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Just about everyone has heard of Le Mans – although not everyone has quite got the pronunciation down… They probably know that it’s a 24-hour race, but that’s where most people’s knowledge ends.

However, Le Mans might just have the richest history of any race in the world, dating back to 1923 when it was very different to what we know it to be today.

There’s so much to unpack, it does it a disservice to distil it to just an endurance race. So, we thought we’d bring you a quick rundown of the race, bringing it right to the modern day.

With this race knowledge under your belt, the next time you come to watch Le Mans, it’ll take on a new resonance because you’ll be watching it through the eyes of someone who ‘gets it’. Of course, as a classic car enthusiast, you might already have a good idea of what the race

If you’re thinking of actually making the pilgrimage over to France to watch the race in person, make sure you’re protected with classic car insurance from Lancaster. We can find you a great price for covering your cherished motor.

Where did it all begin?

The first Le Mans race was organised by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) in 1923. The race was designed to be a stamina test, having been created off the back of the French people’s love of cars. 

The 10.7-mile course was built in the streets of Le Mans and called the Circuit de la Sarthe with the river Sarthe flowing through the city.

The race was originally conceived to be a three-year event, whereby the car that averaged the best time over three runs would be crowned the winner. However, this was considered too much of an endurance test and the idea was scrapped. 

Unsurprisingly, the French drivers, with their home advantage, claimed victory in the formative years of the race. The victorious drivers of the first Le Mans 24 Hour Endurance race were Andre Lagache and Rene Leonard, who, in their three-litre Chenard & Walcker, completed 1,300 miles of the course in the 24 hours of the race.

The race was an instant success, with 66 drivers in 33 cars lining up to take on the course – of which an impressive 63 managed to complete the race. The race grew in size and popularity until 1936 when strikes in France put a temporary stop to it. Then the outbreak of WWII curtailed the race in 1939 – a hiatus that lasted a decade, until 1949.

Did you know?

Women have not always had it easy to find a route into motorsport, even in modern times, but the 1935 race at Le Mans saw 10 women participate in the race – a record that remains even to this day! However, it wasn’t the first-time women had managed to compete at the event – in 1930, Marguerite Mareuse and Odette Siko teamed up in the Bugatti Type 40, finishing in a respectable seventh place.

A woman is yet to win Le Mans – Siko’s fourth-place finish in 1934 remains the best result by any woman in the race.

What happened to Le Mans after WWII?

The long hiatus following the Second World War only served to increase people’s appetite for Le Mans. When it returned in 1949, there were more motor companies wanting to compete in the race than ever before. For the first time in its history, Le Mans reached 100 entries to the race, albeit the ACO cut the field by more than half.

The 1949 race also marked Ferrari’s first victory after years of coming up short to its Italian rival, Alfa Romeo.

The next major development came in 1953, when the World Sportscar Championship circuit was created. Unsurprisingly, Le Mans was very much the centrepiece of this series of races and endurance events, and prompted some serious new competition to get involved with major brands like Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar sending multiple cars to race in the hopes of coming out victorious. The races were a great way to build their brands, both on the track and on the road

Le Mans took on a new importance, shifting from being an opportunity for manufacturers to test the durability of their cars to a full-blown sporting event. With the higher stakes, however, came more accidents, including what many consider to be the worst in motorsport’s history, during the 1955 race.

In a racing incident – involving Austin-Healey driver Lance Macklin and Mercedes-Benz driver Pierre Levegh – saw Levegh's car ending up in the viewing area, disintegrating as it crashed, eventually killing over 80 spectators. Levegh would also lose his life in the incident.

The catastrophic crash had far-reaching implications and prompted Mercedes-Benz to retire from motor racing until the late 1980s.

Did you know?

During the 1963 race, a Ferrari 330 LMB managed to reach 300kph for the first time. It came at a time when Ferrari dominated the race, with the Italian manufacturer claiming six straight Le Mans races between 1960 and 1965.

Why is the 1970s called the Golden Era of Racing?

The period from 1966 to 1980 is often dubbed the ‘Golden Era of Racing’. It came about from Ford putting an end to Ferrari’s dominance of the race, with the legendary GT40 and others helping the US manufacturer to stamp its authority on Le Mans.

Not only did Ford come away with victory in the 1966 race, it claimed all three positions on the podium, with first and second place famously (and controversially) separated by only eight metres. But there’s a sad story behind the victory, one which shows how team orders can sometimes get in the way of the right man or woman winning the race.

Ken Miles, a driver who at the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hour had already won the other two big endurance races that year – the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona – was driving a Ford GT40 MkII alongside Denny Hulme.

Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon also shared a GT40, while another GT4 was helmed by Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson.

Miles and Amon were fighting for victory in the final moments of the race, when the order came through from the team for the two cars to cross the line at the same time for a photo-finish. It was an amazing photo opportunity for Ford – one that they couldn’t turn down.

However, what the team hadn’t realised was that if two cars crossed the line at the same time, the one that had started further back on the grid would be declared the winner, as it was the one that had covered the longest distance.

With the two cars passing over the line together, it was soon determined that McLaren and Amon would be awarded the race as they had started around eight metres behind Miles and Hulme’s car on the grid. Tragically, Miles died later that year testing the Ford J-car.

Ford went on to win the next four races, proving that American engineering was some of the best in the world.

The 1970s saw further developments, as cars became more dynamic and speeds soared. Porsche put down its own marker in the early ‘70s, winning two races in a row with the 917 (the car that Steve McQueen drove in the 1971 movie Le Mans), and another two in the late 1970s.

There was a slight but significant change in the rules, too. Rather than a standing start, in which drivers had to sprint to get in their vehicles, the race now commenced with a rolling start. This rule change is attributed to Ford driver Jacky Ickx. He had seen fellow driver Willy Mairesse get seriously injured after not putting on his seat belt and helmet during a standing start in the 1968 race – which many of the drivers didn’t do in order to save time. Ickx protested by refusing to be rushed and began the race in last place. Unbelievably, he still managed to win! The standing start rule was changed the following year.

In another remarkable race later in the era, privateer Jean Rondeau proved that you don’t need the backing of a big car manufacturer to have success in the race, as he won the 1980 running of Le Mans in a car he had built himself called the Rondeau M379B.

Why is Le Mans not all about speed?

Moving into the 1980s, a new class called Group C was created, which served to place the emphasis on fuel efficiency. In many ways, this brought about a return to the race’s original purpose, as a testing ground for innovation. Car manufacturers swapped out their diesel-guzzling, heavy duty race car bodies that had given them so much success to date for slimmer, lightweight builds.

Porsche came to the fore in this category, claiming eight of 10 races in the 1980s, including six in a row. The 1980s saw Jaguar return to the track, seeing off Porsche in 1988 and 1990, while Mercedes-Benz also made its first appearance in the race since the 1955 disaster.

In 1991, Mazda managed to do it for the Japanese for the first time in Le Mans history. French manufacturer Peugeot also tasted glory for the first time, claiming first place in ‘92 and ‘93. It also entered the record books, setting a new speed record of 405km/h; a record which many believe will not be beaten for a very long time.

Did you know?

To win at Le Mans, you need to match speed with durability – you can’t just have one or the other; not today anyway. The record-breaking VM Peugeot was all speed but lacked durability. While the car achieved team boss Gerard Welter's aim of becoming the first car to ever hit 400km/hr at Le Mans, it didn’t manage to finish the race.

What does Le Mans look like today?

The 1990s saw a number of major auto manufacturers withdraw their participation in the race, leaving only two: Cadillac and Audi. In the first decade of 2000, Audi had a tight grip on Le Mans, winning eight of the 10 races.

Audi maintained its supremacy in the 2010s, winning the first five races of the decade. But since then, things have dried up for the German manufacturer, with many of the legacy car brands returning to the circuit. It has also seen a shift in emphasis once again, this time to electric cars with the last night victories of the race – to date – going to hybrid cars. Porsche won in 2015, 2016 and 2017 with its Porsche 919 Hybrid, and in 2018, Toyota claimed victory for the first time with its TS050 Hybrid. The TS050 Hybrid has since followed up that first victory with two more in 2019 and 2020.

Classic car insurance from Lancaster Insurance

So, there you have it – a quick history of Le Mans. One of the greatest races in the world – every petrol head has to visit at least once in their life.

The Lancaster Insurance team has been proudly arranging classic car insurance for more than 35 years.

Our job is to arrange tailored cover to protect your pride and joy. In fact, we have access to some of the most classic car, vintage car and classic vehicle insurance schemes anywhere in the UK.

Some of the many reasons you should choose classic car insurance from Lancaster include:

• Hard-to-insure classics and classics without MOT considered
• Classic Car Club member discounts of up to 25%
• Static show cover
• Historical rally cover
• Choice of repairer
• Salvage retention
• Free EU cover up to 90 days
• Two-year agreed valuation available for £18
• Laid up cover available
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With a policy arranged through Lancaster, you will also receive 24-hour access to our claims line and UK call centre, so your case will be dealt with as swiftly as possible.

If you’d like to speak to one of our specialist classic car insurance experts about covering your vehicle, call 01480 484826 or request a call back. Or, simply get a quote today.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.