 1.&nbsp;Every detail reflects Lahais&#39;&nbsp;high standards, from the sleek lines to the car&#39;s performance level, while respecting its original spirit. As&nbsp;a finalist in the Hot Wheels&trade; Legends Tour France, he hopes to see his car reach a new level: becoming a Hot Wheels&trade; miniature.

From&nbsp;10-14 June, Hot Wheels&trade; is inviting&nbsp;the public to the Family Fan Zone to experience highlights and discover the three finalists in&nbsp;the 2025 Hot Wheels&trade; Legends Tour! 
Throughout the&nbsp;week, fans can explore&nbsp;a Hot Wheels&trade; pop-up store&nbsp;and come to vote for their favourite finalist. A new feature this year are&nbsp;the&nbsp;Hot Wheels&trade;&nbsp;with Logitech G racing simulators for an even more adrenaline-fueled experience.&nbsp;On Saturday&nbsp;14 June (the day of the final), the public is welcome to meet the French contest ambassador,&nbsp;Etienne Moustache, during an autograph sessions starting at 11:00!&nbsp;At 18:00, the big&nbsp;winner of the third edition of the Hot Wheels&trade; Legends Tour France will be revealed, alongside the members of the French Jury and its ambassador.

The three 2025 Hot Wheels™ Legends Tour finalists announced

At this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans (10-15 June), the Automobile Club de l’Ouest spectators will feel part of the race. Five Fan Zones and two villages open on Tuesday 10 June in the circuit grounds, offering masses of things to do for all the family.

FIVE FAN ZONES IN ALL, TWO NEW FOR 2025 
Designed to make fans feel part of the race, these special themed areas offer a variety of activities suitable for all.

<ul>
	<li>Family Fan Zone&nbsp;The ideal place to introduce youngsters to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.</li>
	<li>Concert Fan Zone The place for movers and shakers. You&rsquo;ll find a zip line, a football pitch, a casino and live music on several evenings.</li>
	<li>Porte Est/East Gate Fan Zone&nbsp;Head here to wind down and reflect. Have a break in the Relax zone by Au F&eacute;minin and raise your environment and well-being awareness thanks to the Impact &amp; Nous booths:&nbsp;Restos du C&oelig;ur, SAMJI&nbsp;and La Ligue contre le cancer.</li>
</ul>

NEW FOR 2025

<ul>
	<li>Karting Fan Zone&nbsp;Dedicated to motorsport, this zone boasts a Racing Avenue paddock, simulators, retrogaming and the 24H Inside set. A hilltop vantage point offers splendid views of the Porsche Curves and the Karting turn.</li>
	<li>Tertre Rouge fan zone&nbsp;An area for adventures! This zone offers a rock-climbing wall, big air, laser game, rope course and a dance floor, not to mention direct views of the track between the Dunlop Footbridge and the Forest Esses.</li>
</ul>

All the fan zones have big tv screens, snack bars and toilets. See the <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/program">spectator information page on our website for full details</a>.

TWO VILLAGES FOR THE FULL RACING SPECTRUM 
The two race villages are both not-to-be-missed attractions.

<ul>
	<li>The Manufacturers Village Featuring major players in the automotive industry:&nbsp;Alpine, BMW M, Ford, Genesis, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche, Toyota Gazoo Racing and Iron Dames.</li>
	<li>ACO H2 Hydrogen Village&nbsp;The cutting-edge hydrogen prototype and its key components are displayed in a futuristic bubble. Symbio will be exhibiting the car&rsquo;s fuel cell and Michelin its tyres, while McLaren Applied, Multimatic, Bosch, Isoclima, Sobek, Momo and Brightloop share their expertise with visitors. Thanks to TotalEnergies, the village will have a 700-bar mobile H2 filling station where refuelling demonstrations will take place on Wednesday and Friday. Don&rsquo;t miss that! On Wednesday, ACO president Pierre Fillon and H24Project president Jean-Michel Bouresche will officially open the ACO H2 Hydrogen village. Note 11:30 on 11 June in your diary! They will be making some important announcements!</li>
</ul>

IMPACT CHALLENGE: TAKING RESPONSIBILITY TOGETHER

This year, the ACO&rsquo;s commitment to social responsibility shifts up a gear with the Impact Challenge. A step on from the Green Ticket, the game involves our spectators in our sustainability policy. The Impact Challenge gives new meaning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans spectator experience. Included in the 24H EXPERIENCE app, the challenge comprises 170 missions to defend the interests of the planet and those who live on it.

New fan zones and an even better spectator experience

According to a local newspaper at the time, Wilbur Wright&#39;s plane did three complete loops 15-20 meters off the ground before landing safely. A stele is in place&nbsp;to commemorate&nbsp;that first flight. Among the spectators that day was a certain Louis Bl&eacute;riot who went on to become the first to cross the English Channel by plane the following year.

Photo (Copyright -&nbsp;Archives/ACO): Curious onlookers around&nbsp;Wilbur Wright&#39;s airplane.

24H LE MANS

Today's Photo Story - The Wright brothers' plane flies over Le Mans in 1908

Related News

Brembo's collaboration with 24 Hours of Le Mans teams

24 Hours of Le Mans – The ideal way to enjoy every Fan Zone

The three 2025 Hot Wheels™ Legends Tour finalists announced

New fan zones and an even better spectator experience

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