24 Facts of Le Mans

As you may know, this weekend is one of the biggest races in the Motorsport calendar. 24 hours of Le Mans is upon us and for the racing junkies preparation is already taking place. The branded energy drinks are chilling in the fridge alongside the midnight snacks.

For those of you who aren't as hardcore and are new to the delight that is endurance racing, below are 24 things you need to know about Le Mans before you dive into the weekend.

1) How long is the race you may be asking? Well it does exactly what it says on the tin, 24 hours.

2) Last years winners were Porsche No 19, which was at the steady hands of Nick Tandy, Earl Bamber and Formula 1 driver Nico Hulkenberg. Porsche made it a double podium, with Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard taking second place. Third went to Benoît Tréluyer, Marcel Fässler and André Lotterer of Audi who went into the race defending their crown.

3) 24 hours of Le Mans is part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, alongside the Indy 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix.

4) There are four classes that compete in the 24 hours of Le Mans. LMP1 and LMP2. LMGT1 and LMGT2.    

5) Teams use three drivers throughout the race. 

Class of 2016. Picture cred to @24hoursoflemans. 

6) Cockpits can reach up to temperatures of 27 degrees Celsius during the race.

7) Porsche currently hold the record of consecutive wins with seven.

8) The longest stint done by a driver at the 2015 race was 8 hours 52 minutes, which was done by Formula 1 driver and reigning winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans, Nico Hulkenberg.

9) Tom Kristensen is the driver with the most wins so far with nine to his name.

10) The race is held at the Circuit de la Sarthe with a track length of 13.6km, nearly 8.5 miles long. The circuit opened in 1923 and has been hosting the race ever since.

11) Car number two has been on pole position eleven times, the most out of any of the starting numbers.

12) Henri Pescarolo, Jacky Ickx, Michele Alboreto, Tom Kristensen, Benoît Tréluyer, André Lotterer and Loïc Duva are the only drivers to have won the race from pole position.

13) Most wins as a team goes to Joest Racing with 13.

14) The race has only been cancelled ten times during its entire history. During the Great Depression and then during the second World War.

15) 127 drivers have won Le Mans.

16) Due to the nature of the circuit, drivers spend the majority of the time at full throttle with average speeds of 224km/h.

17) Porsche is the most successful manufacture with 17 victories to date.

18) The duration of the race can see cars doing well over 5,000km that's almost 18 times longer than a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

19) The fastest speed ever to be achieved during the 24 hours of Le Mans was 251mph in 1988.

20) The closest finish was in 1966. There was just 20 metres between the Ford driven by Amon and McLaren and the Ford of Miles and Hulme, which was set up for publicity reasons by the manufacture.

21) France and the UK are the nations with the most victories, racking up 42 over the years.

22) The 24 hours of Le Mans officially became a round of the World Endurance Championship in 2012.

23) Only 23 manufactures have won the 24 hours of Le Mans since the race began in 1923.

24) The number 24 has never won at the 24 hours of Le Mans.

Haas About This

With the launch of the 2016 Haas, can they become the first American F1 team since 1986 to take the grid by storm?

Back in April 2014 it was announced that a new Formula 1 team would be entering the sport with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co owner Gene Haas. They will be the first US led team in 30 years   to take to the Formula 1 grid, and with a mixture of experience and young talent in their driver line-up, can they make their mark on a dominant grid?



Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez will be behind the Haas F1 2016 challenger when the turbos roar into action in Melbourne for the start of the new season. Romain Grosjean announced in September of last year that he would be leaving Lotus F1 after four seasons and eight podiums.

Esteban Gutierrez was crowned GP3 Champion in 2010 before joining Sauber as a reserve driver. Gutierrez was reserve driver for two seasons before moving into a race seat in 2013 and spent a further two seasons with Sauber F1 before joining Ferrari as a reserve driver for the 2015 season. During the Mexican Grand Prix Haas F1 revealed Gutierrez as their completed driver line-up for their debut in 2016.

With no major changes to the regulations for the new season, Haas F1 have a chance to become competitors amongst established teams on the grid, with the revival of Manor Racing from Marussia, Haas F1 will be eyeing up that lucrative Top 10 finish in their first season.
Success is in the racing genes for Gene Haas with sister team Stewart-Haas Racing being only one of four teams in NASCAR to have won in three of its national divisions.

The first test for the 2016 season begins in Barcelona this week and with the launch of the new Haas F1 on it's way, the heat is on before those five red lights go off for the start of the Australian Grand Prix.

Hello to the new @HaasF1Team