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For the French road bicycle racing stage race, see Circuit de la Sarthe (cycling)

Circuit des 24 Heures

Circuit de la Sarthe
Location	Le Mans, France
Coordinates	47°56′15.7″N 0°13′32.2″E / 47.937694°N 0.225611°E / 47.937694; 0.225611Coordinates: 47°56′15.7″N 0°13′32.2″E / 47.937694°N 0.225611°E / 47.937694; 0.225611
Owner	Automobile Club de l'Ouest Ville du Mans
Operator	Automobile Club de l'Ouest
Opened	1923
Major events	24 Hours of Le Mans French motorcycle Grand Prix 24 Hours of Le Mans Moto
Circuit de la Sarthe
Surface	Tarmac
Length	13.629 km (8.469 mi)
Turns	38
Lap record	3:19.074 (Loïc Duval, Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, 2010, LMP1)
Bugatti Circuit
Surface	Tarmac
Length	4.273 km (2.655 mi)
Turns	10

The Circuit des 24 Heures, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe,^[1] located near Le Mans, France, is a semi-permanent race course most famous as the venue for the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race. The track uses local roads that remain open to the public most of the year. The circuit, in its present configuration, is 13.629 km (8.469 mi) long, making it one of the longest circuits in the world.

Le Mans is a race where up to 85% of the time is spent on full throttle, meaning immense stress on engine and drivetrain components. However, the times spent reaching maximum speed also mean tremendous wear on the brakes and suspension as cars must slow from over 200 mph (322 km/h) to around 65 mph (105 km/h) for the end of Mulsanne in a short distance. Downforce in the era of Group C cars helped braking to some degree but presently cars are tending towards low downforce to seek higher speeds in the face of power limiting regulations.

Track modifications[link]

The track, which basically was a triangle from Le Mans down south to Mulsanne, northwest to Arnage, and back north to Le Mans, has undergone many modifications over the years, with CIRCUIT N° 14 being in use since 2007. Even with the modifications put in place over the years, the Sarthe circuit is still known for being very fast; with average speeds of 145+ mph (233 km/h) being achieved by the prototypes.

In the 1920s, the cars drove from the present pits on Rue de Laigné straight into the city, and after a tight right-hander near the river Sarthe Pontlieu bridge, left the city again on the rather straight street now named Avenue Georges Durand after the race's founder. Then 17.261 kilometres (10.725 mi) long and unpaved, a bypass within the city shortened the track in 1929, but only in 1932 the city was bypassed when the section from the pits via the Dunlop Bridge and the Esses to Tertre Rouge was added. This classic configuration was 8.369 miles (13.469 km) long and remained almost unaltered even after the 1955 tragedy. Its frighteningly narrow pit straight was narrowed off to make room for the pits and was part of the road itself, without the road becoming wider just for the pits. The pit straight was about 12 feet (3.7 m) wide (the pit straight was widened in 1956) and the race track and pits were not separated for another 15 years. The pit area was modified at a cost of 300 million francs, the signalling area was even moved to the exit of the slow Mulsanne corner, and the track was resurfaced.

With cars getting ever faster in the 1960s, criticism rose, especially when several drivers were killed, often in the testing session in April. Since 1965, a smaller but permanent Bugatti Circuit was added which shares the pit lane facilities and the first corner (including the famous Dunlop bridge) with the longer version. For the 1968 race, the Ford chicane was added before the pits to slow down the cars. The circuit was fitted with Armco for the 1969 race. The Maison Blanche kink was prone to criticism, a number of nasty accidents happened at the very fast kink over the years, such as John Woolfe being killed there in his Porsche 917 in 1969 and 3 Ferrari 512s (including 2 works cars) were involved in a pile-up there in 1970, with the latter shunt sealing the very fast classic circuit's fate. The circuit was modified 9 more times- in 1971 (a year where the prototypes were averaging 150+ mph (240+ km/h), which was also the last year the classic circuit was used) Armco was added to the pit straight to separate the track from the pits, and in 1972, the last part of the race track was revamped considerably- with the quick Porsche curves bypassing Maison Blanche and part of the first straight and all of the second straight between the pits and Maison Blanche. One of the Porsche Curves was affectionately named "Maison Blanche" and a short straight with a slight kink and 2 chicanes before the pits named the Ford chicanes were all added.

In 1979, due to the construction of a new public road, the profile of Tertre Rouge had to be changed. This redesign led to a faster double-apex corner as well as requiring the removal of the second Dunlop Bridge. In 1986, because of construction of a new roundabout at the Mulsanne corner, a new portion of track had to be built in order to avoid the roundabout. This created a right hand kink prior to Mulsanne corner. In 1987, a chicane was added to the very fast Dunlop curve where cars would go under the Dunlop bridge at 180 mph (290 km/h), now they would be slowed to 110 mph (180 km/h).

In 1990, two chicanes were added onto the Mulsanne straight (explained in more detail below), and in 1994, the Dunlop chicane was tightened, in 2002, the run to the Esses was revamped because of a reconstruction of the Bugatti Circuit. The Le Mans circuit was changed between the Dunlop Bridge and Esses, with the straight now becoming a set of fast sweeping turns. This layout allowed for a better transition from the Le Mans circuit to the Bugatti circuit. This layout change would also require the track's infamous carnival to be relocated because the area it had once occupied became runoff. The carnival was relocated to the Porsche curves, and in 2006, the ACO redeveloped the area around the Dunlop Curve and Dunlop Chicane, moving the Dunlop Curve in tighter to create more run-off area, while also turning the Dunlop Chicane into a larger set of turns. As part of the development, a new extended pit lane exit was created for motorcycles running the Bugatti Circuit. This second pit exit re-enters the track just beyond the Dunlop Chicane and before the Dunlop Bridge.

Le Mans was most famous for its 6 km (3.7 mi) long straight, called Ligne Droite des Hunaudières, a part of the route départementale (for the Sarthe département) D338 (formerly Route Nationale N138). The Targa Florio featured the even longer Buonfornello straight along the coast, though. As the Hunaudières leads to the village of Mulsanne, it is often called the Mulsanne Straight in English, even though the proper Route du Mulsanne is the one to Arnage. The Porsche 917 long tail had reached 380 km/h (236 mph), but after engine size was limited, the top speed dropped until the Group C allowed powerful turbo engines. Speeds on the straight by the Group C prototypes reached over 400 km/h (250 mph) during the late 1980s, and the combination of high speed and high downforce caused tyre and engine failures, as this circuit was extremely hard on both tyres and engines before 1990, less so in 1990 and beyond. Due to safety concerns after the extremely high speeds reached at the end of the straight and a number of hideously violent, sometimes fatal accidents in the 1980s (Jean-Louis Lafosse in 1981 and Jo Gartner in 1986) two roughly equally spaced chicanes were consequently added to the straight before the 1990 race to limit the achievable maximum speed. The chicanes were added in 1990 also because the FIA decreed it would no longer sanction a circuit which had a straight longer than 2 km. These were named after sponsors PlayStation and Michelin. The fastest qualifying lap average speed dropped only from 249 to 243 km/h (151 mph) in 1993, and it rose up to 247 in 2008, not far from the all time best of 250 and 251 set by the Porsche 917 and 956. Regarding the lap record in the race itself, 2008 saw the fastest ever.

• 

  Circuit location between Le Mans and Mulsanne, France

Bugatti Circuit[link]

Bugatti Circuit is a permanent race track located within Circuit des 24 Heures, named after Ettore Bugatti. The circuit uses a part of the larger circuit and a separate, purpose-built section. The sections of track on the Bugatti Circuit that are on the Circuit des 24 Heures include the Ford Chicane at the end of the lap, the pit complex, and the straight where the Dunlop Tyres bridge is located. At this point in the overlapping section of the tracks there is a left right sweep that was added for motorcycle safety in 2002. Vehicles turning to the left continue onto the Circuit des 24 Heures, toward Tertre Rouge and Mulsanne, vehicles turning to the right will continue the Bugatti Circuit.

The track is home base for Pescarolo Sport, founded by famous French driver Henri Pescarolo. The circuit also hosts the 24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycle race, and a round of the MotoGP Championship. The circuit also holds French motor club races and in the past has hosted rounds of the International Formula 3000 Championship and DTM (German Touring Car series).

As well as motor racing it is the venue for the 24 rollers, a 24h race on inline skates or quads.

The track was used for the 1967 French Grand Prix.

• 

  An on site map of the circuit.

• 

  The area before the Dunlop bridge, modified for 2006.

• 

  The Ford Chicanes.

• 

  A large portion of the track still consists of Sarthe Route Départementale D338.

Speed record[link]

In 1988, Team WM Peugeot knew they had no chance of winning the 24 hour endurance race, but they also knew that their Welter Racing designed car had very good aerodynamics. Thus they nicknamed their 1988 entry "Project 400" (aiming to be the first car to achieve a speed of 400 km/h on the famous straight), although the official team entry was named WM Secateva. Roger Dorchy, Claude Haldi and Jean-Daniel Raulet would be the three drivers that year.

The Peugeot 2.8L V6 turbo charged PRV engine had its air intakes taped over to improve aerodynamics, and they also equipped the car with special narrow Michelin tires. The plan worked: on June 11, 1988, with Roger Dorchy behind the wheel, the WM P87 achieved the speed of 405 km/h (251.7 mph).

Taping over the air intakes obviously impedes engine cooling and the Peugeot retired after 59 laps with an overheating engine (though it outlasted two other Group C1 entrants).

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Circuit de la Sarthe

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bugatti Circuit

• Official website
• Trackpedia's guide to driving Le Mans
• Satellite Picture by Google Maps
• History and track maps 1921–2006
• Trackpedia's guide to Le Mans Bugatti
• Track Reviewers reviews of Le Mans

Sarthe
—  Department  —
Coat of arms
Location of Sarthe in France
Coordinates: 48°17′N 0°13′E / 48.283°N 0.217°E / 48.283; 0.217Coordinates: 48°17′N 0°13′E / 48.283°N 0.217°E / 48.283; 0.217
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Prefecture	Le Mans
Subprefectures	La Flèche Mamers
Government
• President of the General Council	Roland du Luart
Area1
• Total	6,206 km2 (2,396 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Total	556,946
• Rank	47th
• Density	90/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	72
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	40
Communes	375
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

The Château de Boisclaireau, residence of the Gueroust family, Counts of Boisclaireau, in Sarthe.

Sarthe (French pronunciation: [saʁt]) is a French department, named after the Sarthe River.

History[link]

The department was created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790, pursuant to the law of December 22, 1789, starting from a part of the province of Maine which was divided into two departments, Sarthe to the east and Mayenne to the west.^[1]

In Roman Times, this province contained the city of Mans, and many of its ruins are still left standing. The Thermal Bathhouse attracts many tourists, as does the Theater of Aubigné-Racan, both located on the outskirts of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine.

Marin Mersenne, perhaps the most important scientific figure in the early 1600s, was born in the vicinity of Sarthe.

Geography[link]

The department of Sarthe is at the north end of the administrative region of Pays-de-la-Loire. This places it south of Basse-Normandie and on the south edge of the Armorican Massif. It is bordered by the departments of Orne, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire and Mayenne.

Approximately 300,000 people, comprising more than half of the department's population, live in Le Mans, its conurbation or the essentially urban communes close by. The rest of the department retains its rural character, however, being dominated economically by agriculture.

The economy, especially in the Le Mans area, received a boost with the arrival of the railways in 1854 and of a TGV connection in 1989. In terms of road connections the A11 autoroute, which reached Le Mans from the east in 1978, also highlights Sarthe's strategic position as the gateway to the French west.

See also[link]

• Cantons of the Sarthe department
• Communes of the Sarthe department
• Arrondissements of the Sarthe department
• Circuit de la Sarthe Race circuit for car races
• Circuit de la Sarthe (cycling) Annual road cycling race

References[link]

External links[link]

• (French) Prefecture
• (French) General Council
• (French) Sarthe information
• (French) Sarthe on Wikitravel

Allan McNish

Born	(1969-12-29) 29 December 1969 (age 42)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	2002
Teams	Toyota, Renault (Test Driver)
Races	17 (16 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	2002 Australian Grand Prix
Last race	2002 Japanese Grand Prix

Allan McNish (born 29 December 1969) is a Scottish racing driver. He is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2008, and three-time American Le Mans Series champion.

Early life[link]

McNish who was born in Dumfries, Scotland played football while at school. He was a fan of Nottingham Forest and also supported his local club Queen of the South. It wasn't until McNish began in karting that he found something at which he excelled.^[1]

Early career[link]

McNish began his career in karting like fellow Dumfries and Galloway driver David Coulthard. McNish credited the start given to both of them and Dario Franchitti as being largely down to David Leslie senior and junior.^[2]

McNish and Coulthard both were recognised with a McLaren/Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year award having moved up to car racing. In 1988 he won the Formula Vauxhall Lotus championship and in 1989 finished runner up to David Brabham in a close fought British Formula Three Championship. During the late 1980s McNish shared a house with team mate Mika Häkkinen.^[3]

Tipped as a future F1 driver, he tested with both McLaren and Benetton, whilst also competing in F3000, then the recognised second tier of European motorsport, in 1990-1992. Whilst racing his first season in F3000, McNish suffered a crash at a race in Donington Park where a bystander was fatally injured.^[4] He went on to finish 4th overall in the championship that season. Concentrating on F1 opportunities meant he appeared in F3000 only once during 1994, at Pau.

When an F1 drive failed to materialise, he returned to F3000 in 1995 with Paul Stewart Racing (run by the son of Sir Jackie Stewart who went on to form Stewart Grand Prix). While he was arguably the fastest driver of the year, a series of mishaps saw him well beaten by Super Nova drivers Vincenzo Sospiri and Ricardo Rosset in the title race. McNish's career appeared to stall in early 1996 after a deal to race in Formula Nippon fell through and Mark Blundell was preferred for a drive with the PacWest CART team. He also tested for Benetton during the year.

Sports cars[link]

Having devoted his career to the pursuit of an F1 chance, it is ironic that McNish has become one of the world's most highly rated sportscar drivers. His sportscar career began in 1996 with Porsche, at a time when their 911 GT1 model revolutionized sportscar racing. With the factory team he took this car to victory in the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans, partnered by Laurent Aïello and Stephane Ortelli. He subsequently appeared for Toyota and Audi in the race, and after losing a likely victory in the dying stages of the 2007 event, scored a second triumph in 2008 with Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello driving an Audi R10.^[5] He has also raced with great success for Audi in the American Le Mans Series, winning the title with Dindo Capello in 2006 and 2007, and taking four overall victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring (2004, 2006, 2009 and 2012).

Formula One[link]

McNish's Toyota engine fails at the 2002 French Grand Prix.

McNish finally found an opening into Formula One in 2001, when the newly formed Toyota F1 team required a development driver. Given his link with Toyota through sportscars he was an obvious choice for this role, and after impressing in testing he was hired to race for the season. He did not score any points during the season's 17 races, and he and team-mate Mika Salo were replaced with a new line-up of Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta for 2003. Salo had scored points for the team on their debut in Melbourne and McNish had very nearly done the same in the Malaysian Grand Prix, only for a pit lane mistake by the team to cost him the result. Both drivers were told of their replacement before Da Matta was announced, and ITV's Martin Brundle commented that "replacing Salo and McNish with Panis and A.N. Other" was not, in his view, a step forward^{[citation needed]}.

McNish had a dramatic accident at the 130R corner while practising for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, but escaped serious injury. This led to the corner being reprofiled the following year^{[citation needed]}.

After Formula One[link]

McNish driving an Audi R10 TDI at the 2008 1000km of Silverstone

In 2003 he was a test driver for Renault F1, also doing a little TV work for ITV, but the next year he returned to his successful sports car racing career, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring, combining this in 2005 with a venture into the highly competitive DTM (German Touring Car Championship), where he competed against the likes of former F1 men Mika Häkkinen and Jean Alesi. He also won Sportscar Driver of the Year awards from the Autosport and Le Mans magazines and the (Jackie) Stewart Medal Award for services to Scottish Motor Sport. He was made the President of the Scottish Motor Racing Club at their annual Prize Giving and Dinner in 2007, succeeding Sir Jackie Stewart.

In 2006, he continued racing with the Audi factory team and was part of the driving line up which won the 12 Hours of Sebring in the new Audi R10 TDI diesel, setting pole position and breaking the lap record. In 2008, McNish won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Audi alongside Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello. It was his first win at la Sarthe since 1998.

Since Formula 1 has introduced the Drivers' Representative on the stewards panel at all Grands Prix, McNish has featured as the Drivers' Representative twice in the 2011 season, in Monaco and most recently in Hungary and on both occasions he has penalised the McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton for various trangressions. He has also appeared in a Scania video test driving their new R730 V8.

Other formulae[link]

As well as those above, McNish has also raced in the following racing series:

• Karting
• Formula Ford
• Vauxhall Lotus
• British Formula 3
• North American GT
• FIA GT

Personal life[link]

He lives in Monaco with his wife Kelly and their two children. Prior to his marriage, McNish's stag party in Dumfries was attended by Dario Franchitti and Marino Franchitti and included taking in a Queen of the South football match.^[1]

Racing record[link]

Complete International Formula 3000 results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results[link]

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1997	GT1	32	M	Porsche 911 GT1 Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	Roock Racing	Stéphane Ortelli Karl Wendlinger	8	DNF	DNF
1998	GT1	26	M	Porsche 911 GT1-98 Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	Porsche AG	Laurent Aïello Stéphane Ortelli	351	1st	1st
1999	LMGTP	2	M	Toyota GT-One Toyota R36V 3.6L Turbo V8	Toyota Motorsports Toyota Team Europe	Thierry Boutsen Ralf Kelleners	173	DNF	DNF
2000	LMP900	9	M	Audi R8 Audi 3.6L Turbo V8	Audi Sport Team Joest	Laurent Aïello Stéphane Ortelli	367	2nd	2nd
2004	LMP1	8	M	Audi R8 Audi 3.6L Turbo V8	Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx	Frank Biela Pierre Kaffer	350	5th	5th
2005	LMP1	2	M	Audi R8 Audi 3.6L Turbo V8	ADT Champion Racing	Frank Biela Emanuele Pirro	364	3rd	3rd
2006	LMP1	7	M	Audi R10 TDI Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)	Audi Sport Team Joest	Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello	367	3rd	3rd
2007	LMP1	2	M	Audi R10 TDI Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)	Audi Sport North America	Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello	262	DNF	DNF
2008	LMP1	2	M	Audi R10 TDI Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)	Audi Sport North America	Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello	381	1st	1st
2009	LMP1	1	M	Audi R15 TDI Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V10 (Diesel)	Audi Sport Team Joest	Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello	376	3rd	3rd
2010	LMP1	7	M	Audi R15 TDI plus Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V10 (Diesel)	Audi Sport Team Joest	Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello	394	3rd	3rd
2011	LMP1	3	M	Audi R18 TDI Audi TDI 3.7L Turbo V6 (Diesel)	Audi Sport North America	Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello	14	DNF	DNF

Complete American Le Mans Series results[link]