This French endurance classic race was first held in 1923 and this weekend the worlds oldest Motorsports event will see its 91st year.
Hybrid LMP1 prototypes from Audi, Toyota and Porsche are expected to contest the overall win on the high-speed, 8.5-mile circuit that’s partly made up of public roads.
The three manufacturers were closely matched during the Test Day on June 1, although Audi has generally struggled this season while Toyota has won both of the opening rounds of this year’s World Endurance Championship. Porsche is returning to the top flight after 16 years with a big-budget programme intended to generate a win in the shortest possible time.
There’s also plenty of interest in the smaller, lighter LMP2 class for prototype sports racing cars, with 17 of them featuring on the 56-car grid. As ever the GT category features a host of closely matched production-based cars from Aston Martin, Porsche, Corvette and Ferrari.The all-time winner of the event is Tom Kristensen – who has won the event nine times (1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 20 13). Kristensen also holds the record for the most straight victories dominating from 2000 – 2005 – six.
Over the years, drivers from the United Kingdom have won the most times – 41. On the manufacturer front, Audi has dominated since 2000 with 12 victories – 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013. Interestingly though, Audi does not have the most wins by a manufacturer. But they are closing. Porsche had 16 wins from 1970 to 1998. While it might seem that Audi would be a solid pick to take another title in 2014 given their outstanding run of excellence, Toyota is fast and is the favorite to win. Will 2014 be a breakthrough for Toyota or will Audi again dominate as they have for over a decade.
