Le Mans Classic is up and running. At 16:00 yesterday, the cars from 1923 to 1939 making up Grid 1 took to the track and got the show under way for 24 hours of vintage racing action.

Find out the best ways to access the circuit for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans (12-16 June). Follow this easy guide for a stress-free and unforgettable experience.

Here is&nbsp;practical info to facilitate your arrival at the&nbsp;circuit for the big event!

<h2>Accessing the Circuit</h2>

Traffic at this year&#39;s 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans is expected to be more congested than ever. We recommend&nbsp;you&nbsp;use the routes suggested by our partner <a href="https://www.waze.com/en-GB/live-map/" target="_blank">Waze</a> or opt for alternative transportation like&nbsp;bus, bicycle, TGV/TER or carpooling.

The tram allows you to reach the circuit with ease&nbsp;from numerous satellite&nbsp;car parks located in the city centre and&nbsp;near the University of Le Mans.. The terminus of Line&nbsp;T1 is situated next to the East Gate.

Go to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.setram.fr/" target="_blank">SETRAM</a>&nbsp;website (use Google for the English version) to consult schedules.

<h2>Planning Your Arrival</h2>

The circuit is divided into six colour-coded&nbsp;zones&nbsp;(red, blue, green, orange, yellow and purple). Follow the colour route corresponding to your access pass. If you have a parking pass, place your sticker clearly on your windscreen as it will be checked by the ushers.

Several gates allow entry to&nbsp;the circuit depending on the colour zone of your access pass:

<ul>
	<li>Red Zone 
	North Gate&nbsp;(pedestrian crossing) 
	Museum Gate 
	Panorama Gate 
	Tertre Rouge Gate</li>
	<li>Orange Zone 
	Annex Gate&nbsp;(pedestrian crossing) 
	Maison Blanche Gate (pedestrian crossing) 
	South Gate</li>
	<li>Green Zone 
	Green&nbsp;Garage Gate 
	East Gate 
	Hunaudi&egrave;res Gate 
	Houx Gate 
	Ch&acirc;teau Gate</li>
	<li>Yellow Zone 
	CIK Gate 
	Karting Gate</li>
</ul>

<h2>Entering the Circuit</h2>

Present both your access pass&nbsp;and proof of identity (which may be requested in the event of an inspection) at the entrance.

Security and safety are top priorities,&nbsp;so please do not hesitate to contact our teams at&nbsp;+33 (0)2 43 543210 to report any suspicious behaviour.

To expedite inspection efforts, please only bring with you necessary essentials. Find out which items&nbsp;are authorised or prohibited inside the circuit and welcome&nbsp;areas using the infographic below. Please note that bicycles and scooters are prohibited within the circuit, but free parking is available at the East, North and Karting Gates.

We hope you fully enjoy this 92nd running of the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le Mans! Find all useful info on the&nbsp;24H EXPERIENCE app, your faithful companion during the big race, as well as on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en" target="_blank">24h-lemans.com</a>&nbsp;website and on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/24heuresdumans/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/24heuresdumans/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/24hoursoflemans?lang=fr" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@24heuresdumans" target="_blank">YouTube</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@24heuresdumans?lang=fr" target="_blank">TikTok</a>.

92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans – How to get to the circuit

24 Heures du Mans 2024 - Accéder au circuit

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) has revealed the names of two personalities to be honoured at the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans (12-16 June 2024).

Kazuki Nakajima, Grand Marshal of the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans

Kazuki Nakajima, three-time winner of the 24 Hours of the Mans, will have the privilege of guiding the 62 cars through the formation lap for the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), shortly before 16:00 on 15 June.

Nakajima launched his karting career in 1996 and quickly made a name for himself, joining Toyota&rsquo;s young driver training programme a few years later.&nbsp;After a single-seater career that took him all the way to Formula 1, he joined the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) when it was introduced in 2012. He has competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans ten times, winning three consecutive races in 2018, 2019 and 2020. 
 
Following a successful driving career, Nakajima was appointed Vice-Chairman&nbsp;of Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe in 2021.

Deborah Mayer, Spirit of Le Mans&nbsp;2024

The Spirit of Le Mans Trophy honours the men and women who embody the values of endurance racing: involvement

Fuelled by her love of motorsport and her entrepreneurial skills, Mayer founded the Iron Dames project, which echoes her professional background as one of very few women to succeed in a fiercely competitive environment. Drawing on her own experience, Mayer is personally invested in helping passionate and motivated women prove themselves in the world of motorsport. 
&nbsp; 
As President of the FIA Commission for Women in Motorsport from 2022 to 2023, she spearheaded global initiatives that not only raised awareness but also inspired vocations and spurred a new momentum that has significantly advanced gender equality. 
&nbsp; 
Mayer&rsquo;s story illustrates the art of team building and leadership, emphasises the importance of providing optimal conditions for growth and performance, and inspires and encourages younger women to pursue their dreams.

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l&rsquo;Ouest:&nbsp;&ldquo;I am extremely honoured to welcome Deborah Mayer and Kazuki Nakajima. I would like to express my sincere thanks to these two people who have contributed so much to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and to motorsport. Together they exemplify perseverance, achievement and a passion for endurance. Kazuki Nakajima stands out as one of the rare drivers to have claimed three consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Meanwhile, Deborah Mayer has been at the forefront of a unique project with Iron Dames, sparking inspiration across the paddock and achieving remarkable success, culminating in Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting&#39;s FIA World Endurance Championship win at the 8 Hours of Bahrain at the end of 2023.&rdquo;

Kazuki Nakajima and Deborah Mayer honoured for their achievements

Porsche and Ferrari are two of the all-time greats in the history of the automobile, well beyond the framework of racing. Both carmakers have earned phenomenal legacies at the world's top circuits, regardless of political climate or weather conditions, with hundreds of thousands of spectators in attendance or none at all. They have won the hearts of fans as well as every trophy imaginable.

<h2>Porsche Catches&nbsp;Up</h2>

Ford was in the middle&nbsp;of a four-time winning streak&nbsp;at the 1968 24 Hours&nbsp;thanks to&nbsp;John Wyer Automotive Engineering&#39;s (JWA)&nbsp;GT40s in Gulf Oil liveries.&nbsp;Porsche, a regular&nbsp;at Le&nbsp;Mans&nbsp;in the lower&nbsp;categories since&nbsp;1951, had&nbsp;previously fielded&nbsp;a string of prototypes with one&nbsp;goal in mind: to win&nbsp;the legendary race. The&nbsp;presence of the 907s and distinctive 908s filled the grandstands like never before, but&nbsp;the superiority of JWA&#39;s&nbsp;Fords denied the German marque its coveted maiden&nbsp;victory.

<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/ferrari-vs-jaguar-when-titans-square-up-58405" target="_blank">Ferrari</a>&nbsp;scored its first win at&nbsp;the 24 Hours in&nbsp;1949 followed by&nbsp;eight more. After the Italian marque&#39;s clear&nbsp;domination during&nbsp;the first half of the&nbsp;1960s, Ford arrived to give Ferrari&nbsp;a run for its money and it worked: only older 250 LMs represented the Italians&nbsp;in 1968.

A serious contender stepped up&nbsp;the following year. Porsche had&nbsp;developed a veritable U.F.O.&nbsp;capable of stunning&nbsp;speeds and jaw-dropping lap&nbsp;times. <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/why-is-the-porsche-917-such-a-motorsport-icon-58241" target="_blank">The&nbsp;917 came to play</a>, but&nbsp;Ferrari returned with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/24-hours-of-le-mans-the-unflinching-ferrari-312-pb-prototype-56986" target="_blank">new 312P&nbsp;prototype</a>.&nbsp;JWA&#39;s&nbsp;Fords were in the running again, and&nbsp;Matra (after abandoning its&nbsp;Formula 1 programme) had been&nbsp;delivering&nbsp;encouraging results. It was the dawn of a new golden age in the history of the 24 Hours, one of countless&nbsp;clashes between top competitors.&nbsp;

<h2>No Respite</h2>

The 1969 race&nbsp;kicked off with a bang.&nbsp;Jacky Ickx calmly walked to his #6 Ford GT40 while the other drivers rushed to the far&nbsp;side of the track and jumped in their cars,&nbsp;some even without attaching their safety harnass. As a sign of protest against the dangerous&nbsp;Le Mans-style&nbsp;start, Ickx took off dead last. Unfortunately, fate proved him&nbsp;right.

In the first lap, John Woolfe was killed in his&nbsp;private&nbsp;917. His fuel&nbsp;tank, detached&nbsp;and on fire, was quickly run over by Chris Amon&#39;s Ferrari 312P which&nbsp;in turn began to go up in flames.&nbsp;

The Porsche 917s also struggled, breaking down as the race went on until the last model was forced to retire on Sunday morning. Meanwhile, the second&nbsp;leading Ferrari had long since withdrawn with&nbsp;a problematic gearbox.

Porsche was&nbsp;counting on the 908 LH shared by&nbsp;G&eacute;rard Larrousse/<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-spell-binding-story-of-hans-herrmann-58510" target="_blank">Hans Herrmann</a>&nbsp;to duel&nbsp;the&nbsp;Ford GT40 of&nbsp;Jackie Ickx/Jackie Oliver for the win. In the end, the American car triumphed&nbsp;by only 120 metres. No&nbsp;917 or&nbsp;312P made it to the chequered flag, but it did not go unnoticed by&nbsp;Ferrari that the&nbsp;Porsche was vastly superior,&nbsp;even occuping the lead for quite some&nbsp;time. Matra too made an excellent&nbsp;impression.

Heading into the 1970 24 Hours, Porsche called upon John Wyer to run its official Gulf&nbsp;917s. Others were entered by private teams supported by the factory. The two different body styles of the cars dazzled spectators: one was short, rendering the&nbsp;prototype more manageable and&nbsp;stable, the other was longer,&nbsp;slimmer and faster in the Mulsanne Straight. The displacement of the flat-12 engine was&nbsp;increased&nbsp;up to 4.9 litres for some 917s compared to 4.5 litres for others. Porsche&#39;s pitbull&nbsp;was&nbsp;ready to be unleashed.

At the same time, Ferrari was pulling out all the stops. The sale of 50% of the company to Fiat in June 1969 made it possible to build 25 new prototypes, as Porsche had done for the 917. The 512 S, equipped with a 5-litre&nbsp;V12, set its sights on securing another long-awaited win at&nbsp;Le Mans. The Italian marque also put its trust in top notch private teams. Veteran drivers flocked to both camps, such as&nbsp;Ickx, Jo Siffert, Clay Regazzoni, Helmut Marko and&nbsp;Ronnie Peterson to name a few.

<h2>Ferrari Gets Knocked Out</h2>

Rarely had&nbsp;a worse start been seen at the 24 Hours&nbsp;for a single manufacturer. Immediately after the release of the field,&nbsp;this time without the Le Mans-style start, Ferrari suffered a parade of&nbsp;setbacks.&nbsp;Only seven laps in, the #6&nbsp;512 S driven by&nbsp;Nino Vaccarella broke down. Rain&nbsp;hit the circuit&nbsp;around&nbsp;17:30, causing&nbsp;Wisell in the #14&nbsp;512 entered by&nbsp;Scuderia Filipinetti to slow at&nbsp;Maison Blanche. He was then hit by Regazzoni in the official #8&nbsp;Ferrari just before&nbsp;Mike Parkes in&nbsp;the #15&nbsp;512 plowed directly into the pileup. Derek Bell&#39;s #7 Ferrari remained in the fight as he&nbsp;passed&nbsp;spectators on the pit straight, but just half a lap later, his car was forced to retire in the Mulsanne Straight. In the blink of an eye, Ferrari&#39;s chances of victory had been all but dashed.

Porsche had its own troubles. Two&nbsp;917s withdrew from the race before the sun even went down. But the car&#39;s speed advantage proved&nbsp;very real, and nighttime at the 24 Hours is&nbsp;essentially&nbsp;an elimination race. Favourite contenders&nbsp;dropped like flies, but one man rose&nbsp;above, as he has been known to do. Ickx, at the wheel of the #5 factory&nbsp;Ferrari, gained time in the rain, preferred weather for him, wowing the crowd. But, after midnight, his&nbsp;efforts went up in smoke as&nbsp;a&nbsp;broken rear brake caused him to fly into a mound of sand at the Ford chicane. His was the last works&nbsp;512 S still in the running. The flames emanating from the Ferrari were extinguished along with the marque&#39;s hope&nbsp;for a triumph.

The end of the race went slightly smoother. With two well-placed&nbsp;917s, Porsche was on its way to winning. The top step on the podium was claimed by the&nbsp;Austrian team led by Louise Pi&euml;ch, Ferry Porsche&rsquo;s sister.&nbsp;Herrmann/Attwood had won a truly surreal running of the 24 Hours, with only eight cars making it to the finish and 35 forced to retire. The German carmaker had finally conquered&nbsp;Le&nbsp;Mans.

<h2>An Important&nbsp;&quot;M&quot;</h2>

Ferrari was left shell-shocked. Le Mans had brought the&nbsp;outstanding&nbsp;512 S to its knees. Two private models, fielded by North American Racing Team (NART) and &Eacute;curie Francorchamps, finished fourth and fifth, respectively. But nine others were forced to withdraw, including the four official cars. All that remained was&nbsp;to go to work on a new version for 1971, the last year during which 5.0-litre&nbsp;behemoths would be&nbsp;authorised to take the start.

The authorities had&nbsp;sounded the death knell. In fact, both Porsche and Ferrari were entering two of the most extreme cars ever seen at the 24 Hours&nbsp;for one last hurrah. The German&nbsp;marque opted to&nbsp;keep the base of its&nbsp;917. The long&nbsp;version was reworked to handle almost as well as&nbsp;the short version without losing its main advantage: top speed. The car was clocked at&nbsp;more than&nbsp;380 kph in the Mulsanne Straight. A&nbsp;917 LH even secured the new track record during qualifying: <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/going-all-out-the-insane-pursuit-of-the-track-record-at-le-mans-58456" target="_blank">03:13.9, one of the rare lap times below 03:15 achieved in a century of the 24 Hours</a>.

The ball was then in Ferrari&#39;s court. Staring down&nbsp;seven&nbsp;917s, including the iconic &quot;pink pig,&quot; the Italian constructor decided to go with&nbsp;nine entrants. In&nbsp;Maranello, they chose&nbsp;to do things a little differently. The base of&nbsp;the 512 S was retained to create a significantly improved&nbsp;Spyder version.&nbsp;The new car was&nbsp;wider, lighter,&nbsp;with a more refined body and slightly retooled&nbsp;engine, resulting in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/24-hours-of-le-mans-a-missed-opportunity-for-the-ferrari-512-m-56969" target="_blank">512 M, for&nbsp;Modificata</a>. The Scuderia Filipinetti team ran a&nbsp;512 F, a sort of&nbsp;modification&nbsp;of the modified version.

In a noteworthy twist, Ferrari did not officially take part in the 1971 24 Hours, preferring to begin work on its next prototype in compliance with 1972 regulations. Fortunately for Ferrari, there was&nbsp;no shortage of Scuderia customer teams.

<h2>The End of an Era</h2>

Once again, multiple impactful retirements were caused by the elevated pace set by the field. Ferrari clearly suffered the most, but&nbsp;Porsche had its own troubles. The&nbsp;512 Ms and other versions were never a real threat to the&nbsp;917s. By mid-race, Escuderia Montju&iuml;ch&#39;s&nbsp;#15&nbsp;512 M held the lead for an hour before its gearbox failed.

Start of the 1971 Le Mans 24 Hours

Départ des 24 Heures du Mans 1971

John Wyer&#39;s outfit, representing&nbsp;Porsche, dominated the start. but significant damage caused a delay&nbsp;at dusk. Both sides were forced into&nbsp;extensive repairs, but when Martini Racing&#39;s&nbsp;#22 Porsche 917 K snatched P1 in the 13th hour, it never let go.

The car driven by&nbsp;Gijs van Lennep/Helmut Marko&nbsp;won in 1971&nbsp;after covering&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/will-anyone-ever-reach-400-laps-at-the-24-hours-of-le-mans-58558" target="_blank">5,335 km, a record not beaten until&nbsp;2010</a>. JWA&#39;s #19&nbsp;917 K finished second and the first&nbsp;512 M, sporting the #12 and prepared by&nbsp;NART, rounded out the&nbsp;podium trailing by a whopping 31 laps. The list of retirements included five&nbsp;917s and seven&nbsp;512s.

The impact of this period on the legacy&nbsp;of the 24 Hours cannot be overstated. In just three years of competition&nbsp;before the introduction of new regulations, the 917 had made it into the race&#39;s hall of fame. Having&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fiawec.com/fr/team/6293" target="_blank">Ferrari</a>&nbsp;breathing down its neck made all the difference. After the Italian marque&#39;s&nbsp;revenge at last year&#39;s&nbsp;Centenary, the 499P and the 963 will face off again this 15-16&nbsp;June. Just like at the dawn of the 1970s, history is being written before our very eyes.

Clash of the titans: Porsche vs. Ferrari

Porsche will once again race for a good cause during the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans (12-16 June). For every lap completed by its Hypercars, the German marque will donate €750 to charities benefitting sick children and their families.

Like last year, each lap completed by&nbsp;the three&nbsp;Porsche 963 Hypercars fielded by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/porsche-looking-to-score-20th-win-at-2024-24-hours-of-le-mans-57973" target="_blank">Porsche Penske Motorsport</a>&nbsp;will earn&nbsp;select&nbsp;charities a donation of&nbsp;&euro;750. The total amount raised will then be disbursed&nbsp;to three charitable assocations&nbsp;supporting gravely&nbsp;ill children and their families.

The three&nbsp;worthy organisations&nbsp;are&nbsp;Kinderherzen retten e.V., Interplast Germany e.V. and the&nbsp;Ferry Porsche Foundation. In 2023, at&nbsp;the 24 Hours&nbsp;Centenary, the trio of&nbsp;Porsche 963s covered a total of 733 laps for a donation of&nbsp;&euro;549,750, which&nbsp;Porsche then increased to&nbsp;&euro;911,000.&nbsp;The&nbsp;initiative earned&nbsp;Porsche the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/a-look-back-at-the-centenary-porsche-wins-sustainable-endurance-award-by-dhl-58162">2023 Sustainable Endurance Award by DHL</a>.

Kinderherzen retten e.V. was able to offer heart operations to nine children from El Salvador, Syria, Albania and Afghanistan at the University Medical Center Freiburg in Germany. Interplast Allemagne e.V. used the donation to fund&nbsp;medical missions in Tanzania and Mozambique, among others, and the Ferry Porsche Foundation has continued to provide support to&nbsp;seriously ill children and their families.

At this year&#39;s 24 Hours, the #4, #5 and #6 Porsche 963s will once again sport &quot;Racing for Charity&quot; stickers on their liveries. The German carmaker&nbsp;is currently leading the FIA World Endurance Hypercar Manufacturers Championship ahead of Toyota and Ferrari.

Porsche continues “Racing for Charity” initiative

Enjoy the highlights of the first &ldquo;proper&rdquo; day of racing at Le Mans Classic, with pictures from the night-time heats, Le Mans Heritage Club, the Artcurial auction, Little Big Mans and the visit of Pharrell Williams, the artist behind the worldwide hit Happy.

Video: YouTube &ndash; Peter Auto

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