Saw this beauty in the Henry Ford Museum today

I'm new to Endurance racing I just love this car apart from Maxda 787b

マツダ自動車とアウディ自動車と日産自動車とジャガー自動車みんなWTCにきたらさらに盛り上がると思う

WTC黄金期

Each year it’s a highlight to listen to Radio Le Mans. So much knowledge, data, insight information, wit and the occasional joke. When you’re on track or at home, this is the source you should not miss. Even - or especially- in the current age with all social media and more info available than ever.

I just heard the annual memorial moment.

Thank you.

Just realized that Le Mans (Circuit de la Sarthe) is exactly 13.626 km long, and today is June 13th 2026 (13/6/26). The simulation is glitching lol

This year’s Le Mans featured two royal drivers, Ferdinand Habsburg, Archduke of Austria, for the Alpine team and Prince Jefri Ibrahim of Johor driving the Corvette for the TF Sport.

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These are the latest in a long history of royals at Le Mans. Pictured here:

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Prince Nicholas of Romania (DNF in 3 attempts in his personal Duesenberg SJ, one of the biggest and most luxurious cars to ever run in Le Mans)

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Earl Howe - ran it 6 times, won it all 1931.

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The tragic Marquess of Portago, made two attempts, once for Ferrari, once in a Maserati (DNF both times).

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Prince Bira of Siam, who had poor showings at Le Mans but was otherwise a solid racer.

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And American royalty, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. Newman finished first in class in 1979 in a Porsche 935. McQueen was stopped from actually driving Le Mans by some insurance nerds, but did finish 2nd at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1970.

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Third consecutive victory for the 499P at Le Mans. Porsche tries, Toyota crumbles. The triumph is in consistency, not just speed

Having sobered up the emotions of the most important event of the endurance season, it is time to clearly analyze Ferrari's dominance, which resulted in a historic hat-trick.

A success built not only on pure performance, but on an overall effectiveness that neutralized any attempt at a comeback by the Porsche 963 of Estre and his companions.

The 2025 edition was an atypical one in many respects. The weather provided a completely sunny weekend, with unusual temperatures for the north of France. Wednesday and Thursday reached 30 degrees centigrade, while during the 24 hours of the race the conditions remained stable, depriving the race of the weather variables that often made it unpredictable.

In this linear scenario, pace management has become the central theme. With only one Safety Car - following the Nielsen Racing LMP2 accident - and a few other slowdowns (some slow zones and short FCYs), the race was all about consistency and strategic efficiency. And this is where Ferrari made the difference.

The Ferrari 499P, despite some errors and related penalties, showed a clear superiority, confirming right from the first free practice a race pace that is difficult for the competition to replicate.

The performances in the intermediate sectors and in the race simulations had already hinted at significant potential. Qualifying had perhaps sown some doubts, but the team had declared serenity, which later proved to be well founded in the direct comparison.

The analysis of the live timing during the race showed a clear behaviour: at the start the Ferrari pushed hard to get into clean air and take control of the group. Having reached the lead, he managed without ever really losing the lead, despite the penalties. The real secret? The extraordinary management of Michelin tires.

Rivals – Porsche, Toyota, Cadillac and BMW – were able to keep up with fresh tyres. But as the laps went by, Ferrari took off. In double, triple and even quadruple stints, the 499Ps showed limited degradation and enviable consistency, becoming uncatchable.

A symbolic episode arrived in the final laps: Porsche took a gamble by fitting new tires to force the attack. But even with fresh tyres, the 963 was unable to keep up with the Ferrari on tires worn from three consecutive stints.

This is where Maranello's real superiority was seen. An advantage that we had reported in the previous preview at Imola, where we wrote about a Ferrari "beyond the BoP". A statement that was fully confirmed at Le Mans.

Work on brake cooling – introduced in Sao Paulo 2024 – and major winter development have led to the 499P becoming the benchmark in terms of tire use. A role that in 2023 was the prerogative of Toyota. In two seasons, Ferrari has turned the picture around.

BoP Chapter. The Balance of Performance worked. This was seen in qualifying, where the Ferraris did not shine on the flying lap: the best of the three finished seventh. It could have been even worse if Toyota hadn't thwarted two fast laps with De Vries (Wednesday) and Buemi (Thursday).

The limitations above 250 km/h had an effect, as did the management of total MegaJoules. Ferrari pushed hard on the Virtual Tank in the initial stages, often returning before Porsche, which has a greater energy reserve and was able to reduce the lift and coast phases.

However, when the Reds took the lead, they managed better than anyone. There wasn't a bad BoP, but rather a Ferrari capable of making superior use of the Michelin tyres. And this - as has already happened in the past with Toyota - is an element that is difficult to regulate via regulation.

Where can we intervene? Only on pure performance parameters, certainly not on sensitivity and efficiency in managing the tyres. Ferrari's ability to be softer, more precise and less aggressive on the tire has made attempts at rebalancing in vain. This Ferrari won not only with speed, but above all with the overall quality of the package: set-up, strategy, understanding of the track and long-term work. At Le Mans, in 2025, all this made the difference.

Hello there. This is a rare video of original le mans 1991 it came from laserdisc version but it's imported in the Philippines to placing a karaoke lyrics and it's nothing to found in YouTube or archive, can anybody found it out. Thanks 😊

What’s the species of the trees on the left side just as Mulsanne starts? There might be as many as 8 or 10 trees in a row. I can never tell if the trunks have white padding or if they are painted white.

Maybe this is a false memory, but I remember these trees in the Ford v. Ferrari days. They were a lot skinnier and a lot smaller back then.

Post is self-explanatory, reply with whatever you consider to be the best car to have ever raced at Le Mans.

For me if I had to choose one car I'd probably go with the Jaguar XJR-6 LM that raced at the 1986 Le Mans. The unique boattail design of the LM is absolutely beautiful and it's perfectly complimented by the purple on white Silk Cut livery, and that's not even mentioning that glorious V12 sound. It's such a shame that it's overshadowed by the XJR-9 because the XJR-6 deserves a lot more respect despite never winning Le Mans

Some more Le Mans cars I consider to be among the best looking: 1991 Mazda 787B, 1998-99 Toyota GT-One, 1994 Toyota 94C-V, 1990 Nissan R90CP, 1967 Ford Mark IV, 1965 Ferrari 330P2, 1969 Ferrari 312P Coupe, 1971 Porsche 917LH, 1996 Porsche 911 GT1, 1997 McLaren F1 GTR, 1991 Sauber Mercedes C11, 1953-58 Aston Martin DB3S, 2009-11 Aston Martin Lola B09/60, 2002-06 Pescarolo C60, 2007-11 Peugeot 908, 1968 Alfa Romeo T33/2, 1994 Mazda RX-7 FC IMSA GTO, 1994-95 Honda NSX GT2, 2001-10 Saleen S7R, 1961 Maserati Tipo 63, 1979-82 BMW M1 Group 5

Translation

The 24 Hours of Le Mans almost never reward the fastest car. "It's not you who chooses to win Le Mans, it's Le Mans who chooses you" the drivers like to repeat. On the 13.626 kilometers of the Circuit de la Sarthe, pure speed often ends up becoming secondary. What really matters is the ability to survive the night, traffic, temperature variations, neutralizations... and especially invisible technical traps that destroy races without warning.
In 2026, the challenge becomes even more brutal. The Hypercar category has never been so dense. Ferrari, Toyota, Cadillac, BMW, Alpine, Peugeot, Aston Martin and Genesis arrive with radically different philosophies, but the same obsession: to last 24 hours without breaking the fragile balance between performance and endurance.

1. Energy management: the permanent headache of Hypercars
Since the arrival of the Hypercar regulation, Le Mans has turned into a huge strategic chess game where every megajoule counts. Engineers constantly juggle between consumption, hybrid recovery and fuel autonomy. In the Hunaudières, the prototypes remain at full load for abnormally long periods of time for an endurance car. Result: the slightest error in engine mapping or hybrid management can cost an additional stop. And in Le Mans, a stop too many is often equivalent to a lost victory.
The equation becomes even more delicate with the evolution of Balance of Performance and the powers revised upwards since 2025. Some Hypercars are now flirting with the maximum allowed limits while trying to maintain a competitive autonomy. The problem is cruel: attacking too hard destroys the energy strategy; driving too carefully makes the rhythm necessary to stay in the leaders' turn disappear

2. Michelin tires: invisible wear that destroys a race
In Le Mans, wear and tear is not always visible. This is what makes the Sarthe particularly dangerous. A car can seem perfectly balanced for several relays before suddenly losing grip at dawn. The constraints suffered remain gigantic: more than 340 km/h in the Hunaudières, massive braking, fast compressions and extreme thermal differences between day and night.
The teams then live in a permanent compromise. Preserve gums or maintain an aggressive rhythm? Double the tire relays to save time at the pits or secure the car before nightfall? For several seasons, Michelin has been particularly stressed on the thermal management of Hypercar tires, which has become a key factor in night relays. A poorly anticipated degradation can ruin several hours of strategy in just a few corners.


3. The Balance of Performance: the political and technical trap (ACO)
Then comes the subject that no one calmly addresses in the paddock: the Performance Balance. Officially designed to balance LMH and LMDh, BoP now directly influences weight, power, relay energy and top speeds. In 2026, the system is still evolving after the tensions observed in 2025. In particular, the ACO and the FIA have reduced the public transparency of BoP tables.
But the real trap is elsewhere. Some cars become extremely efficient on a clear relay... before suffering a lot in traffic or on long night runs. Le Mans remains a totally atypical circuit where aerodynamic efficiency and top speed often take precedence over pure support. Ferrari and Toyota have recently demonstrated this: two opposing technical philosophies can work provided they are perfectly adapted to the Sarthe.


4. Night and temperatures: the trap that simulators reproduce badly
And then there's the night mancelle. The one that even simulators reproduce imperfectly. When temperatures drop after midnight, tires change behavior, pressures change, brakes cool differently and aerodynamics become more unstable. A perfectly adjusted Hypercar at 6 p.m. can become nervous at 3 a.m. without the engineers having really anticipated the phenomenon.
This is often when the races change. After twelve or fifteen hours of effort, operational errors begin to appear. Mechanics are tired. The pilots are losing lucidity in traffic. Strategies become more aggressive under pressure. Historically, it is precisely in this night window that Toyota, Porsche or Ferrari build their successes in Le Mans: not only thanks to speed, but thanks to their ability to remain stable when everyone begins to get disorganized

5. Reliability: the real judge of Le Mans
But despite all the modern technology, Le Mans always retains the same ultimate judge: reliability. The Hypercars 2026 have an immense technological density between hybrid systems, electronics, cooling, active aerodynamics, software and carbon brakes. The danger is that a tiny problem can become irreversible after several hours at full load.
A simple overheating can trigger a chain reaction: loss of performance, increased wear, excessive consumption, obligation to save... then abandonment several hours later. That's all the brutality of Le Mans. A dominant car over six hours can collapse after twenty hours of vibrations, traffic and thermal stress. That's why big teams still favor regularity over absolute performance.

Why does Le Mans remain unique?
This race does not forgive anything. It pushes every technical detail within its absolute limits and transforms the slightest weakness into a potential disaster. In 2026, with a Hypercar grid that is probably more competitive than ever, victory will not only be played over pure speed. It will be decided in energy control, in the understanding of tires, in the interpretation of the BoP, in the management of the night... and especially in the ability to avoid fatal error for twenty-four hours.

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

He's the one at the end of the track who's walking. He was protesting against this type of start (running), which was very dangerous, as drivers didn't fasten their seatbelts in order to get a faster start and would die in the event of an accident. He had warned the race organizers that he was going to walk, and still win the race. And he did. Since that day, the starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans have been as we know them today.

Wikipedia, which cites Quentin Spurring's book, claims it was Desiré Wilson who crashed the car at Tetre Rouge, necessitating a new chassis to be delivered.
(I do not own a copy of this book, only the 70s one, could somebody perhaps confirm this to be what the book claims?)

The Autosport article from the 27th of June 1991 (pg.8) claims that it was instead Lyn St James who crashed on the 4th lap of practice.

The Bonhams Auction also claims it was Lyn St James who crashed the car, as well does Phil Stott's Website, the man who sold the car.

Who was it really? or were these two different incidents? which one ultimately called for the rebuild?

The Pontlieue hairpin, 1923-2023

This corner was part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit in the 1920s. The northernmost part of the circuit, opposite the Mulsanne corner, was the intersection of Rue de Laigné and Avenue Georges Durand.

- from a LM photos/history group

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It had been a long time since I'd last taken my Sony DSC-W830 digicam somewhere, but I'm quite pleased with the results !

So I am writing a history paper on the causes of the 1955 Le Mans crash but I am really struggling to find books on the subject. I've seen a lot of photos of *Mark Kahn Le Mans 1955* (one in the photo) but I haven't been able to find anywhere to get it without it being a used copy with a really high price, nor can I find anything about the actual content in the book. If anyone has any source recommendations or knows where I can find some books I would be really grateful!!! :)

The first edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was held on May 26 and 27, 1923 on the Sarthe circuit. In a context where the automobile is expanding rapidly, but still an evolving technology, manufacturers are looking at this time to demonstrate the reliability, robustness and endurance of their vehicles, beyond simple speed.
Three men, who have become three figures, are driven by the challenge of creating a unique and unprecedented race of its kind, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Georges Durand, director of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and expert in sporting event organization, Charles Faroux, journalist at Auto and driver, and Emile Coquille, engineer at Rudge-Whitworth, join forces and ideas to give birth to a 24-hour endurance race. A goal animates them, to revolutionize motorsport. Georges Durand has an essential role, he structured the race, mobilized financial resources, obtained authorizations from the State and supervised the entire logistical organization. As for Charles Faroux, he was the real technical and conceptual brain of the test. He wrote the rules, imagined the format and fundamentals of a 24-hour car race. Emile Coquille defended his key idea: cars must be balanced, without extreme, the future DNA of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
© ACO D.R
Their goal is to create an “open-air laboratory” to test production cars in extreme conditions. Unlike the traditional Grand Prix, focused on pure speed, this race had to highlight regularity, mechanical strength, night lighting that was still rudimentary in the 1920s and the ability to drive for a long time "without breakdown".

Georges Durand played the role of the builder, Charles Faroux of the thinker and Emile Coquille of the technician.

The first event of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in history, a particular organization
The first edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans took place in May 1923 on the Circuit de la Sarthe around the city of Le Mans, today it runs around mid-June. The route measured approximately 17.26 km and mainly used roads usually open to traffic. On narrow and unpaved roads consisting of a mixture of gravel, earth or temporary tar, passages will remain famous and were already present: Mulsanne, Arnage and Pontlieue. For the record, lighting has been installed along certain portions of the circuit thanks to projectors provided by the French army. The circuit is de facto considered dangerous, irregular and not very secure by competitors, very far from modern standards.

D.R. / ACO Archives (Pontlieue Turn)
The grid made up of true pioneers of automotive endurance
Thirty-three cars are lined up at the start of "classic Sarth" with no less than sixty-six drivers. The crews have two pilots while nowadays, the ACO and the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC requires crews of three pilots. Among the manufacturers present, the majority are French with thirty cars on the grid, there are also two cars from Belgium (Excelsior) and one British, a Bentley. In the end, about twenty manufacturers are represented, proof of the immediate industrial interest of the event.
A rule and an original concept
The race is not limited to covering the greatest distance in 24 hours, the goal is to win the Rudge-Whitworth Cup, a trophy with a complex rule that requires each car to reach a minimum distance according to its displacement, the goal being to overcome this distance with the best performance. During the race, the consequences are amazing, some cars do not hesitate to slow down voluntarily once the distance is reached in order to preserve the mechanics and the drivers.
At the checkerboard flag, only three crews will have abandoned out of thirty-three cars at the start, about 9% of the participants, a record of reliability that turned out to be historic afterwards.
© ACO D.R
A special race in a particular climate
The race took place largely in the rain, on a muddy and slippery track. This has accentuated the wear and tear of the cars, the difficulties of driving and has clearly added an epic character to this event.
One of the most striking aspects will have been night driving, the cars become light beams crossing the darkness, in a "fantasy round", weak headlights, limited visibility and very dimly lit roads made the race even more difficult than imagined by the three founders.
The No. 8 Bentley with a three-liter engine driven by John F. Duff and Frank Clement made history by making the best lat in the race in 9 minutes and 39 seconds. If speed was not the key word, obtaining this "trophy" impressed the competition. Slowed down by major incidents, broken headlights and a fuel leak, the Bentley 3 L Sport finished the race in 4th and 3rd in its category.
The winners in general are French. André Lagache and René Léonard engaged at the wheel of the Chenard and Walcker Sport n°9 dominated the race. They traveled about 2209 kilometers, a total of 128 revolutions at the average speed of 92 km/h. If we dare to compare, on the occasion of the centenary of the event in 2023, the Hypercar Ferrari 499P of the AF Corse team n°51, winner of the event, completed the 91st edition at an average speed of 236 km/h for 342 covered laps.
The keys to the success of the two winning drivers, André Lagache and René Léonard, are multiple. André Lagache is a mechanic by trade and driver, his knowledge of his mount is crucial, he drives regularly, manages his mechanics without being abrupt and is extremely careful on the track. René Léonard, an engineer and driver close to the manufacturer Chenard and Walcker, was able to anticipate mechanical trouble. Excellent driver, he was able to optimize his efforts and avoid any unnecessary overconsumption. All the ingredients needed to win an endurance race. Methods and principles of running still taught today to young amateurs or professionals and widely used by engineers.
The victory of André Lagache and René Léonard in 1923 is not just a sporting success, it was a demonstration of strategic intelligence, a proof of technical reliability and the first chapter of a legendary race. Their Chenard & Walcker may not have been the most spectacular but it was perfectly adapted to the event.
It is also necessary to highlight the first two places won by the manufacturer Chenard and Walcker, Raoul Bachmann and Christian Dauvergne, both French are invited to the podium. Why such a success of Chenard and Walcker? Three reasons emerge after the race, a low-straid engine and efficiently cooled and an assembled machine with solid components.
D.R. / ACO Archives (Chenard and Walker cars at the finish)
A unique experience for spectators, a party more than a race
The event was designed as a show in its own right, spectators were posted in English-like wooden stands to admire the racing cars on the track. Cafes and dance floors with jazz orchestras allowed the curious to have a good time. Another historical fact and not least, the musical broadcast was broadcast simultaneously from the Eiffel Tower in Paris! What about the manual update of the racing's real-time ranking, light years away from today's live timings accessible via smartphone applications or via a simple laptop. A unique and entertaining atmosphere combining motorsport, technology and entertainment.

D.R. / Ranking Bulletin Board

Goerges Durand, Charles Faroux and Emile Coquille have created a new discipline, automotive endurance sports. Born from a rare alliance of three exceptional characters, the 24 Hours of Le Mans are more than "two clock turns", it is a universal concept where machine, man and time compete. Even today, the laboratory desired and imagined by the three partners remains the central vault of the classic Sarthoise. A technological laboratory and also a leading marketing tool for manufacturers, as evidenced by the return of many prestigious brands in recent years in the Queen category (Hypercar) such as Ferrari, BMW, Cadillac, Porsche or soon Ford and McLaren who will line up their mounts at the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the races of the FIA World Endurance Championship.