A legendary race:
Created in 1923, the most famous endurance race in the world conveys values of sportsmanship, of challenge and technologies which men, car manufacturers and the major makes seek to make their own, whether by taking part in the race, standing out through their achievements, or by becoming partners.
The “24 Heures du Mans” – Steve Mc Queen turned it into a film, Paul Newman raced there, Luc Besson used it as a film set – is today much more than a sports event; it is a real legend, a purveyor of emotions, which has witnessed the defeats of the greatest and the victories of the strongest.
Rigour and skills: the “24 Heures du Mans” ranks among the historical French sports events whose international renown has travelled down the century. Through its expertise and its experience based on competence and the passion of men, the race has earned itself an exemplary image as regards organization skills, as much on a sports level as in the command of its logistics and its activities.
The “24 Heures du Mans” as seen by Dr. Ferry Porsche:
“ A few months before the death of my father, in January 1951, the famous French journalist, Charles Farroux, a specialist in motor sport, had made him promise to enter a Porsche 356 in the “24 Heures du Mans”.
In June 1951, I respected this promise and our model, equipped with a 1100 cm3 engine, developing a power of 48 hp, straight away won in its category. Ever since, for the Porsche Company, as for myself, the Sarthe circuit has become almost like a second home, since we go there at least one week every year.
For me, since this memorable year (1951), the “24 Heures du Mans” is not only a car race, but is also the harshest judge possible of our team, since the direct influence it has on the way factory-produced cars are built is absolutely true.
The general public is sometimes unaware of how much technical progress, at first sight evident, has been accomplished thanks to motor sport in general and to this marathon at Le Mans in particular. Whether it’s a question of windscreen wipers, turbocharger, disc brakes, or the aerodynamics, technology would not have made such rapid progress without Le Mans”.
The “24 Heures du Mans”: a technological laboratory:
1906: Application of the first tarred surface
1927: Experiments with the first front-wheel drive in a competition
1933: Reflecting axial line on the Hunaudières straight line
1951: Michelin radial tyre on Lancia Aurelia
1953: Appearance of disc brakes and first victory for the C-type Jaguar
1963: Halogen headlamps on Porsche and Ford cars
1974: Experiments with turbo-charged engine on Porsche
1991: Victory of a rotary engine with Mazda
2006: Victory of a Diesel engine with Audi
2009: Victory of a HDI-FAP Diesel engine with Peugeot
24 Heures du Mans
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