24h Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans saw the light of day on 26 May 1923. Over a century later, the race continues to fuel the legend. In 18 days, Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota will all fight for a prestigious victory in the 93rd edition of the French endurance classic.
The inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans was held on 26-27 May 1923 – precisely 102 years ago! Devised as an open-air testing laboratory for motor cars, this new type of event would revolutionise racing and shape a legend. Over a century later, the race constantly reinvents itself while remaining true to its roots.
From the outset, the 24 Hours of Le Mans was perceived as a technological challenge for manufacturers and a sporting challenge for drivers. Unlike pure speed races, endurance was intended to test the cars’ reliability, fuel consumption, lighting and roadholding quality. A philosophy that still holds true today.
Many new technologies have been tested down the years at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including disc brakes, LED then laser headlamps, road surfacing, hybrid systems and a 100% renewable fuel. Several have found their way into production cars. Tomorrow, a clean, efficient fuel will be at the heart of innovation thanks to the MissionH24 initiative – hydrogen.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is also a compendium of emotions, heroic exploits and events that have shaped the legend. Who can forget Bentley’s domination of the 1920s (five wins between 1923 and 1930), the head-to-head between Ferrari and Ford in the sixties, Mazda’s 1991 triumph with its rotary engine, the Audi era with its all-conquering prototypes or, more recently, Ferrari’s stunningly successful comeback in Hypercar?
Each decade has brought its share of feats and surprises. They have all helped make the 24 Hours of Le Mans the world’s greatest endurance race and a benchmark in motorsport alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix.
Since the Centenary in 2023, the race attracts a crowd of over 300,000 spectators from all over the world. Drivers, engineers, fans and volunteers alike are all drawn to the circuit to live their dream and share their passion. And tomorrow? Looking to the immediate future, the 2025 race will see some of the biggest carmakers on the planet – Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota – fight for victory among a field of 62 cars, almost twice as many as in 1923 (33).
While the cars, the racetrack and the technologies have all evolved, the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has remained unchanged: push oneself to the limit, drive back the boundaries of what humans and machines can accomplish and write a page of history, day and night.
On 26 May 1923, the 24 Hours of Le Mans came into being. On 26 May 2025, the race is looking to the future with the same ambition: to be the theatre of all manner of achievements.
