Le Mans - 24 Hours: The Complete Story of the World's Most Famous Motor Race [Hardcover]

'the definitive publication on the subject.'

Since 1923, for one long weekend each year in the early summer, the eyes of the motor racing world have focused on a small town in north-western France. It is a town whose name has become synonymous with the race that takes place annually on its outskirts. The Grand Prix d'Endurance de Vingt-Quatre Heures du Mans, the 24 hours of Le Mans. Le Mans is a race where tactics and experience can prove to be every bit as important as absolute speed - a contest which is never over until the flag finally falls on Sunday afternoon, after 24 knife-edged hours of racing. After more than 3000 miles of racing, the winning margin has sometimes been as little as 20 metres. This book presents the story of the race. Over 250 photographs, many previously unpublished, capture the special atmosphere before, during and after the 24 hours of the competition. Through the text and interviews with key Le Mans figures, including Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell and Stirling Moss, the author tells the full story of the races, the personalities, the teams and the technology behind the greatest sports car race in the world.

Since we published Driving Ambition, the story of the McLaren F1 road car, in 1999, Virgin Books has established a reputation for producing superlative motoring books. When we were considering subjects for new books there was just one motor race which stood out: the Le Mans 24 hours.

Le Mans is more than just a race: its history of international rivalry and heroic drivers make it an event unparalleled in the world of motor sport, and this book is the first comprehensive history of the race and the story of what makes it so special. It looks in detail at the race’s atmosphere, its great winners and the not so fortunate, the hours of racing in darkness and the bleary-eyed dawn of the second day, exploring the personalities of the great drivers, the realities of the team rivalries and the experience of actually driving at Le Mans.

Superbly detailed and wonderfully evocative, the book contains more 250 photographs, paintings, film stills and memorabilia. Encompassing almost a century of racing at Le Mans, from the first events in the early 1920s to Bentley’s historic return to form in 2001, and featuring new insights from key figures including Stirling Moss, Derek Bell and Alain De Cadenet, we believe Le Mans 24 Hours is the definitive story of the definitive motor race.

With a vast knowledge of motoring history, motor sport and contemporary cars, Brian Laban has been writing about cars for 25 years. He has contributed to all the most notable British car magazines, written for car manufacturers and published some 30 books on most aspects of the motor industry. He contributes regularly to the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Business newspapers, and to Auto Express and other motoring magazines. His most recent book was Morgan: First and Last of the Real Sports Cars (Virgin, 2000).