What went down at the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans?

History of Le Mans event is basically every year, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) organizes an event known as the 24 Hours of automobile endurance or 24 Hours of Le Mans, France. This year, the Le Mans event took place on June 11 and 12, with over 224,000 observers.

The History of 24 Hours Le Mans

The competition was the idea of Charles Faroux, a journalist, Georges Durand, ACO general secretary, and Emile Coquille, an industrialist. The race was first held from the 26th to the 27th of May in 1923. The route for the maiden race was through the roads around Le Mans, in the Northwestern part of France. Initially, they wanted the competition to be a three-year event, but the plan was abandoned in 1928 and turned into a yearly event.

The winners are drivers who covered the farthest distance by the time 24 hours were up, and the early races were dominated by French, British, and Italian teams. Bentley, Bugatti, and Alfa Romeo were the top teams when it first began. It was canceled for ten years due to the French strikes in 1936 and World War II in 1939.

The Race

This year’s race was the 90th edition and the FIA World Endurance Championship’s third round. It was the first event with a packed crowd since the pandemic and skilled drivers like Andre Negrao, Olivier Pla, and Matthieu Vaxiviere were present.

The event started on Friday, June 11th with 186 drivers and 62 cars in various categories. Buemi, a previous F1 driver, led the first race as the pole sitter by finishing with the quickest time during qualification.

An hour into the race, Hard Point driver Alessio Picariello was in front after taking the lead from Matteo Cairoli in the LGMTE category, while Felix da Costa became the LMP2 leader after overtaking Prema at the first pit stop.

In the 21st hour, Ferrari driver Claudio Schiavoni had a collision and hit the left-hand karting corner tire. Though he was unharmed, the collision led to Ferrari’s early retirement. The race, which has 380 laps, ended with Toyota driver Hartley finishing first after leading for the last 125 laps.

In the LMP2 category, Will Stevens won for Jota, and Porches driver Frederic Makowiecki won the GTE pro category. Out of 62 cars that competed in the race, 53 completed the race.

Who Stood Out?

Fans were eager to meet Sebastien Buemi and Conway of Hypercar, Lapierre of Alpine, and Pla and Mailleux of Glickenhaus Racing, among others.

Some of the remarkable teams at the event were Toyota Gazoo Racing, Jota, Glickenhaus Racing, and Prema Orlen Team. Some examples of the cars that raced were Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, Porsche 911 RSR-19, Chevy Corvette C8 R, and Aston Martin Vantage AMR.

Why is the 24 Hours of Le Mans so special?

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a prestigious event with a large fanbase. Fans travel to Circuit de la Sarthe annually to feel and experience the race course. Also, it’s the world’s oldest race event that tests vehicle reliability, performance, and durability. Popular auto manufacturers sign skilled racing drivers that use their cars to represent them and compete against other car brands.