The Upper Crust Glory of Le Mans

Le Mans racing is like French Nascar combined with NASA rolled into rich sportsmen and spiked with endurance racing.

The cars are insanely developed, state-of-the-art, big money toys designed only to go very fast with magnificent style.

Some say the French invented Le Mans racing just for Paul Newman, the dashing actor who made the sport his personal off-screen identity.

It’s a glorious thing to behold. And coming up June 15-18, for the 84th straight year, the sport will showcase with a 24-hour spectacle. It’s the world’s oldest active sports car race in endurance racing held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France.

In fact, 24-hours of Le Mans is among the most prestigious of automobile races in the world, having earned its place in what is known as the Triple Crown of Motorsport, seated on high with the Indy 500, and the Monaco Grand Prix.

Since 2012, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship, and this year it will be the 3rd round of the season.

The series is open to Le Mans prototypes and Grand Tour-style racing cars meeting four ACO categories. The season began at the Silverstone Circuit in April and will end at the Bahrain International Circuit in November.

Photo credit: Le Mans