One hundred years of Le Mans, much more than 24 hours

One hundred years of Le Mans they can be worth a novel, a Hollywood film or one of those TV series that are so fashionable today. Inside you would find any ingredient. Joy and pain. Love and death. Technology and craftsmanship. Millionaires and broke. All shaken with an infinite dose of passion. Running 24 hours straight is a crazy idea in itself. Doing it at more than 220 kilometers per hour on average is downright crazy. Yet every year there is a queue of people who would like to be there. “My racing is immortal,” said Charles Faroux, the father of the 24 Hours, one day. But Le Mans is above all survival. Of pilots and cars that nowhere else stay in the shot for so long. There are those who compare it to Woodstock because today, as we go electric, the music of engines is very rock. There are those who see it as a huge Disneyland because there is no better playground for adults than this. It can happen to see Juan Carlos, when he was still king, honored and respected, get out of a Bentley and follow the magical roar of a Porsche to the pits, driving label and security men crazy. You can meet Steve McQueen to shoot a film (he was also supposed to run it with Jackie Stewart, but the financiers of the film opposed), Paul Newman to run it for real and even finish in second place, Patrick Dempsey, the star of Grey’s Anatomy to participate four times, Nick Mason, the drummer of Pink Floyd, a great collector with a respectable garage, to compete five times. Hollywood has always looked closely at Le Mans until it created The Great Challenge, the novel about the 1966 Ferrari-Ford challenge that won two Oscars in 2020. And it is no coincidence that the edition of the centenary has been called LeBron James, someone who has nothing to do with cars, but who has done something in basketball. A somewhat bizarre, very American choice to tell the truth.

The Seventies and even earlier the Sixties are the ones that made the 24 hours legendary. Ferrari versus Ford. Ferrari versus Porsche. Ferrari against Matra. Ferrari versus Alfa Romeo. Before the Porsche era, that of Audi and now that of Toyota. Once again the Cavallino adds spice and after 50 years is back on track with two Hypercars to aim for the absolute victory. If Porche, with its 19 victories, is the undisputed queen of Le Mans, Ferrari with its 9 successes helped to fuel its legend before leaving and participating only in the other classes (winning 29 times). The great history of Le Mans is written by the official drivers with cars that look like spaceships, beautiful and almost perfect. But the true history of the 24-hour race is also written by all those gentleman drivers who perhaps drive a cart put back on track for the occasion. You’ll find everything on the track for 24 hours: it’s the good and bad of a race where there’s an infinite difference between those who run to win and those who just want to participate. VIPs create color, gentleman drivers create substance, a bit like real drivers who can’t resist the charm of the 24-hour race. Fernando Alonso has been there, winning it twice, while he chased the triple crown. Valentino Rossi is gearing up to get there one day and this year he is content to participate in a side race. The king of Le Mans is the Dane Tom Kristensen, mr. Le Mans, with 9 victories, three more than Jackie Ickx, four more than Emanuele Pirro, Mr. Le Mans. “Le Mans is something special. You start preparing it months in advance. You feel the history and culture of this place, you breathe in its passion – says Kristensen – driving at night in Le Mans is the most fascinating thing. It makes your pulse quicken, everything seems faster. The heart travels faster, the concentration is higher. You almost fail to blink, you don’t see the apex points, you try to exploit your knowledge of the circuit, what you learned during the day. You try to brake at the right point looking for the ideal tire and brake temperature because they are essential to be fast during the night. When you are close to someone, their mirrors reflect the light of your headlights, it becomes annoying. It can become a nightmare. The best moment for me is what we call happy hour, the sunrise. Then you really start to see what you’re doing and if at dawn, you have rhythm, you have a fast car, there’s nothing better. There are no shortcuts to winning at Le Mans. You must be physically and mentally prepared. And you have to be day and night for 24 hours straight. You don’t feel sleep. Adrenaline keeps you awake. Chemistry helps you. But doping doesn’t exist, it would be too risky at 300 km/h. There are more than 5,000 kilometers to go (5,383.455 km the record in 2015), three crewmen, hundreds of lappings to watch out for. There are 186 registered drivers, divided into 62 cars (75 percent have made in Italy braking systems by Brembo which is the event’s Braking Technology Provider).

The centennial edition has a red icing, the size of a watermelon, on the cake. After 50 years, Ferrari is back on track in the top category. The last participation in 1973, the last victory in 1965. The return to Le Mans with the Hypercar 499P is the best idea of ​​the president Elkann who has entrusted himself to Antonello Colletta, a man who can represent the future of the Cavallino. Two official cars, six drivers (Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi in number 51, and Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen in number 50), the Toyota that has won it for 5 years in a row to beat. In the first races of the Wec championship, Ferrari has always been on the podium. The two 499Ps will start in front of everyone after having monopolized the chase for Hyperpole with the #50 of Fuoco in front of the #51 of Pier Guidi. In a 24-hour race, nothing counts, except for marketing, roll of honor and ephemeral glory. But at least here, compared to this run-down 2023 in Formula 1, one can dream.