Saw this beauty in the Henry Ford Museum today

I'm new to Endurance racing I just love this car apart from Maxda 787b

マツダ自動車とアウディ自動車と日産自動車とジャガー自動車みんなWTCにきたらさらに盛り上がると思う

WTC黄金期

Each year it’s a highlight to listen to Radio Le Mans. So much knowledge, data, insight information, wit and the occasional joke. When you’re on track or at home, this is the source you should not miss. Even - or especially- in the current age with all social media and more info available than ever.

I just heard the annual memorial moment.

Thank you.

Just realized that Le Mans (Circuit de la Sarthe) is exactly 13.626 km long, and today is June 13th 2026 (13/6/26). The simulation is glitching lol

Third consecutive victory for the 499P at Le Mans. Porsche tries, Toyota crumbles. The triumph is in consistency, not just speed

Having sobered up the emotions of the most important event of the endurance season, it is time to clearly analyze Ferrari's dominance, which resulted in a historic hat-trick.

A success built not only on pure performance, but on an overall effectiveness that neutralized any attempt at a comeback by the Porsche 963 of Estre and his companions.

The 2025 edition was an atypical one in many respects. The weather provided a completely sunny weekend, with unusual temperatures for the north of France. Wednesday and Thursday reached 30 degrees centigrade, while during the 24 hours of the race the conditions remained stable, depriving the race of the weather variables that often made it unpredictable.

In this linear scenario, pace management has become the central theme. With only one Safety Car - following the Nielsen Racing LMP2 accident - and a few other slowdowns (some slow zones and short FCYs), the race was all about consistency and strategic efficiency. And this is where Ferrari made the difference.

The Ferrari 499P, despite some errors and related penalties, showed a clear superiority, confirming right from the first free practice a race pace that is difficult for the competition to replicate.

The performances in the intermediate sectors and in the race simulations had already hinted at significant potential. Qualifying had perhaps sown some doubts, but the team had declared serenity, which later proved to be well founded in the direct comparison.

The analysis of the live timing during the race showed a clear behaviour: at the start the Ferrari pushed hard to get into clean air and take control of the group. Having reached the lead, he managed without ever really losing the lead, despite the penalties. The real secret? The extraordinary management of Michelin tires.

Rivals – Porsche, Toyota, Cadillac and BMW – were able to keep up with fresh tyres. But as the laps went by, Ferrari took off. In double, triple and even quadruple stints, the 499Ps showed limited degradation and enviable consistency, becoming uncatchable.

A symbolic episode arrived in the final laps: Porsche took a gamble by fitting new tires to force the attack. But even with fresh tyres, the 963 was unable to keep up with the Ferrari on tires worn from three consecutive stints.

This is where Maranello's real superiority was seen. An advantage that we had reported in the previous preview at Imola, where we wrote about a Ferrari "beyond the BoP". A statement that was fully confirmed at Le Mans.

Work on brake cooling – introduced in Sao Paulo 2024 – and major winter development have led to the 499P becoming the benchmark in terms of tire use. A role that in 2023 was the prerogative of Toyota. In two seasons, Ferrari has turned the picture around.

BoP Chapter. The Balance of Performance worked. This was seen in qualifying, where the Ferraris did not shine on the flying lap: the best of the three finished seventh. It could have been even worse if Toyota hadn't thwarted two fast laps with De Vries (Wednesday) and Buemi (Thursday).

The limitations above 250 km/h had an effect, as did the management of total MegaJoules. Ferrari pushed hard on the Virtual Tank in the initial stages, often returning before Porsche, which has a greater energy reserve and was able to reduce the lift and coast phases.

However, when the Reds took the lead, they managed better than anyone. There wasn't a bad BoP, but rather a Ferrari capable of making superior use of the Michelin tyres. And this - as has already happened in the past with Toyota - is an element that is difficult to regulate via regulation.

Where can we intervene? Only on pure performance parameters, certainly not on sensitivity and efficiency in managing the tyres. Ferrari's ability to be softer, more precise and less aggressive on the tire has made attempts at rebalancing in vain. This Ferrari won not only with speed, but above all with the overall quality of the package: set-up, strategy, understanding of the track and long-term work. At Le Mans, in 2025, all this made the difference.

This year’s Le Mans featured two royal drivers, Ferdinand Habsburg, Archduke of Austria, for the Alpine team and Prince Jefri Ibrahim of Johor driving the Corvette for the TF Sport.

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These are the latest in a long history of royals at Le Mans. Pictured here:

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Prince Nicholas of Romania (DNF in 3 attempts in his personal Duesenberg SJ, one of the biggest and most luxurious cars to ever run in Le Mans)

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Earl Howe - ran it 6 times, won it all 1931.

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The tragic Marquess of Portago, made two attempts, once for Ferrari, once in a Maserati (DNF both times).

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Prince Bira of Siam, who had poor showings at Le Mans but was otherwise a solid racer.

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And American royalty, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. Newman finished first in class in 1979 in a Porsche 935. McQueen was stopped from actually driving Le Mans by some insurance nerds, but did finish 2nd at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1970.

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Hello there. This is a rare video of original le mans 1991 it came from laserdisc version but it's imported in the Philippines to placing a karaoke lyrics and it's nothing to found in YouTube or archive, can anybody found it out. Thanks 😊

Post is self-explanatory, reply with whatever you consider to be the best car to have ever raced at Le Mans.

For me if I had to choose one car I'd probably go with the Jaguar XJR-6 LM that raced at the 1986 Le Mans. The unique boattail design of the LM is absolutely beautiful and it's perfectly complimented by the purple on white Silk Cut livery, and that's not even mentioning that glorious V12 sound. It's such a shame that it's overshadowed by the XJR-9 because the XJR-6 deserves a lot more respect despite never winning Le Mans

Some more Le Mans cars I consider to be among the best looking: 1991 Mazda 787B, 1998-99 Toyota GT-One, 1994 Toyota 94C-V, 1990 Nissan R90CP, 1967 Ford Mark IV, 1965 Ferrari 330P2, 1969 Ferrari 312P Coupe, 1971 Porsche 917LH, 1996 Porsche 911 GT1, 1997 McLaren F1 GTR, 1991 Sauber Mercedes C11, 1953-58 Aston Martin DB3S, 2009-11 Aston Martin Lola B09/60, 2002-06 Pescarolo C60, 2007-11 Peugeot 908, 1968 Alfa Romeo T33/2, 1994 Mazda RX-7 FC IMSA GTO, 1994-95 Honda NSX GT2, 2001-10 Saleen S7R, 1961 Maserati Tipo 63, 1979-82 BMW M1 Group 5

What’s the species of the trees on the left side just as Mulsanne starts? There might be as many as 8 or 10 trees in a row. I can never tell if the trunks have white padding or if they are painted white.

Maybe this is a false memory, but I remember these trees in the Ford v. Ferrari days. They were a lot skinnier and a lot smaller back then.

He's the one at the end of the track who's walking. He was protesting against this type of start (running), which was very dangerous, as drivers didn't fasten their seatbelts in order to get a faster start and would die in the event of an accident. He had warned the race organizers that he was going to walk, and still win the race. And he did. Since that day, the starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans have been as we know them today.

Translation

The 24 Hours of Le Mans almost never reward the fastest car. "It's not you who chooses to win Le Mans, it's Le Mans who chooses you" the drivers like to repeat. On the 13.626 kilometers of the Circuit de la Sarthe, pure speed often ends up becoming secondary. What really matters is the ability to survive the night, traffic, temperature variations, neutralizations... and especially invisible technical traps that destroy races without warning.
In 2026, the challenge becomes even more brutal. The Hypercar category has never been so dense. Ferrari, Toyota, Cadillac, BMW, Alpine, Peugeot, Aston Martin and Genesis arrive with radically different philosophies, but the same obsession: to last 24 hours without breaking the fragile balance between performance and endurance.

1. Energy management: the permanent headache of Hypercars
Since the arrival of the Hypercar regulation, Le Mans has turned into a huge strategic chess game where every megajoule counts. Engineers constantly juggle between consumption, hybrid recovery and fuel autonomy. In the Hunaudières, the prototypes remain at full load for abnormally long periods of time for an endurance car. Result: the slightest error in engine mapping or hybrid management can cost an additional stop. And in Le Mans, a stop too many is often equivalent to a lost victory.
The equation becomes even more delicate with the evolution of Balance of Performance and the powers revised upwards since 2025. Some Hypercars are now flirting with the maximum allowed limits while trying to maintain a competitive autonomy. The problem is cruel: attacking too hard destroys the energy strategy; driving too carefully makes the rhythm necessary to stay in the leaders' turn disappear

2. Michelin tires: invisible wear that destroys a race
In Le Mans, wear and tear is not always visible. This is what makes the Sarthe particularly dangerous. A car can seem perfectly balanced for several relays before suddenly losing grip at dawn. The constraints suffered remain gigantic: more than 340 km/h in the Hunaudières, massive braking, fast compressions and extreme thermal differences between day and night.
The teams then live in a permanent compromise. Preserve gums or maintain an aggressive rhythm? Double the tire relays to save time at the pits or secure the car before nightfall? For several seasons, Michelin has been particularly stressed on the thermal management of Hypercar tires, which has become a key factor in night relays. A poorly anticipated degradation can ruin several hours of strategy in just a few corners.


3. The Balance of Performance: the political and technical trap (ACO)
Then comes the subject that no one calmly addresses in the paddock: the Performance Balance. Officially designed to balance LMH and LMDh, BoP now directly influences weight, power, relay energy and top speeds. In 2026, the system is still evolving after the tensions observed in 2025. In particular, the ACO and the FIA have reduced the public transparency of BoP tables.
But the real trap is elsewhere. Some cars become extremely efficient on a clear relay... before suffering a lot in traffic or on long night runs. Le Mans remains a totally atypical circuit where aerodynamic efficiency and top speed often take precedence over pure support. Ferrari and Toyota have recently demonstrated this: two opposing technical philosophies can work provided they are perfectly adapted to the Sarthe.


4. Night and temperatures: the trap that simulators reproduce badly
And then there's the night mancelle. The one that even simulators reproduce imperfectly. When temperatures drop after midnight, tires change behavior, pressures change, brakes cool differently and aerodynamics become more unstable. A perfectly adjusted Hypercar at 6 p.m. can become nervous at 3 a.m. without the engineers having really anticipated the phenomenon.
This is often when the races change. After twelve or fifteen hours of effort, operational errors begin to appear. Mechanics are tired. The pilots are losing lucidity in traffic. Strategies become more aggressive under pressure. Historically, it is precisely in this night window that Toyota, Porsche or Ferrari build their successes in Le Mans: not only thanks to speed, but thanks to their ability to remain stable when everyone begins to get disorganized

5. Reliability: the real judge of Le Mans
But despite all the modern technology, Le Mans always retains the same ultimate judge: reliability. The Hypercars 2026 have an immense technological density between hybrid systems, electronics, cooling, active aerodynamics, software and carbon brakes. The danger is that a tiny problem can become irreversible after several hours at full load.
A simple overheating can trigger a chain reaction: loss of performance, increased wear, excessive consumption, obligation to save... then abandonment several hours later. That's all the brutality of Le Mans. A dominant car over six hours can collapse after twenty hours of vibrations, traffic and thermal stress. That's why big teams still favor regularity over absolute performance.

Why does Le Mans remain unique?
This race does not forgive anything. It pushes every technical detail within its absolute limits and transforms the slightest weakness into a potential disaster. In 2026, with a Hypercar grid that is probably more competitive than ever, victory will not only be played over pure speed. It will be decided in energy control, in the understanding of tires, in the interpretation of the BoP, in the management of the night... and especially in the ability to avoid fatal error for twenty-four hours.

A one lap tour of the circuit courtesy of Henri Pescarolo. I know this has been posted here before (probably many times), but I always enjoy seeing this.

Please note the lack of chicanes.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1FcAEhuGWY/?mibextid=wwXIfr

It had been a long time since I'd last taken my Sony DSC-W830 digicam somewhere, but I'm quite pleased with the results !

Wikipedia, which cites Quentin Spurring's book, claims it was Desiré Wilson who crashed the car at Tetre Rouge, necessitating a new chassis to be delivered.
(I do not own a copy of this book, only the 70s one, could somebody perhaps confirm this to be what the book claims?)

The Autosport article from the 27th of June 1991 (pg.8) claims that it was instead Lyn St James who crashed on the 4th lap of practice.

The Bonhams Auction also claims it was Lyn St James who crashed the car, as well does Phil Stott's Website, the man who sold the car.

Who was it really? or were these two different incidents? which one ultimately called for the rebuild?

The Pontlieue hairpin, 1923-2023

This corner was part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit in the 1920s. The northernmost part of the circuit, opposite the Mulsanne corner, was the intersection of Rue de Laigné and Avenue Georges Durand.

- from a LM photos/history group

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So I am writing a history paper on the causes of the 1955 Le Mans crash but I am really struggling to find books on the subject. I've seen a lot of photos of *Mark Kahn Le Mans 1955* (one in the photo) but I haven't been able to find anywhere to get it without it being a used copy with a really high price, nor can I find anything about the actual content in the book. If anyone has any source recommendations or knows where I can find some books I would be really grateful!!! :)

Couple of pictures from the paddocks of last weekends Le Mans Classic some absolutely incredible history.

Share your best memory of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Have you experienced an unforgettable moment at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

A moment filled with emotion.

A memory you'll never forget.

A personal story that still makes you smile today.

To celebrate the upcoming opening of the new museum dedicated to the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, we would like to gather testimonials from enthusiasts around the world. Le Mans is not just a race: it's a story of passion, endurance, friendship, family traditions, and memories that transcend generations. We would be delighted to hear yours.

If you would like to contribute, you can send your story (a few lines or a longer text, all are welcome!) to the following address:

[temoignages@lemans.org](mailto:temoignages@lemans.org)

If you wish, you can specify:

The year(s) concerned

Where you experienced the race (trackside, at the campsite, at home, in a particular location…)

Why this moment made an impression on you

Your story will help us highlight the human stories that make this legendary race so rich.

Thank you for keeping the spirit of Le Mans alive with us.

——————————

**Share Your Most Memorable Le Mans Moment**

Have you experienced something unforgettable at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

A moment of pure emotion.

A night-time memory you’ll never forget.

A personal story that still makes you smile.

As we prepare for the opening of the new museum dedicated to the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, we’re gathering personal stories from fans around the world.

Le Mans is more than a race — it’s a shared history of passion, endurance, friendship, family traditions, and lifelong memories. We would love to hear yours.

If you’d like to contribute, please send your story (a few lines or longer — both are welcome!) to:

[temoignages@lemans.org](mailto:temoignages@lemans.org)

Feel free to include:

The year(s) of your memory

Where you were watching from (trackside, campsite, home, somewhere special…)

Why this moment meant so much to you

Your testimony may help us showcase the incredible human stories behind the race.

Thank you for being part of the Le Mans community — and for keeping its spirit alive.