24 Hours of Le Mans

24 hours of Le Mans (24 heures du Mans) is the most famous sports car endurance race. It is held at Circuit de la Sarthe near Le Mans, France, in the French Sarthe département. It is organised by the Automobile Club de L'Ouest (A.C.O). The first race was held on May 26 and 27, 1923 and has since been run annually in June, with the exceptions of 1956 (July) and 1968 (in September, due to nationwide political turmoils in spring see May 1968), and was cancelled only in 1936 (economy) and from 1940 to 1948 (World War 2).

In the movies

The 24 hours of Le Mans race was also famously featured in a 1971 movie, titled simply Le Mans, produced by and starring Steve McQueen. This film remains a classic which is still appreciated by racing fans. It was filmed on the circuit during the 1970 race using genuine racing cars of the day, and a non-racing Porsche 908 spider equipped with heavy 35mm movie cameras was entered there, providing actual racing footage from the track. The car was non-racing and thus non-classified. Despite having to stop often to change films, the car finished the race with a mileage that would have been a noted performance if it had been classified.

Related Topics:
1971 - Le Mans - Steve McQueen - 1970

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