The Le Mans 24 hour race is legendary and is the greatest challenge that motorsport has to offer. Many Porsche customer teams from Europe and the USA will tackle the 80th running of this long distance classic in the Sarthe department on 16/17 June. Porsche works drivers and double Le Mans class winners Marc Lieb (Germany) and Richard Lietz (Austria) will also be racing for points in the new World Endurance Championship with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Felbermayr-Proton. With 16 overall and 98 class victories, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The world’s most famous endurance race was contested for the first time in 1923. Each year it attracts the best sports car pilots from around the globe and more than 250,000 spectators. Hollywood also set a cinematic monument with the classic: The 1970 film “Le Mans” featuring Steve McQueen in the lead role is one of the best racing movies of all time.
It is not just the 13.65 kilometre Circuit des 24 Heures that lends this track its unique character. Aside from its legendary corners like Mulsanne and Tertre Rouge, the trademark of the race track is its famed Hunaudières straight, where top speeds of up to 400 kph have been reached. Around 75 percent of a lap is taken at full throttle on one of the fastest and oldest circuit of the world.
