Le Mans 24 Hour Race

Charter a Private Jet to Le Mans 24 Hour Race

In the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, it’s not just about how fast the cars go, it’s about how far they go.

It’s a test of endurance as drivers strap on helmets that weigh more than 60 pounds and sit in cars in which the temperature can be over 100 degrees to drive more than 3,000 miles in a single day.

Each of the 50-some cars in the race has a team of three drivers who take two-hour turns around an eight-mile circuit that links three French towns southwest of Paris.

We Can Get You There

If you want to go to Le Mans in a style worthy of King Henry II of England who is said to have been born in the city’s Old Town, Paramount Business Jets can arrange a charter flight for you into any nearby airport, including:

• Arnage Airport, LFRM, LME, Le Mans, France (4 miles)
• Soucelle Airport, LF50, Souchelles, France (31 miles)
• Marce Airport, LFJR, Angers, France (32 miles)
• Entrammes Airport, LFOV, LVA, Laval, France (44 miles)
• Couterne Airport, LFAO, Couterne, France (46 miles)
• Val De Loire Airport, LFOT, TUF, Tours, France (47 miles)
• Le Breuil Airport, LFOQ, XBQ, Blois, France (52 miles)
• St Florent Airport, LFOD, XSU, Saumur, France (54 miles)
• Chateaudun Airport, LFOC, Chateaudun, France (55 miles)
• Bricy Airport, LFOJ, ORE, Orleans Bricy, France (72 miles)

The Race

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the oldest and largest round-the-clock endurance race in motorsports. Hundreds of thousands of people annually descend on this historic region of France to watch.

It joins the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix to form the Triple Crown of Motorsport. Le Mans, however, differs in that it focuses more on the reliability and fuel-efficiency of the cars more than on their speed. But, don’t think that speed doesn’t matter. Of course, it does. But the cars have to be built to last and spend as little time in the pits as possible.

The number of miles Le Mans cars cover – more than 3,000 miles in 24 hours – is about six times more than the Indianapolis 500 and 18 times more than an F1 Grand Prix.

The Le Mans, run on a circuit that is part track, part city streets, was first run in 1923 on public roads around Le Mans.

Here’s a bit of interesting trivia about the race: It was the first race after which the winner sprayed champagne instead of drinking it. It was 1967. Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt were on the winners’ podium when someone handed Gurney a bottle of champagne. Wanting to share the celebration with the car’s owner as well as to get back at the sports writers who had predicted disaster for the high-profile team, Gurney shook the bottle and sprayed it into the crowd.

Things To Do And See In Le Mans

• Visit Old Town: Known as Plantagenet City, this is the oldest part of Le Mans. It is perched high on a hill and filled with medieval buildings and surrounded by remnants of the Roman wall, which was built to encircle the town in the late third century to keep out invaders. Four original towers remain in the well-preserved wall. The crooked, cobblestone streets of Old Town and the 15th century houses there make it a popular place for movie directors looking for a backdrop for cloak and dagger movies. Parts of the “Three Musketeers” and “The Man in the Iron Mask” were filmed here.
• Medieval houses: There are more than 100 beautifully restored medieval houses in Le Mans. The oldest houses have an upper floor that protrudes beyond the lower floor to increase floor space upstairs and to protect the entrance from the elements. The best collection of these houses is along the Rue de la Rene-Berengere.
• The Royal Palace: A group of buildings next to the Isaac River that date back to the 11th century are now used as the Town Hall. From there, you can take steep stairs that pass through the Roman wall down to the river.
• St. Julien Cathedral: Built between the 11th and 15th centuries, the Cathedrale de Saint-Julien de Mans sits on a hill overlooking Old Town. Because it took so long to build, it is a mixture of architectural styles and has beautiful stained glass windows. At its entrance is a menhir, a tall, upright stone erected in prehistoric times. Legend has it the menhir, which became a pagan symbol for fertility, was saved from destruction by Saint Julien in the 4th century.
• Bishop’s Palace: Located below Old Town in the modern section of Le Mans, it contains a museum that has an art collection and two full-scale models of Egyptian tombs.
• The Museum of the 24 Hours of Le Mans: Founded in 1961 and enlarged and renovated in 1991 and 2009, the museum holds more than 100 Le Mans cars, dozens of films and old photographs. Visitors can learn about all the drivers and trace the evolution of the automobile in the 20th century.
• Carre Plantagenet: This Museum of Archaeology and History of Le Mans contains more than 1,000 objects that tell the story of Le Mans and the surrounding region from its first human settlers to the Middle Ages.