24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1955 Le Mans disaster was a major crash that occurred on 11 June 1955 during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, Sarthe, France. Large pieces of debris flew into the crowd, killing 83 spectators and French driver Pierre Levegh, and injuring around 120 more. It was the most catastrophic crash in motorsport history, prompting Switzerland to institute a nation-wide ban on motorsports altogether that lasted until 2022. The crash started when Jaguar driver Mike Hawthorn pulled to the right side of the track in front of Austin-Healey driver Lance Macklin and started braking for his pit stop. Macklin swerved out from behind the slowing Jaguar into the path of Levegh, who was passing on the left in his much faster Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. Levegh rear-ended Macklin at high speed, overriding Macklin's car and launching his own car through the air. Levegh's car skipped over a protective earthen berm at 200 km/h (125 mph) and made at least two impacts within the spectator area, the last of which caused the car to disintegrate, throwing him onto the track where he was instantly killed. Large pieces of debris, including the Mercedes' engine block, radiator, front suspension, and bonnet (hood), were sent flying into the packed spectator area in front of the grandstand. The rear of Levegh's car landed on the berm and exploded into flames. There was much debate over blame for the disaster. The official inquiry held none of the drivers specifically responsible and criticised the layout of the 30-year-old track, which had not been designed for cars as fast as those involved in the crash.

The Museum of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: Musee des 24 Heures du Mans) is a motorsport museum located at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. It was founded in 1961 as the Automobile Museum de la Sarthe. In 1991, it was taken over by the organizers of the 24 hours road race and moved to a purpose built museum complex under the direction of Francis Piquera, the Executive Manager. In 2009, the museum was extensively renovated. Its permanent exhibition includes over 100 historic cars, many collectibles, dozens of films and archive photographs. The museum tour is organized around six major sequences that showcase the important figures of the 24 Hour race and origins of the Le Mans automotive industry, tracing the evolution of the car in the twentieth century.With their legendary models of the greatest endurance race in the world, 350m² of temporary exhibitions complete the thematic exhibition. A visit of the famous circuit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race is possible.

The Stade Marie-Marvingt (previously MMArena) is a multi-use stadium in Le Mans, France, that opened in January 2011. It is used mostly for football matches and hosted the home matches of Le Mans FC. The stadium has a capacity of 25,064 people. It replaced the Stade Léon-Bollée as the club's stadium. The arena is located inside the Circuit de la Sarthe, home of the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, and adjacent the first right kink on the Mulsanne Straight.

The 24 Heures Motos (often called in English the 24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycle race) is a motorcycle endurance race held annually since 1978 on the Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, Sarthe, France. The race is organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and is part of the Endurance FIM World Championship.

Antarès is an indoor sporting arena that is located in Le Mans, France. The arena is located inside the Circuit de la Sarthe, home of the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, and adjacent to the first right kink on the Mulsanne Straight. The seating capacity of the arena, which was inaugurated in 1995, is 6,023 people when configured for basketball games.

The canton of Le Mans-6 is an administrative division of the Sarthe department, northwestern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Le Mans.It consists of the following communes: Arnage Le Mans (partly)

The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race. Comprising private, race-specific sections of track in addition to public roads which remain accessible most of the year, its present configuration is 13.626 km (8.467 mi) long, making it one of the longest circuits in the world. The capacity of the race stadium, where the short Bugatti Circuit is situated, is 100,000. The Musée des 24 Heures du Mans is a motorsport museum located at the main entrance of the venue. Up to 85% of the lap time is spent on full throttle, putting immense stress on engine and drivetrain components. Additionally, the times spent reaching maximum speed also mean tremendous wear on the brakes and suspension as cars must slow from over 322 km/h (200 mph) to around 100 km/h (62 mph) for the sharp corner at the village of Mulsanne.

The Mulsanne Straight (French: Ligne Droite des Hunaudières, "Straight Line of Les Hunaudières") is the name used in English for a formerly 6 km (3.7 mi) long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe around which the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race takes place. Since 1990, the straight is interrupted by two chicanes, with the last section (that includes a slight right turn known as the "Kink") leading to a sharp corner near the village of Mulsanne. Before the chicanes were added, the Mulsanne Straight was the longest straight section of any race track in the world.

Arnage (French pronunciation: [aʁnaʒ]) is a commune in the Sarthe department in the administrative region of Pays de la Loire, north-western France.

The canton of Le Mans-7 is an administrative division of the Sarthe department, northwestern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Le Mans.It consists of the following communes: Allonnes Chaufour-Notre-Dame Fay Le Mans (partly) Pruillé-le-Chétif Saint-Georges-du-Bois Trangé

The canton of Le Mans-5 is an administrative division of the Sarthe department, northwestern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Le Mans.It consists of the following communes: Le Mans (partly)

Le Mans (French: Gare du Mans) is a railway station serving the town Le Mans, Sarthe department, western France. It is situated on the Paris–Brest railway, Le Mans–Angers railway and the non-electrified Tours–Le Mans railway.