Porsche, the manufacturer who holds the record for 24 Hours of Le Mans victories, will make its official return to the endurance world in 2014 with the 919 Hybrid prototype, tested recently by Timo Bernhard (who won in 2010 with Audi at Le Mans) on the track at Monza, a suburb of Milan.

M24 will open its doors at 10 a.m. on 28 May 2026. The new museum located at the main entrance to the Le Mans circuit harbours hundreds of magnificent tales of racing, plunging visitors into the world of motorsport.

Keeping a legend alive involves important restoration work. The Bentley 3 Litre, the car that covered the longest distance at the second 24 Hours of Le Mans is the oldest winner of the race still around to tell the tale! An automotive masterpiece, the car is currently being restored by Vintage Bentley in the United Kingdom and will soon take pride of place at M24.

<h2>The tale of the Bentley 3 Litre</h2>

The 24 Hours of Le Mans was an international event from the outset. In 1924, Briton Frank Clement and Canadian John Duff entered a specially-prepared Bentley 3 Litre. The nailbiting race was marked by a head-to-head between Bentley and Lorraine-Dietrich, and marred by sabotage: a part was hammered into one of the Bentley&rsquo;s rear wheels to prevent its removal. Despite losing half an hour in the garage in vain attempts to change the wheel, Bentley won the race. The incredible victory cemented the event&rsquo;s popularity in the United Kingdom and beyond, and sparked the formation of the group later known as the <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/24-hours-of-le-mans-centenary-1924-1930-the-one-of-a-kind-bentley-boys-56863">Bentley Boys</a>. The actual Le Mans-winning 1924 Bentley 3 Litre, complete with its original engine, chassis, radiator and axle, will soon be on display at M24.

<h2>A huge project</h2>

Such a gem deserves to be displayed at its best. So, before becoming one of the star pieces in the M24 collection, a renovation was in order. In 2023, the Bentley 3 Litre made the trip from Brooklands to Le Mans to celebrate the centenary of the race. The decision to conduct the restoration was taken on that occasion. Such an undertaking required thorough investigation. The chassis and the mechanics have been overhauled, and the bodywork, which was damaged, has been rebuilt.

William Medcalf of the Vintage Bentley workshop: &ldquo;We have restored several classic Bentleys of historic importance, so we were delighted when Fabrice Bourrigaud, ACO director of Culture &amp; Heritage asked us to examine John Duff&rsquo;s 1924 Le-Mans winning #8 Bentley 3 Litre (XT1606). For the very first time, 100 years of family history and official archives were scrutinised, casting new light on urban legends. We renovated the car to the exact state in which it appeared on the 1924 24 Hours of Le Mans starting grid, with all its imperfections and last-minute additions. The result is fascinating and questions the established narrative of Bentley&rsquo;s racing beginnings. The award-winning team at Vintage Bentley, based in West Sussex, UK, is very proud of its finished work.&rdquo;

The difficulty resided in obtaining the necessary records to piece together the past. A huge amount of research was conducted to ensure that all the car&#39;s parts were genuine. A former officer was hired to trace all the owners of the car and collect information on John F.Duff and Frank Clement. All sorts of documents turned up: including the original ownership papers and lost photos. Thanks to the precious finds, the renovators were able to establish that the bodywork was not that of 1924. It was therefore rebuilt in aluminium, to achieve the goal of restoring the car to its original state. The wood panelling and leatherwork were also reproduced &ndash; a massive project in itself! In all, Vintage Bentley spent some 3,700 hours on the renovation. Not content with being a backdrop for masterpieces, M24 &ndash; Museum of Motorsport breathes new life into them.

<a href="https://www.lemans.org/en/news/aco/the-m24-motor-sport-museum-ticketing-is-now-open-60514" target="_blank">The museum ticket office is open for bookings now.</a>&nbsp;

Treasures of M24: the 1924 Bentley 3 Litre, restored glory

With the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans just around the corner, it is time for the Automobile Club de l’Ouest to announce details of the Race Week programme. On the bill this year, international competitions, activities for racegoers and big-name musicians. Once again, Le Mans is ready to make 24 Hours last ten days.

<h2>THE FUN BEGINS ON FRIDAY 5 JUNE</h2>

The city-centre scrutineering sessions mark the beginning of the festivities. All teams, cars and drivers are required to attend. Compliance with regulations is checked and competitors are cleared to take their spot on the grid. The checks continue on Saturday morning and conclude with a selection of cars parading through the streets of the city.

Sunday is Test Day. Beside seeing the cars put through their paces on track for the first time, spectators will witness the first of four support races: the Ligier European Series.

<h2>FAN DAY</h2>

Tuesday 9 June is &ldquo;meet and greet&rdquo; day. Spectators will have the opportunity to peek behind the scenes in the pit lane, support their favourite team in the Pit Stop challenge and chat with drivers during the pit lane&nbsp;autograph sessions.

Meanwhile, in the ACO H2 Hydrogen and Manufacturers villages, visitors are introduced to the latest technological innovations before sampling the activities on offer in the Fan Zones and kids&rsquo; areas.

<h2>THINGS GET SERIOUS</h2>

Tension mounts on Wednesday when the free practice and qualifying sessions take place. The various support races &ndash; Ferrari Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil and Road to Le Mans &ndash; add to the excitement.

At sundown, drivers reset their bearings as they head into the night for their first taste of the circuit after dark. Then comes the first qualifying period followed by live music from Mathilda, and Jean-Louis Aubert.

Thursday is a key moment in the build-up to the race with the second qualifying period and Hyperpole which determines the starting order for the big day. Spectators can also look forward to more support fixtures, and another superb evening of live music, with DJ Loran and Dorrr followed by The Libertines.

<h2>SPECTATORS WALK THE CIRCUIT AND RACERS TAKE TO THE STREETS</h2>

Road To Le Mans now takes the shape of a three-hour endurance race, set to be held on Friday morning. Afterwards, visitors are welcome to explore the track on foot, or by bike. Then, the city centre becomes the focus of attention once more as locals and fans from far and wide line the streets for the traditional Drivers&rsquo; Parade hosted by Classic Automotive.

Later, back at the track, Michel Hubert, Upsilone and Robin Schulz take turns on the concert stage to round off the day&rsquo;s festivities.

<h2>THE BIG DAY: THE START OF THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS</h2>

On Saturday 13 June, the week reaches a high point. The day begins with the support races, followed by the warm-up session. Then comes the countdown to the starting ceremony, when tension peaks.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans starts at 16:00.

Magic System and Mosimann provide the evening&rsquo;s musical entertainment, and the big day ends with the ever-spectacular 24 Hours of Le Mans Show.

<h2>IT&rsquo;S ALL OVER FOR ANOTHER YEAR</h2>

At 16:00 on Sunday 14 June the chequered flag will signal the finish of the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans. The emotional podium ceremonies conclude ten days of fervour and fun.

Spectators can take in the whole spectrum of the event, both on track and at M24 &ndash; Museum of motorsport, the ACO H2 Hydrogen Village, the Fan Zones and kids&rsquo; areas. At Le Mans, entertainment is round-the-clock.

Ready to roll? Then book one of the last few Wednesday/Thursday practice and qualifying tickets now to enjoy grandstand viewing, spectator zones and trackside entertainment. Join us on Wednesday for a&nbsp; relaxed experience. Smaller crowds mean better views, shorter queues and more time to take in everything on offer at the circuit. Get into the Le Mans spirit before the race starts!

Head to <a href="https://ticket.24h-lemans.com" target="_blank">https://ticket.24h-lemans.com</a> for tickets, from just &euro;23*!

For the optimum race experience, book an all-inclusive package with hospitality facility access and an unrivalled view of the track. What can you expect? Excellent quality of service, catering and exclusive activities managed by a dedicated team. See <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/hospitality/vip" target="_blank">https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/hospitality/vip</a> for full terms and conditions.

*Price per person for a student or person with a disability on Wednesday (proof of status required). Valid on Tuesday 9 June (14:00&ndash;22:00) and Wednesday 10 June 2026 (09:00&ndash;midnight). Free admission for under-sixteens (born after 14 June 2010) accompanied by a paying adult.

A host of activities for a thrilling experience at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 4 Hours of Le Castellet, second round of the 2026 European Le Mans Series, is this coming weekend! Find out who is favoured to win each of the four categories.

The starting grid at this year&#39;s&nbsp;4 Hours of Le&nbsp;Castellet boasts 140 drivers and 47 cars: 11 LMP2s, 12 LMP2 Pro/Ams, 10&nbsp;LMP3s and&nbsp;14&nbsp;LMGT3s. Eight teams and 28 French drivers are set to&nbsp;take the track on their home turf.

Check out the 4 Hours of Le Castellet&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fiawec.com/umbrella_media/2026-elms-4-hours-of-le-castellet-entry-list-v1-69e87bab2caa1091057005.pdf" target="_blank">entry list</a>.

<h2>Forestier Racing by Panis the one to beat</h2>

On the heels of victory at the 4 Hours of Barcelona&nbsp;earlier this month,&nbsp;Forestier Racing by Panis&#39; #29 ORECA&nbsp;07-Gibson tops the ELMS overall standings. Defending LMP2&nbsp;champions&nbsp;Esteban Masson and&nbsp;Oliver Gray will team up with Louis Rousset for this race. The French outfit, fielding two cars, is trailed by&nbsp;Inter Europol Competition, the LMP2 winner at last year&#39;s 24 Hours. The&nbsp;#43 will be shared by&nbsp;Tom Dillmann, Jakub Smiechowski and Luca Ghiotto (filling in for&nbsp;Nick Yelloly as he honours&nbsp;a commitment in the U.S.). The&nbsp;#34 will be driven by the second place finishers in Spain, Reshad de Gerus (4 Hours of Barcelona pole-sitter) and&nbsp;Bijoy Garg.&nbsp;

Algarve Pro Racing&#39;s #20 ORECA&nbsp;07-Gibson claimed the top step on the LMP2 Pro/Am podium at the Barcelona round. Danish drivers Michael Jensen and&nbsp;Malthe Jakobsen, along with Italian teammate&nbsp;Enzo Trulli, are heading into the 4 Hours of Le&nbsp;Castellet leading the championship.

AF Corse&#39;s #83 ORECA finshed second in the&nbsp;class in Spain. Previous&nbsp;ELMS LMP2 Pro/Am champions&nbsp;Fran&ccedil;ois Perrodo and&nbsp;Matthieu Vaxivi&egrave;re&nbsp;will have home field advantage as they join forces with 2024 Le Mans winner&nbsp;Antonio Fuoco.

Duqueine Team finished third in Barcelona. Doriane Pin, just&nbsp;back&nbsp;from her Formula&nbsp;1 tests with&nbsp;Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, will reunite with Giorgio Roda and&nbsp;Richard Verschoor for the 4 Hours of Le Castellet.

Defending ELMS LMP2 champion&nbsp;Charles Milesi is expected to take the wheel of CLX Motorsports&#39; #47 ORECA&nbsp;along with Felipe Fraga and&nbsp;Georgios Kolovos.

Last year&#39;s&nbsp;LMP2 Pro/Am champion AO by TF is making a crew&nbsp;change: British driver Jonny Edgar will replace&nbsp;Louis Del&eacute;traz at the wheel of the #99 ORECA with PJ Hyett and&nbsp;Dane Cameron.

The highly competitive LMP3 class will see Rinaldi Racing&#39;s #5 Ligier-Toyota do&nbsp;its best to hold off&nbsp;R-ACE GP and&nbsp;Inter Europol Competition. Championship&nbsp;leaders&nbsp;Jos&eacute; Fernandes Cautela, Alvise Rodella and&nbsp;Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen are hoping the Le&nbsp;Castellet round will increase the&nbsp;lead they gained&nbsp;in Barcelona by&nbsp;the six points on the table this weekend.

<h2>Porsche pays tribute to its first 24 hours of Le Mans class win</h2>

The LMGT3 class is the most stacked in the 2026 European Le Mans Series,&nbsp;including&nbsp;the likes of Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and&nbsp;Porsche.

Proton Competition&#39;s #75&nbsp;Porsche 911 GT3 RLMGT3 (the 4 Hours of Barcelona winner)&nbsp;shared by American drivers&nbsp;Matt Kurzejewski and&nbsp;Tom Sargent, along with Austrian driver&nbsp;Richard Lietz, is currently topping the championship provisional classification.&nbsp;The&nbsp;car will sport&nbsp;a special livery celebrating the 75th anniversary of Porsche&#39;s first category win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1951.

Richard Mille AF Corse&#39;s #50&nbsp;Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo, the LMGT3 winner at the 2025&nbsp;4 Hours of Le&nbsp;Castellet, will see last year&#39;s winner&nbsp;Lilou Wadoux replace&nbsp;Francesco Castellacci and join forces with Custodio Toledo and&nbsp;Riccardo Agostini for her home race.

The start of the&nbsp;4 Hours of Le&nbsp;Castellet will be given&nbsp;this Sunday&nbsp;3 May at noon (local time). Free Practice 1 is scheduled for Friday&nbsp;1 May at&nbsp;11:50, followed by FP 2 at 10:10 and qualifying at&nbsp;15:10 on Saturday&nbsp;2 May.

Tickets (starting at&nbsp;&euro;10) are still available only at&nbsp;<a href="https://cpr.camatau.com/billetterie/events/173/shows/1104" target="_blank">circuitpaulricard.com</a>.

<h2>Watch the race live on the FIAWEC+ app</h2>

A true springboard for teams and drivers destined for&nbsp;the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans, the European Le Mans Series is streamed live on the&nbsp;FIAWEC+ app (the official app of the&nbsp;ELMS) with full race broadcasts, replays&nbsp;and highlights throughout the season.

Stream all ELMS races free with an&nbsp;<a href="https://plus.fiawec.com/en" target="_blank">FIAWEC+</a>&nbsp;account.

ELMS – Top contenders in each class at upcoming 4 Hours of Le Castellet

Add experience to impetus, and what do you get? Nico Müller is to join the Inter Europol Competition LMP2 team for the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans on 10-14 June 2026. The recruitment is a new asset for the team, already a two-time class winner.

A 24 Hours of Le Mans team is always a complex web of relations, held together by an invisible thread. It is this alchemy that turns three drivers into one crew, with a single aim: the finish line. This year, Inter Europol Competition has added Nico M&uuml;ller to the mix. He will be sharing the #343 Oreca 07-Gibson with Bijoy Garg and Reshad De Gerus. The line-up has &ldquo;we&rsquo;re out to win LMP2&rdquo; written all over it!

<h2>The voice of experience</h2>

Every detail counts in a discipline as demanding as endurance racing. A reassuring voice on the team can change the whole tone of a race. Nico M&uuml;ller knows Le Mans. A Porsche factory driver in Formula E, he has driven the Peugeot Hypercar and has the precious experience of long nights, and the crucial split-second decisions that can turn the tables.

&ldquo;I&rsquo;m super excited to be joining Inter Europol Competition [...] The 24 Hours of Le Mans is always very high on every driver&rsquo;s list,&rdquo; he says. A simple statement that suggests the attraction of Le Mans &ndash; the pull that makes you want to come back every year. M&uuml;ller isn&rsquo;t coming along for the ride. He&rsquo;s coming to play a role, to do battle.

At his side, Bijoy Garg and Reshad De Gerus already form a solid pair in the European Le Mans Series. Their mutual understanding forms a sturdy foundation to build on. &quot;Teaming up with Bijoy, the winner of the 2024 edition, and Nico, who will be a major asset thanks to his experience as a works driver in Hypercar, makes us a strong line-up,&quot; says Reshad De Gerus. The words of a calmly confident crew-member who knows what to expect.

<h2>Two cars, double the chances</h2>

Fraternity is the watchword at Inter Europol Competition: the #343 has a sister, the #43, last year&rsquo;s class winner, again in the hands of Nick Yelloly, Tom Dillmann and Kuba Śmiechowski. There&rsquo;s no harm in continuity!

Team Principal Sascha Fassbender&rsquo;s message is crystal clear: &ldquo;Adding Nico for Le Mans gives us a very strong line-up and the possibility to have two competitive cars, both able to fight for the win.&rdquo; At Le Mans, being quick is not enough. You need to be sharp, patient and stick your neck out on occasions. Two cars on the grid doubles the chances of reading the race with a clear head.

When the race starts at 16:00 on 13 June, Inter Europol Competition will be out to win again.

At home, or trackside, we&rsquo;ll be watching. Because at Le Mans, every team effort is a reminder that alone, you go fast; together you go far.

Nico Müller to instill experience at Inter Europol Competition (LMP2)

The German manufacturer knows the whole world is awaiting the 919 like the messiah and is therefore leaving nothing to chance, increasing private test sessions with six selected drivers:&nbsp; besides Timo Bernhard (who appears in the video below), Romain Dumas, Mark Webber, Marc Lieb, Neel Jani, and Brendon Hartley will start the 6 Hours of Silverstone, first round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).&nbsp; What remains to be known is the crew distribution between the two cars that will take part in the Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans.&nbsp; (<a href="http://www.24h-lemans.com/en/program/tickets-informations_2_2_2038.html#&amp;panel1-1">Ticket information</a>).

	&nbsp;

	<img class="imgVideo" id="2237" src="/wpphpFichiers/video/2237-behind-the-scenes-of-an-lmp1-test.jpg" />

	&nbsp;

	See more videos at <a href="http://www.lemans-tv.com/">www.lemans-tv.com</a>.

	Thierry Arman et C&eacute;cile Bonardel / ACO - Translated by Rainier Ehrhardt / ACO

24H LE MANS

WEC - The Porsche 919 Hybrid tests at Monza

Related News

Treasures of M24: the 1924 Bentley 3 Litre, restored glory

A host of activities for a thrilling experience at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

ELMS – Top contenders in each class at upcoming 4 Hours of Le Castellet

Nico Müller to instill experience at Inter Europol Competition (LMP2)

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