![]() ![]() All except one," recalled British sportscar driver Brian Redman of the 1969 race. "At the signal for the four o’clock start, all drivers dashed across the tarmac, jumped into their cars and charged off in a chaotic melee. The now-discontinued 'Le Mans starts', in which drivers ran to their cars lined up side by side in front of the pits, were another feature. There were epic 1960s and early 1970s battles between Ford and Ferrari while Porsche, Audi, Toyota enjoyed dominant phases, a trend started by the British 'Bentley Boys' who won from 1924-30. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting." In 1971 a movie hit the screens with Steve McQueen in the central role of Michael Delaney, who uttered the immortal words: "When you’re racing, it’s life. Mercedes withdrew from factory-sponsored motorsport at the end of the year, returning to Formula One in 1994 as an engine maker, while Switzerland banned races. Levegh's car hit an embankment and exploded, the debris hurled into the crowd. Le Mans also witnessed the worst disaster in motor racing history in 1955 when 84 people died, including 49-year-old French driver Pierre 'Levegh' Bouillin. "Dan’s naughty nature took over and he used the bottle like a firehose on everybody out of sheer exuberance, a relief for finally having won the race after 10 tries," his wife Evi recalled to Reuters in 2017. The familiar Formula One gesture of spraying champagne on the podium actually originated at Le Mans in 1967, when American Dan Gurney shook the bottle after winning in a Ford GT40 with compatriot AJ Foyt. It has crowned its own heroes, like six times winner Jacky Ickx of Belgium, Britain's five times winner Derek Bell or nine-times record holder Tom Kristensen of Denmark. The list of those who have taken part over the years is a roll call of greats - from pre-war stars Tazio Nuvolari and Rudolf Caracciola through to Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Mario Andretti and Fernando Alonso. Le Mans joins the Indianapolis 500, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing since 1911, and Monaco Grand Prix - first raced in 1929 - as the elements of the so-called 'Triple Crown of Motorsport'. The Mulsanne straight, also known as the Ligne droite des Hunaudieres, the corner at Arnage and Tertre Rouge are as familiar to global motorsport fans as Eau Rouge at Spa-Francorchamps or Monaco's Rascasse. ![]()
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