The 24 Hours of Le Mans are a true bottomless pit of history, data, statistics and curiosities. For this reason, at Motor.es we wanted to gather some key data to understand the 89th edition of the test, to know the best historical records and track records. As an extra bonus we also go over the Spanish role in the ‘race of races’.
89th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
- The starting signal will be given John elkann. Due to her role in the automotive industry, she will be in charge of starting the 89th edition of the test.
- The current ones hypercar reach the 940 hp of power thanks to the combustion engine and the hybrid component. Toyota uses a V6 gasoline engine.
- The Toyota GR010 Hybrid has a weight of 1,040 kg. The average weight of the pilots is 80 kilos.
- In this edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, three Spanish drivers will compete: Roberto Merhi (LMP2), Miguel Molina and Antonio García (LMGTE-Pro).
- The LMP2 They dispute their fifth edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans under these technical regulations. In previous seasons they have reached speeds of over 350 km / h.
- In LMGTE-Pro they will only compete Ferrari, Porsche and Corvette. The list of registrants is reduced to eight cars.
- Without the presence of Patrick Dempsey as a pilot (yes as a team owner), same role as he has Fabian Barthez, former international goalkeeper with France, the grid is orphaned of illustrious personalities. The great hope in this line of succession is Michael Fassbender.
- In Box 56 there will be a competitor again. The last time this garage was full was 2016, when the LMP2 adapted from Frédéric Sausset. The new adapted LMP2 also depends on Sausset.
- Goodyear will use more than 2,200 tires in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2021 in dry conditions. The number will rise in case of rain. The company moves 5,000 tires, almost 200 per car.
Historical records of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
- The first edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was held in 1923.
- It has been competed in 13 different versions of the circuit. The last modification took place in 2007.
- Since its creation, has only been canceled 10 times (1936 and period between 1940-1948). This year, due to COVID-19, it will be held in August and with a limited audience.
- 251,815 km / h was the highest average speed on a return to Le Mans. It was achieved by Hans-Joachim Stuck in 1985 with the Porsche 962 during qualifying.
- The fastest lap in the first edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans had a average speed of 107.3 km / h.
- The highest speed reached at Le Mans is 407 km / h. It was Roger Dorchy on a WM P88 in 1988.
- With 62 participating vehicles, this edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans recovers the participation data from previous years.
- In 1930, only 17 participants cars competed at Le Mans, being the edition with the lowest registration.
- The tightest finish of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was in 1966. Only 20 meters they separated the two Ford GT protagonists of the race. The winner was Bruce McLaren.
- The biggest difference between the first and the second occurs in 1927. The distance was almost 350 kilometers.
- The best historical result of a brand signed by Porsche. In 1983 eight Porsche finished in the top eight positions.
- The first time that Toyota he lined up a car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1985. Since then he has participated 22 times.
- Fastest lap At Le Mans it was scored by André Lotterer with the Audi R18 in 2015 (3: 17.475)
- The fastest pole in the 24 Hours of Le Mans it was marked by Pedro Rodríguez (3: 13.9)
- The longest race distance was achieved in 2010 after 397 laps. The total distance was 5410,713 kilometers.
- The country with the most drivers in the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been France. Great Britain and the United States follow.
- 137 pilots have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and more than 3,500 pilots they have been part of the Le Mans grid.
- The only pilots who won a World Cup Formula 1 and who have also won at Le Mans have been Phil Hill (3), Graham Hill (1), Jochen Rindt (1), Mike Hawthom (1) and Fernando Alonso (2).
Ephemeris of pilots, teams and brands
- The driver with the most Le Mans wins is Tom Kristensen with nine wins. Jacky Ickx follows with six wins.
- Derek Bell is the rider with the most poles at Le Mans after adding 7 in his career. Jacky Ickx and Jean-Pierre Jabouille stayed with five.
- The driver who has competed the most times at Le Mans has been Henri Pescarolo (33), ten of them with their team. He won 4 of them.
- Porsche is the manufacturer with the most victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with 19 wins. Audi remains at 13 victories.
- Porsche has put more than 830 cars. This number is computed with official and private cars.
- Ferrari achieved its first victory in the 1949 edition. The victory went to Luigi Chinetti and Peter Mitchell-Thomson with a Ferrari 166 MM. It will return in 2023 to the queen class.
- In 1959, Aston Martin achieved its only absolute triumph at Le Mans.. It was with Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby’s Aston Martin DBR1 / 300.
- BMW achieved its only victory at La Sarthe in 1999. Joachim Winkelhock, Pierluigi Martini and Yannick Dalmas took the win in the BMW VF12 LMR.
- In 2009, Peugeot achieved its only victory at Le Mans with the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP driven by David Brabham, Marc Gené and Alexander Wurz.
- Toyota achieved its first Le Mans triumph in 2018 with the Toyota TS050 Hybrid driven by Fernando Alonso, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima. This year they can reach their fourth triumph.
- The youngest winner at Le Mans is Alexander Wurz (22 years and 4 months) after his victory in 1996.
- The oldest driver to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans is Luigi chinetti (47 years and 11 months).
- Graham hill he is the only driver to have achieved the triple crown (Le Mans, Indy 500 and Monaco GP).
- Anthony J. Foyt he remains the only driver to have won two of the three triple crown races in the same year (24 Hours and Indy 500 in 1967).
- Eddie hallDespite being alongside Tom Clarke, he played the 1950 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans alone. He completed 3,200 km. and it was eighth. No one else has performed this feat.
- Dunlop accumulates 34 victories by the 14 of Goodyear and 14 of Michelin.
Spain at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
- 37 Spanish pilots have taken part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
- The only two Spanish riders who have achieved an absolute victory at Le Mans have been Marc Gene (2009) and Fernando Alonso (2018 and 2019).
- The flag of Spain has risen to the podium Le Mans on seven occasions. These podiums are divided between Marc Gené (4), Juan Jover (1), Jesús Pareja (1) and Fernando Alonso (2).
- Lucas Ordoñez has been on the podium twice in LMP2 (2011 and 2013).
- Jordi Gené he finished fifth in the 2001 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning the LMP675 class.
- Another Spaniard with victory at Le Mans is Fermin Velez. He won in 1998 in the LMP category with a Ferrari 333 SP and in 1987 in C2 with a Porsche 956B.
- Juan Jover and Paco Godía They signed one of the best results in Spain with a double in the 3.0-liter category. They competed with both Delage D6S-3L and were 2nd and 4th absolute.
- Antonio Garcia He has added 3 victories in GT (two GT1 and one LMGTE-Pro).
- The Spanish drivers with the most participations are Antonio García (14), Jesus Couple (13), Marc Gené (8) and Tomas Saldaña (7). The latter is a current commentator on Eurosport.
- Roberto Merhi, Miguel Molina and Antonio García they will be the Spanish drivers on the grid this year. The Castellón adds his second participation, while for Molina it is the fourth. Garcia is the veteran of the three, with 14 participations.