Le Mans 24 Hours: More than just a race

[Photo: Sérgio de Almeida Correia ]

With the change of seasons, from the end of winter to spring, when the days get longer and the fields and trees are covered in flowers in the Northern Hemisphere, motorsport enthusiasts, and endurance racing fans in particular, know that their hearts will start beating at a more energetic pace, and their attention will be focused on many weekends at the circuits where every thousandth of a second will make the difference.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans race is the most important event in the FIA/WEC World Endurance Championship and is usually a transitional race, the fourth. Just as Junius was the fourth month of the Roman calendar.

This year, in terms of the calendar, while remaining in the same month, the race arrived earlier due to the chaos on the international scene and the endless conflicts that continue to sow destruction and misery in various regions of the globe.

Weakness in the face of autocracies, dictatorships, corruption, and abuses of all kinds has a very high price, and we are all paying for it. In the world economy, in human lives, in the cost of oil and raw materials, in transportation and the most basic foods, through climate change, in the various shortages that plague so many nations on five continents, as well as in the health and well-being of people. Until when, nobody knows.

It will not be for this reason, however, that life will not go on. To live is a form of resistance to fate and adversity, and the 2026 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the true queen of world motorsport, will not fail to take place. Along with the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans makes up the Triple Crown that all drivers, constructors, and teams yearn to win and that, to date, has only been achieved by the mythical Graham Hill.

[Photo: Sérgio de Almeida Correia ]

Perhaps for this reason, just as others regularly go to Fátima, Lourdes, or Mecca, there are also those who annually travel to the “pays manceau,” the center of the geographical and historical area of Le Mans, to experience, for as long as possible, the atmosphere, the conviviality, and the festivities.

[Photo: Sérgio de Almeida Correia ]

Yes, because that’s what it’s all about, and that’s what makes the difference. Reducing the 24 Hours of Le Mans to just the World Endurance Championship race, and a couple of other races, would be very simplistic and wouldn’t do justice to the region, the city, its history, its charms, the hospitality and friendliness of its people, the work of the ACO and all the volunteers, and even less so to its residents and all those who visit it annually during this bright time of year.

While it’s true that the event is renewed every year, in the cars, the drivers, the teams, the shows, the exhibitions, and in 2026 even with a new museum dedicated to motorsport, it’s certain that no two editions or two races are identical. We all know that history, like life, contrary to what many proclaim, never repeats itself and always presents characteristics and nuances that make each moment, each day, and each experience unmistakable and unrepeatable.

However, there is something that has become a constant and a characteristic of this annual pilgrimage among all who participate in it, whatever their role in this journey. And I’m sure that everyone here, as well as those who were here before and those who will return next year, or even those who have only come here once, will agree if I tell you that the 24 Hours of Le Mans is more than just a race and everything that revolves around it; it’s an indescribable moment of sharing. A place to share passions, emotions, camaraderie, friendships, smiles, memories, recollections, and feelings. It is also a place to share the table, the delicacies and the good wine of the land, the sun, the moonlight, the rain, and the steps that are taken daily, in a place that is also a hymn to the sharing of projects and dreams.

And being all of that, Le Mans always ends up being a place of reunion, because even in adversity it is always possible to discover a little comfort in the midst of the hustle and bustle, an appeal to faith, and for that there is the small La Chapelle, to love and to what we can best give to others. To those who are here, to those who arrive, to those who stay, and to those who leave.

If, in this unique environment, from the buttresses of the old and imposing cathedral that watches over, supports, and protects the city, to the animation of its streets in its historic center, from the Place de la République to the La Sarthe circuit, from the Hôtel de Ville to the esplanades, bars, and cafés, day and night, with people coming from the four corners of the world, from Japan to Canada, from Iceland to Chile, of all colors, shapes, creeds, and origins, speaking multiple languages and inventing possible ones to make themselves understood, it is possible to be happy in the greatest solitude, imagine what it is like to have the privilege of being able to share all this with someone who comes here for the first time. With a friend.

Without many of us realizing it, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a true image of what makes us human. And how often, inadvertently, it contributes to our self-improvement. Not as drivers or protagonists of the race, but as the frame and soul of the moment.

I don’t know if I’ll be here next year, nor how long I’ll be able to return. I do know, however, that there’s nothing like coming to Le Mans and living each day with the same devotion with which one looks at life, at loved ones, and at friends. With an immense sense of gratitude for what we receive from life and can share. In freedom, in the light of endless days, in the moonlight that illuminates the night, continuing the day.

To put it simply, it is this feeling that makes me return every year. And makes me feel small, above all, grateful. It is what always compels me to return home with a different perspective. And to give thanks to life.

Le Mans is much more than a race. It is much more than a passion. Because it carries with it the essence of life itself: giving and sharing. SÉRGIO DE ALMEIDA CORREIA, MDT, LE MANS