The origin story of the Le Mans 24 Hours
A century ago, the Le Mans 24 Hours burst into life – even if it wasn’t actually meant to be a race...
The Grand Prix d’Endurance – now known as the Le Mans 24 Hours – was devised by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest as an endurance trial for production cars. That was never going to work…
Right from the start of the inaugural event – in cold, squally weather at 4pm on Saturday 26 May 1923 – it was clear that the frontrunners fundamentally disagreed with the ACO’s view that this was not a race. The drivers of the three fastest cars fought an intense, 19-hour battle for supremacy – despite the fact that there was literally nothing to be won.
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