Lap distance:    13.629 km

Race duration: 24 hours

Location:          Situated 200km from Paris, Le Mans is located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.

Other Races:     Road to Le Mans – Porsche Carrera Cup 

Website:           LeMans.org

Airport:            Paris Orly – 198km – http://www.airport-orly.com/

WHAT HAS CHANGED FOR THE 2020 24 HOURS OF LE MANS?

Hyperpole 

The traditional qualifying session for Le Mans has been shaken up for 2020. There will now be two stages, designed to encourage sheer speed and spectacular track action.
 
On Thursday there will be qualifying and at the end of this session, 24 competitors – the six best in each class – will go on to compete in a new “Hyperpole” session the following day [Friday].  Hyperpole will determine the first six places on the grid for each class. 

Behind closed doors 

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and for the first time in Le Mans history, this year’s event will be staged behind closed doors. Fans will be able to watch all the action from home on television or via various digital platforms including the official FIA WEC app.

Change of start time
The start of this year’s race will be at 14h30 CEST on Saturday 19 September instead of its more recent 15h00 start time. 

Not the Season Finale

Originally the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans was going to be the final race of the 2019/20 FIA WEC season.  However this is now going to be held in Bahrain in November.

ENTRY LIST

CLICK HERE for the 60 car entry list for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans

VIDEO TEASER

ROLL OF HONOUR

Winners

Pole Position

DID YOU KNOW?

• 2020 will be 88^th edition of the 24 Heures du Mans.  The first race was held in 1923.
• 2020 is only the second time the event has been held in September.  The first was in 1968.
• This is the first time the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been held with no spectators
• 17.262 km (10.726 Miles) was the length of the original circuit in 1923. It was shortened in 1929 and again in 1932.
• The city of Le Mans has hosted the French Grand Prix on four occasions: 1906, 1921, 1929 and 1967
• The fastest speed achieved on the Mulsanne Straight was 403.9kph / 251mph set by Roger Dorchy’s WM-Peugeot in 1988.
• 5410km  (3362 Miles) – the greatest distance achieved by a winning car (2010 Audi R15 TDI – Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard, Mike Rockenfeller).  By comparison the winning car in 2019 completed 385 laps or 5246km.
• After winning the 1967 race with A.J. Foyt and Ford, American Dan Gurney spontaneously sprayed champagne while celebrating on the podium.  This was the first occasion that this had been done and one that has become the traditional victory celebration.
• In 2018 Fernando Alonso became the first Formula One Grand Prix winner to win at Le Mans since Michele Alboreto in a Joest Racing TWR Porsche WSC-95 in 1997
• 1997 was also the first of Tom Kristensen’s record nine wins at Le Mans.

FIA WEC TIMETABLE

Wednesday, 16 September   

08:00 - 18:00               Scrutineering 

Thursday, 17 September       

10:00 - 13:00               Free Practice 1

14:00 - 17:00               Free Practice 2

17:15 – 18:00              Qualifying Practice Session

20:00 – 00:00              Free Practice 3

Friday, 18 September

10:00 – 11:00              Free Practice 4

11:30 – 12:00              Hyperpole

Saturday, 19 September

10:30 – 10:45              Warm-up

14:30                           RACE START

Sunday, 20 September

14:30                           RACE FINISH

14:45                           Podium Ceremony

FIA OFFICIALS

Eduardo Freitas                         FIA Race Director

Jean-Francois Veroux                FIA WEC Steward (Chairman)

Manuel Leal                              FIA Technical Delegate

Christian Wahlen                      FIA Medical Delegate

Jeff Carter                                 FIA Media Delegate

Cristobal Lopera                        Chief timekeeper

Yannick Dalmas                         Driver Adviser