On this day, 2 January in 1843, German composer Richard Wagner conducted the première of his opera "The Flying Dutchman" in Dresden.

24H Le Mans

Le Mans Legendes

24 Heures du Mans

Historique

Wherever they are, fans will have no shortage of ways to keep abreast of what’s happening at the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans – the fourth round of the FIA WEC 2025 season. Every important moment of the race will be shown on TV, on social media and on the FIA WEC TV app.

<h2>On television</h2>

In France, the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be televised live by free-to-air channel L&rsquo;&Eacute;quipe.

Find all the broadcasters of the 24 Hours of Le Mans <a href="https://www.fiawec.com/en/ou-regarder-1/36" target="_blank">here</a>.

<h2>Live timing</h2>

Follow live timing for the lap times and standings of the entire 24 Hours of Le Mans field.

&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/live-timing-at-the-24-hours-of-le-mans-a-handy-guide-59698" target="_blank">Live timing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans - A handy guide</a> &lt;&lt;&lt;

<h2>FIA WEC TV APP</h2>

<a href="https://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6" target="_blank">The FIA World Endurance Championship official application</a> is a must-have for avid motorsport and endurance fans. Subscribers can enjoy live access to the race in real time, see what&rsquo;s going on behind the scenes and join an international community of fans. They can also keep track of the standings, pinpoint the whereabouts of their favourite cars on track and geek out on driver stats! Live race coverage comes with official commentary.

<h2>Social media</h2>

<ul>
	<li>Facebook:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/24heuresdumans" target="_blank">24 Heures du Mans</a></li>
	<li>Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/24heuresdumans/" target="_blank">@24heuresdumans</a>&nbsp;</li>
	<li>X (Twitter):&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/24hoursoflemans" target="_blank">@24hoursoflemans</a></li>
	<li>The 24 Hours of Le Mans&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@24heuresdumans" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a></li>
</ul>

The hashtag for the race is #LEMANS24.

How to follow the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

Hypercars under the microscope | Eight illustrious manufacturers will line up in the top class at the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans (11-15 June 2025). As readers will recall, the Peugeot 9X8 initially had no rear wing. A bold design choice that probably didn’t receive its just reward. In its 2024 guise, the Lion has bared its teeth but is still all too timid when faced with more ferocious rivals.

<h4>The French feline&rsquo;s devastating look</h4>

When the Peugeot 9X8 was introduced in July 2021, there was no mistaking its identity with its &ldquo;claw effect&rdquo; signature headlamps and lights. The brand&rsquo;s emblem, modernised in 2021, stood proudly front and centre. But the Lion caused a stir for quite a different reason. Peugeot broke the prototype mould by building a Hypercar devoid of a rear wing!&nbsp;The brand&rsquo;s drivers were among those taken aback by such originality. Lo&iuml;c Duval (#94 Peugeot 9X8) had a first-hand view in 2022: &ldquo;We saw the car covered up and we were unsure which side to lift to reveal the front end, so it was quite surprising. But we never felt that a rear wing was missing when at the wheel. This initial version could generate aerodynamic load in other ways.&rdquo;

The Peugeot designers adopted this avant-garde approach in response to the Hypercar rulebook that demanded equal tyre widths at the front and rear (31 cm). A subsequent change to the regulations to permit different tyre widths between the front (29 cm) and rear axles (34 cm) rendered the first, wingless, version of the 9X8 obsolete. Peugeot went back to the drawing board. A wing was added, a new flat bottom designed and the outer envelope totally revised. The crash structure and chassis survived the overhaul that produced the 9X8 2024 that appeared just over a year ago for the Italian round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. With its very flat front hood and its impressive mane, Peugeot&rsquo;s cat has lost none of its sleek looks but is still struggling to hold its own in a scrap.

24 Heures du Mans onboard PEUGEOT 9X8 #94 Test day 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024

A bord de la Peugeot 9X8 n°94 lors de la journée Test des 24 Heures du Mans 2024

<h4>High hopes for the 2024 version</h4>

Peugeot Sport Technical Director Olivier Jansonnie sums up the situation. &ldquo;We negotiated an important step in 2024. After a year of hard work, we saw some real progress on the track confirming that the decisions made post-2023 on a technical and human level were the right ones. [&hellip;] The bar has been set even higher in 2025. We face fierce competition and demands are sky-high. Reliability will more than ever be a decisive factor in such a closely fought endurance race. There can be no weaknesses if we are to be in the mix at the front of the field.&rdquo;&nbsp;So far, the Peugeot 9X8 has not been in a position to tussle for the top spots. Despite undeniable progress, the car is still lacking on certain points.

In keeping with the LMH rulebook, the 9X8 2024 has a rear wing. It has retained the 2.6-litre twin-turbo V6 engine coupled with a 7-speed sequential gearbox. This powertrain is boosted by an MGU (Motor Generator Unit) capable of delivering 200 horsepower to the front wheels, giving the French manufacturer&rsquo;s prototype all-wheel drive. The MGU&rsquo;s 900-volt high-density battery is the result of a partnership between TotalEnergies and Saft. The aggregate output transmitted to the four wheels comes to around 750 horsepower, for a total weight of 1,030 kg (the minimum requirement). Add 90 litres of racing fuel and a top-notch driver and the car is ready to take to the track.

&ldquo;With the 2024 aero package, the balance is slightly different and we have less drag, which is very important for a circuit like Le Mans,&rdquo; says French driver Duval. &ldquo;We have been on an upward trajectory since the beginning of the year. The 9X8 is easier over the bumps, that&rsquo;s for sure. We haven&rsquo;t quite reached the level of the very best, but we&rsquo;ve moved up a grade. We&rsquo;re also getting much more out of the car now.&rdquo;.

<h4>A tough act to follow</h4>

Peugeot has won the French endurance classic on three occasions, firstly with the 905 in 1992 (Blundell-Dalmas-Warwick) and 1993 (H&eacute;lary-Bouchut-G. Brabham), and then with the 908 HDi FAP in 2009 (Wurz-D. Brabham-Gen&eacute;). A Top 10 spot would constitute a successful race for the Lion today. With the sheer number of generally faster rivals, Peugeot&rsquo;s drivers are forced to battle in the middle of the pack. And yet, in 2023, the changeable weather conditions and an ultra-sharp strategy saw the 9X8 lead the 24 Hours of Le Mans field. A feat that the team was, sadly, never in a position to repeat last year. In 2025, Hypercar racing has attracted even more manufacturers and the competition will be tougher still. Since the season began, Peugeot has struggled to emerge from the pack to claim a podium spot. Will the fourth round of the world championship provide a wake-up call for the French outfit? One thing is certain: Peugeot TotalEnergies&nbsp;will play every card in its hand in its efforts to come up trumps. We&rsquo;ll know by 4.00 pm on Sunday if the race-winning models of the nineties and noughties have found a worthy successor.

Don&rsquo;t miss the other episodes in our &ldquo;Hypercars under the microscope&rdquo; series in which we analyse the prototypes in the high-quality field.

Next up, Ferrari 499P.

In case you missed them: <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-cadillac-v-series-r-under-the-microscope-ready-to-roar-for-america-at-le-mans-59659">Cadillac V-Series.R</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-alpine-a424-hypercar-under-the-microscope-more-precise-more-reliable-more-ambitious-59684">Alpine A424</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-aston-martin-valkyrie-under-the-microscope-when-the-road-leads-to-le-mans-59692">Aston Martin Valkyrie</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<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">BMW M Hybrid V8</a>.

<a href="https://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6">Watch all the action from the FIA World Endurance Championship</a>, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, live or on demand with the FIA WEC TV official app! Don&rsquo;t miss a thing! Check out the app for further information.

The Peugeot 9X8 under the microscope: has the Lion sharpened its claws?

The 4th Pit Stop Challenge at the 24 Hours of Le Mans was held on Tuesday afternoon with the mechanics for Peugeot TotalEnergies'' #93 Peugeot 9X8 taking the top prize!

Launched in&nbsp;2022, this contest&nbsp;honours the best pit stop crew in each category at the 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans. The mechanics must change four tyres as quickly as humanly possible, and hopefully&nbsp;finish in under 10&nbsp;seconds at the very least.

IDEC SPORT Racing, Iron Dames and&nbsp;Akkodis ASP Team got the party started. Iron Dames immediately set an impressive time of 9.53&nbsp;seconds. The&nbsp;competition got fierce fast when the&nbsp;Ferrari-AF Corse&nbsp;mechanics for&nbsp;the #51 Ferrari 499P lowered the time to 9:14 and then were&nbsp;quickly outdone by&nbsp;their&nbsp;#50 teammates with a time of&nbsp;9:05.

Ultimately, the Peugeot TotalEnergies team earned the title&nbsp;this year with a spectacular time of&nbsp;8:83, winning the Pit Stop Challenge for the second time after 2023. The 2024 winner was the crew for the #51&nbsp;Ferrari with a time of 9:68.

WINNERS BY CATEGORY:

<ul>
	<li>Hypercar: #93 Peugeot 9X8 |&nbsp;Peugeot TotalEnergies &ndash; 8:83</li>
	<li>LMP2: #183 ORECA&nbsp;07-Gibson | AF Corse &ndash; 10:44</li>
	<li>LMGT3: #85 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 |&nbsp;Iron Dames &ndash; 9:53</li>
</ul>

<h2>Tyre Changes: An Art in Itself</h2>

Efficient in-race tyre changes are the&nbsp;result of intensive training. Beginning&nbsp;during the&nbsp;winter break, mechanics practice the process several times a week&nbsp;or even a day to hone&nbsp;essential reflexes. Each fraction of a second&nbsp;saved in pit lane can make all the difference in the race which is why&nbsp;training focuses on making the actions second&nbsp;nature.&nbsp;The mechanics, who must carry 22 kg wheels and handle 6 kg pneumatic guns, even work with&nbsp;a sporting&nbsp;coach. Like the drivers, they are constantly striving&nbsp;to improve&nbsp;performance. Calmness, speed and methodology guide each of their actions&nbsp;in a perpetual quest for efficiency against the clock.

Team mechanics and drivers will be hard at work at the circuit tomorrow from&nbsp;14:00 to&nbsp;17:00 for the first free practice session.

Watch the&nbsp;<a href="http://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6">FIA WEC live</a>&nbsp;or on demand on the official&nbsp;FIA WEC TV app, your all-access pass to the FIA World Endurance&nbsp;Championship including the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans. Don&#39;t miss a second of the action! For more info, go to the app.

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Peugeot TotalEnergies wins 4th Pit Stop Challenge

Today's events are always huge crowd-pleasers, starting with the fan favourite autograph session, then the team mechanics take over for the 4th Pit Stop Challenge. Who will dethrone last year's residing champs, Ferrari AF Corse?

<h2>Pit Walk&nbsp;and Autograph Session</h2>

From&nbsp;14:00 to&nbsp;17:20, pit lane is open to the public and from 14:00 to 15:00, the 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers are&nbsp;on the scene&nbsp;for selfies and an&nbsp;autograph session. They&#39;ll sign almost anything so use your imagination! Come and check out the garages assigned to the 62 crews entered in the 93rd running of the race.

<h2>Pit Stop Challenge</h2>

Created in&nbsp;2022, the&nbsp;Pit Stop Challenge challenges&nbsp;the mechanics from all&nbsp;62 teams to execute&nbsp;the fastest wheel change in their category. This&nbsp;takes as much physical ability as it does technical: a wheel weighs more than 20 kg and&nbsp;a pneumatic gun about 6 kg.&nbsp;Teams repeat these movements&nbsp;hundreds of times throughout the season&nbsp;until they&nbsp;become&nbsp;a reflex. As you know&nbsp;in racing&nbsp;every second gained &ndash; or lost &ndash; in&nbsp;pit lane&nbsp;can make all the difference in the world.

Don&#39;t miss the 4th Pit Stop Challenge scheduled between&nbsp;15:15 and&nbsp;16:30. Last year, Ferrari AF Corse&#39;s mechanics responsible for the #51 Ferrari 499P won the&nbsp;Hypercar category. AO By TF took the prize in&nbsp;LMP2 and Team WRT in&nbsp;LMGT3.

<h2>The&nbsp;R&rsquo;Hunaudi&egrave;res</h2>

The Sister Cities Committee and&nbsp;Ruaudin Town Hall are dedicating this 9th R&rsquo;Hunaudi&egrave;res to the U.S., retracing Cadillac and Corvette&#39;s legacy&nbsp;at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the challenges&nbsp;faced by American carmakers.

The 2025 edition, held from 16:00 to&nbsp;23:00, will highlight legendary marques and pay tribute to behind-the-scenes&nbsp;men and women with the 8th Marshals&#39; Trophy.&nbsp;Like every year, official 24 Hours&nbsp;illustrator Fran&ccedil;ois Bru&egrave;re&nbsp;has created a superb poster representing Cadillac&#39;s adventures at Le Mans, from the &quot;Monster&quot; of the 1950s to the Hypercar of 2025. 
 
Entertainment, activities and exhibiitions are all in store vthanks to four fantastic&nbsp;platforms: Cadillac, Corvette, exceptional GT, Sport and Collection. This event is not to be missed!

The 24 Hours Museum is open from&nbsp;09:00 to 19:00, including&nbsp;the stunning temporary exhibition dedicated to McLaren&nbsp;called &quot;A&nbsp;Name for Eternity&quot;. The&nbsp;Fan&nbsp;Zones and&nbsp;Kids Zone are open from 13:00 to&nbsp;20:00. The ACO H2 Hydrogen Village welcomes visitors from&nbsp;14:00 to&nbsp;20:00.

<h4>Tuesday 10 June Programme</h4>

09:00 &ndash; 19:00&nbsp;: 24 Hours&nbsp;Museum open 
13:00 &ndash; 20:00&nbsp;: Fan&nbsp;Zones and Kids Zone open 
14:00 &ndash; 15:00&nbsp;: Autograph&nbsp;Session 
14:00 &ndash; 17:20&nbsp;: Pit Walk 
14:00 &ndash; 20:00&nbsp;: ACO H2 Hydrogen Village open 
15:15 &ndash; 16:30&nbsp;: Pit Stop Challenge 
16:00 &ndash; 23:00&nbsp;: The&nbsp;R&rsquo;Hunaudi&egrave;res

Watch the&nbsp;<a href="https://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6" target="_blank">FIA WEC live</a>&nbsp;or on demand on the official&nbsp;FIA WEC TV app, your all-access pass to the FIA World Endurance&nbsp;Championship including the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans. Don&#39;t miss a second of the action! For more info, go to the app.

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Tuesday 10 June programme

24 Heures du Mans 1925

Although of no relation to the composer, Wagner is a name associated with Le Mans. Louis Wagner was a mechanic who worked with famous inventor L&eacute;on Boll&eacute;e. He took part in the first Grand Prix de France held in Le Mans in 1906 but his Darracq did not finish. However, he won the first Grand Prix held in the USA in Savannah, Georgia in 1908 as well as the first one staged in Britain, at Brooklands in 1926. He was also second in the French Grand Prix in Dieppe in 1912 and Lyon in 1914.

At the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 21 June 1925, Wagner and co-driver Charles Flohot finished sixth overall in an Ari&egrave;s. The driver went on to run the Linas-Montlh&eacute;ry race track on the outskirts of Paris.

Photo (Copyright ACO Archives): Charles Flohot and Louis wagner in the #11 Ari&egrave;s at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1925.

24H LE MANS

Today's Photo Story - Wagner and the 24 Hours of Le Mans

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How to follow the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

The Peugeot 9X8 under the microscope: has the Lion sharpened its claws?

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Peugeot TotalEnergies wins 4th Pit Stop Challenge

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Tuesday 10 June programme

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