Ivan Vicario Martin
The 24 Hours of Le Mans celebrate this 2023 their centenary. It will be a special edition, with up to seven different manufacturers participating in the main category: Cadillac, Ferrari, Glickenhaus, Peugeot, Porsche, Toyota and Vanwall. Together, they will put a total of 16 Hypercars on the track, that is, the fight for victory will be tremendous.
For this reason and to celebrate said centenary, we have decided to gather in this article some of The most curious records of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is not about figures or numbers, but about the story they tell, about overcoming, resistance, sacrifice and talent. Ultimately, the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
THE VICTORIES
Let's start by talking about the most important thing, what really counts, which is the victory in La Sarthe. Legend has it that the race itself chooses its winner, something we have seen on numerous occasions, in which victory has been denied to those who had it in hand.
by fuel: The gasoline cars have won a total of 73 editions, while on 6 occasions diesel was used to win. In addition, hybrids have won 11 times, in 8 of which the heat engine was gasoline and 3 diesel.
per pilot: Only eight drivers have won in all their participations. The record belongs to Woolf Barnato, who won the three times he raced in La Sarthe. Jean-Pierre Wimille took victory in his two participations, just like our Fernando Alonso.
For time behind the wheel: Louis Rosier drove a total of 23 hours, 15 minutes and 17 seconds on his way to victory in 1950. He barely let his own son drive.
By participation: In addition to the winners of the original edition, up to 23 pilots have triumphed the first time they have contested the test. The last one was Fernando Alonso in 2018.
By participation (2): In the opposite case we find David Brabham, who won the test in 2009 -together with Marc Gené- in what was his 16th time in La Sarthe.
Consecutive: Tom Kristensen, known as “Mr. Le Mans ”-nickname that he took from Jackie Ickx- won six times in a row between 2000 and 2005.
by ages: The youngest winner is Alex Wurz, who won in 1996 at 22 years and 91 days. The oldest is Luigi Chinetti, who was 47 years and 343 days old when he claimed victory in 1949.
By teams: Four crews have been able to win together three editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill, Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell, Tom Kristensen, Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro and finally Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer.
of a car: The Audi R8, winner of five editions (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005), is the car that has won the most times in the race.
NUMBERS AND MORE NUMBERS
We continue with the most curious records of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with some numbers that can only be registered in the French race.
24 hours: Time spent behind the wheel of Edward Ramsden Hall in 1950. That is, he completed the test without the help of any other driver.
407 km/h: The WM-Peugeot team sought in the 80s to exceed 400 km/h on the Les Hunaudières or Mulsane straight. They did it in 1988, with the WM P88 Peugeot and Roger Dorchy at the wheel, although they announced that it was 405 km/h due to the launch of the road car...
400.000 viewers: A record that dates back to 1969, the year of Ford's last victory with the GT40.
17 different teams: With which François Migault participated in the French test between 1969 and 2002.
20 times: Bob Wollek participated at the wheel of a Porsche in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a record with a single manufacturer.
19 completed editions: No one has been to the Le Mans finish line more times than Derek Bell.
18 dropouts: A sad record in the hands of Henri Pescarolo, who has an explanation...
33 shares: …and the fact is that the Frenchman is also the one who has taken the start in La Sarthe the most times. 30 of them consecutive, another record.
15 meters: Height reached by Peter Dumbreck's Mercedes-Benz CLR in its televised takeoff in 1999.
29 shares: Accumulated Yojiro Terada between 1974 and 2008 without managing to reach the podium.
5.410,713 km: Record distance traveled by Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer in 2010 on their way to victory with their Audi R15+ TDI.
3m 14s 791: Record time to pole achieved by the Japanese Kamui Kobayashi in 2017 with the Toyota TS050 Hybrid. The average speed was also a record: 251,88 km/h.
5 pole positions: No one has gone out first more times than Jacky Ickx.
5 fastest laps: The Belgian driver also holds the fastest lap record.
17 participants: The lowest number was seen in 1930. And the highest between 2019 and 2021, with 61 attendees.
5 27 hours and minutes: Time spent behind the safety car -he started 12 times, also a record- in the 2013 edition, almost 25% of the total test.
10 shares: The French Anne-Charlotte Verney is the woman who has run in La Sarthe the most times, a dozen times between 1974 and 1983. She was sixth in 1981.
90,9%: Record number of participants at the finish line in the first edition of 1923. 30 of the 33 cars that took the start saw the checkered flag.
17,3%: On the contrary, in 1970, only 7 of the 51 participants reached the finish line.
10 wins: Obtained by the car with the number 1, a figure that equals the number 2.
11 times in a row: A record set by American Johnny O'Connell between 1999 and 2009.
14 podiums: No one has climbed the drawer more times than “Mr. Le Mans”, Tom Kristensen.
9 podiums in a row: Those achieved by Emanuele Pirro between 1999 and 2007.
75 years and 269 days: The American Dominique Bastien became in 2021 the oldest driver to start. Since he finished the race, he is also the oldest to finish.
16 years and 117 days: On the opposite side, Josh Pierson was the youngest to reach both milestones in the 2022 edition.
THE RECORDS OF THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS BY TEAMS
The participating brands and teams, who receive as much or more glory than the pilots themselves, also accumulate some of the most striking figures, beyond the Porsche record 19 wins.
9 de 10: In 1983, Porsche almost took the top ten positions. A BMW from the Sauber team in 9th place prevented it. The Stuttgart brand released a poster with the classification saying that "No one is perfect."
18 pole positions. Like the victories, the brand that has started first on the grid the most times has been Porsche.
13 wins: Record of the Joest team, which has run Porsche and Audi cars. The works Porsche team has also won 13 times.
8 triplets: Of course, Porsche has also grabbed all the podium steps more times than anyone else. In addition, he has done 12 doubles.
18 consecutive podiums. This record belongs to Audi, which has climbed the drawer in all its participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1999 and 2016.
24 consecutive victories: Of Michelin tires from 1998 to 2022. A record that can continue to grow. That without talking about those achieved in other categories.
36 shares: Completed Lola Maker without getting a victory. A brand that nobody would like to have.
34 wins: Achieved by tire manufacturer Dunlop up to 1991.
5 second positions: No one had been behind the winner as many times before taking the victory as Toyota. He came to speak of a curse.
SPANISH PEOPLE
We cannot finish this article on the records of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, without talking about the participations, podiums and victories of the pilots. Spanish, whose role in testing has been gaining importance in recent decades.
39 participants: Since Manso de Zuñiga did it for the first time in 1924, until the debut of Albert Costa and Álex Riberas this year, almost forty of us have trodden Le Mans.
3 outright wins: Those achieved by Marc Gené in 2009 and Fernando Alonso in 2018 and 2019.
3 class wins: Achieved by Antonio García in GT1 (2008 and 2009) and GTE Pro (2011).
10 class wins: Accumulated among all Spanish drivers throughout the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
4 absolute podiums: Spanish record for Marc Gené, who won in 2009, was second in 2008 and 2014 and third in 2013.
6 podiums: In addition to winning three times in his category, Antonio García was second in 2014 and 2021 and third in 2017
16 shares: Although he doesn't race this year, Antonio García is the Spaniard who has started the most times at Le Mans. He is followed by Jesús Pareja with 13 participations.
Pictures of Newspress Spain, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Porsche, Repsol and Toyota, .
