The final leg of the Triple Crown of Motorsport racing finishes off this weekend in the 90th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Along with the Indy 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a unique race that forces drivers to show an understanding of all the main principles of motorsport racing.
What to know about Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an endurance event whose winner is awarded based on the car that completes the most laps in the 24-hour time limit.
no race offers a blend of speed and endurance quite like Le Mans. It’s not only a test of stamina but also challenges competitors to work together as a team and be smart with managing the vehicle over a 24-hour period,
Originally starting in 1923 in the town in France for which it is named, the race was paused for a short time during World War II, but brought back after the war and has been running ever since. To this date, Graham Hill is the only driver to have won a motorsport racing triple crown, and the last of his wins came in France in 1972.
Le Mans Format
There are multiple classes of cars running at the same time during the race. While every car is given an overall placement at the end of the race, each class has its own finish separately within its own subsect.
The Hypercar, LMP2, GTE Pro, GTE AM are the four classes of cars that will be ranked. Glickenhaus and Alpine are the only other cars racing in the hypercar class.
In order to ensure safety in the 24-hour format, each team has three drivers switching off throughout the race. Last year’s winners from Toyota, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Jose Maria Lopez are considered the favorites in 2022 for Toyota.
Toyota has actually won the last four races at Le Mans.
Of course, the race is not without its own controversy as well. On Thursday, it was reported that LMP2 driver Philippe Cimadomo was banned from the race this weekend after “not driving to the standard required to safely participate in the remainder of the event”.
Cimadomo reportedly almost crashed his car on different practice runs over the past week.
How to Watch Le Mans
The race is exclusively available on the MotorTrend TV channel or the MotorTrend+ streaming app.
Coverage starts on Saturday, June 11 at 9:30 a.m. ET, and you’ll be able to watch flag-to-flag action.
The race ends at 9:30 a.m. ET, on Sunday, June 12th.
For more coverage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, head to amNY.com.
