After watching motorsports of just about every species, I’ve ultimately evolved to appreciate one race more than the others: Le Mans. The 24 hours requires incredible endurance, driver skill and unparalleled reliability. It is unlike any other event in the world and is, in my opinion, the best racing in the world. One other wonderful aspect of the race is the fact that Le Mans has been followed very closely over the years and a lot great footage exists, much of which is on YouTube. I thought posting some of this footage is especially timely with the recent passing of American motorsports legend Carroll Shelby (more on that shortly) and with the race coming up in a little more than a month from now.
And if you haven’t seen Audi’s stunning 2009 documentary Truth in 24, you need to get on that. Audi also just announced Truth in 24 II which centers on the German automaker’s 2011 victory. With subject matter like Le Mans, there’s no way that this new doc will be anything but great.
1954 Part I
1954 Part II
1955
1956 (on board)
1959
1965
1967 Part I
1967 Part II
1967 Part III
1967 Part IV
1967 Part V
Good lord that’s beautiful stuff. As a 356 driver I’m drooling over the Porsche 550s but everything in there is good.
surprisingly no mention of La Ronde Infernale from 1969. here’s a ~10 minute youtube clip which includes the roar of a Ford GT-40 around the track with comments from experiences hands.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=861mRRktGZA
many thanks. le mans is indeed the greatest sports car race.
Mercedes flip in ’99, one of the craziest crashes I ever saw…
This is amazing. I have been waiting for this!
Daytona, Targa Florio in the springtime, Le Mans – what a tremendous sequence of races. Phil Hill gone. Now Carroll Shelby gone. Sad.
Carroll Shelby’s team under the stewardship of Henry Ford II, the creation of the GT40 and the defeat of the Italians at their own game was one of America’s greatest success stories. The Right Stuff of auto racing, for sure.
24 hr at the Nurburgring is this weekend. Anybody gonna watch? I usually pick up the live stream from the website. http://www.24h-rennen.de/Official-Website.2.0.html?&L=1
It was on a whim that I purchased the book “Go Like Hell”, which chronicles the great rivalry between Ford and Ferrari which AFU66 mentions. Unabashedly, one of the greatest novels of rivalry every written and what I can only hope will someday be the basis of a film that old european racing really deserves. I’m currently reading ‘The Limit” by Michael Cannell, which is a likewise riveting read about the golden age of racing, this time focusing on Phil Hill and (to a lesser extent) his Ferrari co-team member/friend/rival Count Wolfgang Von Trips.
You don’t need an interest in modern racing at all to enjoy either book, and they are very easy reads. These guys lived a playboy lifestyle traveling the world, dressing well, and carousing with beautiful women in their off time and for work trained and participated in what was truly a grueling sport with no safety regulations and death literally at every other turn.
VespaMatt – 20th Cen. Fox has the screen rights to the book and Paramount has the rights to Shelby’s life. I hope Hollywood can come to terms and make a movie worthy of the book and the amazing story and characters it documents….
Amazing, some incredible images of Ford a Le Mans here for those interested in what Ford did back in the day….
http://fordimages.com/perl/search.pl?searchIn=fuzzyImageKeywords&search=Le%20mans
Just last week i went to the American Le Mans at Laguna Seca, seriously amazing time and some seriously amazing cars.
It is NOT the greatest race of all. It is the greatest SPORTING EVENT of them all, acording to National Geographic
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/sporting-events/
The older Porsches are wonderful. But 72 and Mario is the one.