Your complete guide to the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours

There are few races as iconic as the Le Mans 24 Hours; in Europe, it's arguably the race to spectate.

This year’s a biggie, too. The 84^th running of Le Mans sees Porsche hoping to defend its title and gun for an 18^th overall race win, and qualifying has seen its cars take the top two slots. They are separated from the pair of Audi stablemates by Toyota’s two TS040 Hybrids.

Perhaps the biggest talking point comes courtesy of Ford, though. Fifty years after the Ford GT40 made history – overturning Ferrari’s dominance with its first of four consecutive Le Mans wins – the modern-day GT is taking on Ferrari (as well as Aston Martin and Porsche) in the GTE Pro category. So not the overall win, but the win by the cars which most resemble stuff we can actually buy.

See our latest Le Mans update gallery here

After mixed results in the rounds leading up to Le Mans, the four Ford GTs have all qualified in their class top five, with two of them taking the top slots. But 24 hours is a long old time, and there’ll be heaps of drama separating the GTs from the perfect climax of Ford’s plot.

If you want to keep abreast of the action, but without being bogged down in a whole heap of mathematics and tyre strategy chat, then you’re in the right place. Throughout the race we’ll be adding picture galleries that sum up not just the exciting action of Le Mans, but the irresistible atmosphere that surrounds it. Pull the screen closer and you might just smell burnt sausages from the nearby barbeques.

Click below to see what we’ve been seeing…

Le Mans 2016 race report: Sunday 5pm CET

Le Mans 2016 update four: Sunday, 11am CET

Le Mans 2016 update three: Sunday, 6am CET

Le Mans 2016 update two: Saturday, 11pm CET

Le Mans 2016 update one: Saturday, 6pm CET

Le Mans 2016: the cars to watch

Sir Chris Hoy on his Le Mans debut

We drive a Ford GT40 to Le Mans

The greatest ever Le Mans battles

The greatest ever Le Mans cars

Le Mans Class of 2016