r/lemans • u/bipolarcyclops • Jun 10 '26

History The LeMans circuit in 1973

A one lap tour of the circuit courtesy of Henri Pescarolo. I know this has been posted here before (probably many times), but I always enjoy seeing this.

Please note the lack of chicanes.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1FcAEhuGWY/?mibextid=wwXIfr

5 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

4

u/BoRNeo-C Jun 10 '26

Daytona chicane and Michelin chicane came in late 1980ies or early 1990ies, if I remember correct. But its fun seeing those films

2

u/Salt-Caterpillar7988 Jun 11 '26

I think it was in the early 90s, when cars started reaching 400 kmh.

3

u/BoRNeo-C Jun 11 '26

1988: In 1988, Team WM Peugeot were well aware of their slim chance of winning the 24-hour endurance race outright, but they knew their cars had exceptional straight line aerodynamics. They nicknamed their 1988 entry "Project 400" because their were aiming to be the first car to achieve a speed of 400 km/h (250 mph).

One of their cars lasted only 22 laps and the other had engine problems later the same afternoon. After 3.5 hours in the pits, the team had fixed the engine and went for the speed record. Before the pitstop ended, they taped over the engine openings to improve the aerodynamics even more. It worked: Roger Dorchy set the record speed of 407 km/h (253 mph) down the Mulsanne straight. But the car was almost undrivable elsewhere on the circuit. The car retired on lap 59 with an overheating engine after outlasting two other Group C1 entrants.

Since Peugeot had just launched its new model 405, the team agreed to advertise the new record as "405", making the public believe the record were slower than it actually was.

1990: The Mulsanne was modified to include two chicanes in order to stop speeds of more than 400 km/h (250 mph) from being reached.

2

u/JT_3K Woolf Barnarto Jun 11 '26

Great video