For the first time the overall race distance covers more than 5,000 km and is marked by what remains the only all-American Le Mans victory, won in an American-built car (Ford Mark IV), prepared by an American team (Shelby-American Inc.) and driven by American drivers Dan Gurney and A. This finish remains the closest in the event’s history.ġ967 : For the very first time the 24 Hours of Le Mans welcomes over 300,000 spectators to watch Ford and Ferrari battle it out at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Having begun the race in 4 th place on the grid, it is deemed to have driven 20 metres further than Ford #1, which started in 2 nd place. The rules stipulate that only one car can win, and Ford #2 is declared the winner. Ford puts an end to the domination, with two cars crossing the finish line almost simultaneously. The incident marks a major turning point in race safety across the sport.ġ966 : Ferrari had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans nine times since 1949 and had been undefeated from 1960 to 1965. About 80 spectators lose their lives and hundreds are injured. Woolf Barnato from Great Britain is the first driver to win the race three times, while French nationals Marguerite Mareuse and Odette Siko go down in history as the first women to compete, finishing 7 th overall.ġ940-1948 : Races are cancelled during World War II.ġ949 : The post-war return of 24-hour racing witnesses the first Ferrari victory.ġ955 : An accident in the early hours of the race, between Frenchman Pierre Levegh and British driver Lance Macklin, sends debris into the grandstands and results in one of motor sport’s worst tragedies. The 19 editions are the only others to not take place in June.ġ930 : Bentley wins for the fifth time, and the “Bentley Boys” become part of the legend. Frenchmen André Lagache and René Léonard win the race, completing 128 laps and over 2,209 km at an average speed of 92.06 km/h. A total of 33 cars start and only three abandon the race. Designed to serve the needs of all public motorists, the Club organizes the inaugural French Grand Prix.ġ923 : First edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is held on 26-27 May. He has been invited by the ACO to serve as Grand Marshal, and in this symbolic role will drive the pace car ahead of the field for the warm-up lap.ġ906 : Creation of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest in Le Mans. It’s really tough, but the drivers love that about Le Mans.”Įven in his retirement, Kristensen will be present at the 83 rd edition of the race in June and will grace the circuit that has made him legend. The challenge is unique and you have to perform at your best if you want to win. “Le Mans”, he says, is “the jewel in the crown of any racing season it’s where the most energy goes. The whole team needs to execute the race masterfully and collectively. To win the race, so much more needs to be right: from the car to the strategy, from the physical to the mental. To succeed personally, a driver needs to give everything, during every minute of the race. He asserts that no driver can ever “conquer” the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Kristensen’s experiences in the race taught him that nothing should be taken for granted. Following a hard-fought second-place finish in 2014, his 14 th podium at the race, Kristensen decided to hang up his helmet and retire from endurance motor sport. The Dane’s first win came in 1997, his last came on the 90 th anniversary of the first race in 2013. Tom Kristensen, nine-time winner of the race and a Rolex Testimonee, said his fervour for the race never once diminished during close to 20 years of competition at the highest level on the Circuit de la Sarthe. In recognition of the elevated standing of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex has been the Official Timekeeper of the race since 2001 and enjoys a close partnership with the founders and organizers of the race, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO). Rolex has a long and proud connection with motor sports, an association that encompasses the cardinal elements of the sport – endurance, speed and tradition. Known simply as the “Daytona”, the watch has risen to the rank of icon as the most famous and most coveted chronograph in the world.įurther details and full specifications about the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona are available as an annex to this document. Created by Rolex in 1963, this legendary model has established an extraordinary track record in the world of motor racing thanks to its reliability and performance. Today, winning a Cosmograph Daytona at the 24 Hours of Le Mans constitutes the ultimate award, a coveted trophy that confers a particular aura. For the drivers who live up to the challenge, the rewards are impressive: a specially engraved Rolex Cosmograph Daytona and a place in sporting history. The odds against lasting the 24 hours, let alone covering the 5,000 kilometres or more necessary to have a chance at winning, are huge.
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