Until you have stood in the grounds of Hotel Arbor, on Le Mans’s famous Mulsanne straight, face pressed up against the chain link catch fencing, bière pression in hand, the dead of night darkness all around, brake discs glowing red hot, exhausts shooting flames on upshifts and the sound of bellowing engines drowning out all conversation, you can’t fully appreciate the spectacle – and demands – of the Le Mans 24 hour race.
With a reputation for being the world’s most challenging race, one which pushes the capabilities and people from the world’s most powerful car companies to their very limits, and asks drivers to dig deeper than ever before, it is rightly recognised as one of the most coveted prizes in motor sport.
The 2021 race starts later than its usual mid-June date, with the lights switching to green on Saturday, 20 August, at 3pm our time, and finishing, of course, 24 hours later.
If you’re one of the tens of thousands of Brits to make the pilgrimage across the channel to the city on the Sarthe river, or you just follow it from afar, tuning in to Radio Le Mans, then this quiz is for you. Start your engines!
Select all that apply: Box, box, box! Time for a driver change. Box, box, box! Time for a driver change. Box, box, box! Time for a driver change. Box, box, box! Time for a driver change. Box, box, box! Time for a driver change. Bix, box, box! Time for a driver change. Box, box, box! Time for a driver change. Box, box, box! Time for a driver change. You know what you’re doing. You can stay in the car and do a triple stint. Oh dear. We’re going to have to make a driver change.
#1. When Tom Kristensen took his final, ninth victory at Le Mans, in 2013, who drove the Audi R18 with him?
#2. Little old Jaguar has chalked up an impressive seven outright wins at the Le Mans 24 hour race. Can you name the five Jaguar models to have won?
#3. Which country has produced the most winning drivers?
#4. In 1927 Bentley secured the greatest winning margin of all time. What was the distance?
#5. Which driver is this, going airborne in the Mercedes CLR, in 1999?
#6. Name the year that McLaren won Le Mans at its debut attempt.
#7. The highest top speed ever declared at Le Mans is 405kph – 251.6mph, by Roger Dorchy, in 1988. What car was he driving?
#8. Which year was the first Le Mans 24 hour race held?
#9. Name the one of these technical innovations that didn't make its motorsport debut at Le Mans.
#10. Which manufacturer has the most outright victories?
Results
