Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans

The 24 Heures du Mans Circuit, also called the Circuit de la Sarthe, is a unique complex with several tracks: the 13.626 km road course used every year for the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, the Bugatti permanent circuit, the Maison Blanche circuit used by the driving school, and the largest karting complex in Europe. The site is also home to the 24 Hours Museum (M24), which traces the history of endurance racing, Formula 1, rallying, and IndyCar, and welcomes more than 200,000 visitors a year on average.

Every June, more than 332,000 spectators crowd the grandstands and the hospitality areas (Village, Fan Zone) to experience the unique atmosphere of the most famous endurance race in the world, between roaring engines, a night spent by the track, and legendary landmarks such as the Hunaudières straight or the Tertre Rouge corner. VIP hospitality and private spaces let you experience the event up close, by day and by night.

Outside race week, the circuit stays busy all year thanks to driving workshops on the Bugatti and Maison Blanche circuits, guided tours of the circuit and the museum, and a calendar of motorsport events (Le Mans Classic, 24 Heures Motos, Road to Le Mans) that keep the spirit of Sarthe motoring alive.

A bit of history

The circuit's history goes back to the 1906 Grand Prix automobile de France, run on the roads south of Le Mans and considered the very first automobile Grand Prix in history. That initial route later hosted the ACO Grand Prix in 1911 and then the Coupe de la Sarthe in 1912. In 1920, Georges Durand, secretary general of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), came up with Charles Faroux and Émile Coquille the idea of an endurance race designed to test the reliability and technical progress of cars. The project was made official in 1922, and the first 24 Heures du Mans took place on May 26–27, 1923, with 33 crews on a circuit south of the city.

The track changed considerably over the century: 17.262 km long between 1923 and 1928, it was shortened for safety reasons to 16.340 km (1929–1931), then to 13.492 km (1932–1955) to accommodate the city's urban growth. In 1972, the Porsche corners replaced the Maison Blanche section, judged too dangerous. In 1990, two chicanes (Daytona and Michelin) were added on the legendary Hunaudières straight, nearly 6 km long, to limit top speeds that had unofficially reached 405 km/h with Roger Dorchy in 1988. The Tertre Rouge section was then reworked between 2007 and 2017, and the Porsche corners were made safer again in 2018, bringing the current length to 13.626 km.

Today rated Grade 2 by the FIA, the circuit has 38 corners. Three-quarters of it is made up of public roads that stay open to traffic the rest of the year, and one-quarter of permanent circuit sections. It is used in its full configuration only about ten days a year, for testing and competition, which makes it one of the longest and most unusual racing circuits in the world.