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Eight things you asked Google about the Le Mans 24hrs, answered by TG
The internet's most searched questions, unhelpfully answered by us
Where is the Le Mans 24 Hours race held?
Ah, man. It’s going to be a long day. The Le Mans 24 Hours race is held, by extraordinary coincidence, in the city of Le Mans. Which is in France. Which is in Europe. Which is on Planet Earth. Unlike you, judging by the quality of your question.
Are Le Mans cars faster than F1 cars?
Around a track, no. In a straight line, yes. Or, at least, they were: in 1988, a WM P88 Le Mans prototype hit 253mph on the Mulsanne straight, before they put in the spoilsport chicanes. The fastest an F1 car’s ever gone? That’s 247mph, achieved by Honda on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2006. See? Ask a proper question, you’ll get a proper answer.
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How do you win the Le Mans race?
Simple: by completing more laps of the track in the 24-hour race period than your rivals. Actually achieving this goal, however, requires a rare cocktail of speed and mechanical sympathy, the ability to handle massive sleep deprivation, and the cast iron bladder of a dehydrated dromedary camel.
How many days is the Le Mans race?
Come on. You can do this. The clue’s in the name... 24 hours. One day. Traditionally the race starts at 3pm (UK time) on Saturday and finishes at 3pm on Sunday. No, that doesn’t make it two days.
How long is the Le Mans circuit?
It’s 8.5 miles. Unless you take a wrong turn at the end of the Mulsanne straight, and find yourself on the D338 to Écommoy, in which case it’s flippin’ ages until the next roundabout.
How do Le Mans drivers eat?
Depends what they’re eating, and where. If they’re faced with, say, a ham sandwich in the pit garage: in conventional fashion, employing the hands and the face. If they’re faced with, say, a piping tureen of onion soup while tackling a double stint in their Toyota GR010: extremely carefully.
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Why do Le Mans cars flash their lights?
Dogging.
Who is the winningest Le Mans driver?
No. Absolutely not. “Winningest” is not a word, and shall never besmirch the pages of this website. Apart from just then. The correct phrasing is “most winfulsome”. And the most winfulsome driver in the history of Le Mans is Danish pilot Tom Kristensen, who won the 24hr race nine times between 1997 and 2013, and has spent the past 11 years catching up on sleep.
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