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11 June 1955. ©Bernard Cahier/Getty Images Umberto Maglioli and his Ferrari 118LM Scaglietti, 24 Hours of Le Mans,

All in 24 hours, between fatigue and courage, strategy nomic reasons. World War II then put the Le Mans legend
and recklessness, in pursuit of a victory that, come what on forced hiatus for several years.
may, is already destined to remain in motor racing history. In 2023, 24 Hours of Le Mans’s one–hundred–year an-
Because the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the motor race par ex- niversary, Ferrari’s tenth overall victory was written in his-
cellence, with a history like no other and a fascination that tory. On this occasion, Ferrari was toe to toe with the 499P,
spans a century. Setting the tone for each feat at Le Mans is unveiled at the end of October and improved from race to
the circuit map, with its 13,626 meters, including portions of race in the WEC rounds prior to the Circuit de la Sarthe
departmental roads (the D338 and the D139) usually open marathon. At the twenty–fourth hour mark, Maranello’s red
to vehicle traffic – as well as part of the Bugatti circuit – number 51, with Alessandro Pier Guidi at the wheel, was the
making it one of the longest tracks in the world. first to pass under the chequered flag with which, 24 hours
At Le Mans it all began on 26 May 1923, with the driv- earlier, American basketball player LeBron James had
ers lined up on one side of the track and the cars on the started the race.
opposite side. At the stroke of 4 p.m., the French flag would The history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is also one of in-
start the most famous race of all time, with drivers rushing credible accidents. Among the most famous is one that left
to their cars to start their engines and drive off at full speed. a negative mark on the history of the French race. In 1955,
The aim? To stay on the track for the next 24 hours, with a Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes 300 Srl went off the road and
foot pressing firmly on the accelerator for as long as pos- into the crowd after a collision with Lance Macklin, trigger-
sible. Why? It’s simple, the criteria for the top step on the ing a catastrophe: Levegh and 83 spectators died, and 120
podium is one and only one: the car that covers the greatest others were injured. Until 1969, the race began with drivers
distance in 24 hours, wins. An extreme test for driver and walking across the track before getting into their car. From
car. A kind of Super Bowl of motor racing, attended by more 1970, for security reasons, this routine was eliminated.
than 250,000 spectators each year. A motor racing story, as epic as Le Mans, would ob-
Thus begins the legend of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, viously inspire the world of cinema as well. There are two
the world’s most famous endurance race, in which only the films in particular that, in different eras, have told the best
bravest drivers are guaranteed the title of champion and stories (including film licences) of the teams and drivers in-
a place in history. The 24 Hours has always been held on volved in the gruelling endurance race. In 1971, interpreting
the famous Circuit de la Sarthe, where the first to win were the exploits of a participant in the competition was Steve
André Lagache and Renè Léonard, driving their Chenard & McQueen with his Le Mans, for which many images shot
Walker Sport. At the time, the circuit measured 17 km and during the actual race were used. Many years later, in 2019,
the winning team completed 128 laps at an average speed it was the Matt Damon’s and Christian Bale’s turn to play the
of 92 km/h. The following years saw the domination of a few protagonists in Ford v Ferrari (Le Mans 66), the fictionalised
marques in the race, first Bentley and then Alfa Romeo, at story of the epic on–track (and pit–stop) rivalry between
least until the 1936 edition, which was cancelled for eco- Ford and Ferrari.

32 Cars Protagonist