Le Mans has always been a Mecca for motorsport fans, but the race really caught the imagination of the general public in 1971, when the film Le Mans was released.
The star was Steve McQueen, who has become a hero in automotive circles ever since. In the film he drives a car in the legendary blue and orange colours of oil firm Gulf: the livery that Aston Martin Racing will compete with at the Le Mans 24 Hours this year – more than 35 years after Le Mans was filmed.
What it made it quite remarkable was the fact that McQueen’s co-stars were many of the real drivers who were competing. The film directors used a lot of footage from the 1970 race, using a ‘camera car’ that was actually competing at the time. In fact, this camera car finished ninth overall having completed 282 laps – although the result did not stand as it had not covered the minimum distance to register a finish. This is because it had to keep diving into the pits in order to change film reels as well as fuel and tyres.
It tells the story of a fictional American driver, Michael Delaney, who returns to race at Le Mans one year after a fiery accident. There is a very little dialogue: for the first 38 minutes in fact there is no dialogue at all. Instead, it is all about the noise and the action and the atmosphere: the very things that still attract spectators to Le Mans today.
Delaney defeats his demons but crashes again, while distracted by another accident. He emerges unscathed, but for him the Le Mans 24 Hours seems to be over. As he is packing, the team manager knocks on his motor home door. As Delaney is the fastest driver, he would like the American to take over one of the remaining cars. The team has dropped behind and needs someone special to close the gap. Delaney goes back out and of course he makes the difference, reeling in the lead car. Rather than go all-out to claim the win for himself, he ensures that he is second to guarantee a team one-two.
It’s still a thrilling – if somewhat predictable – story, but the challenges that the Gulf-liveried Aston Martin Racing team will face in June are now somewhat different. The biggest change is that all the cars now have three rather than two drivers, although in the past some drivers used to compete by themselves. Safety standards have also improved beyond recognition, transforming every aspect of what is probably the world’s most famous race. In the past, the action used to get underway with the famous ‘Le Mans start’, whereby competitors would sprint across the track into their waiting cars. This practice was abandoned in 1971 for reasons of safety. Le Mans was also the place where the tradition of spraying, rather than drinking, champagne was started. American driver Dan Gurney started it all after winning in 1967 and spotting his unfortunate team boss in the crowd.
“Some bits of the Le Mans film are quite realistic, but obviously the track has changed a lot: especially the pit complex, which is completely different now,” says Darren Turner, part of last year’s 009 crew that claimed the GT1 win. Turner is also down to drive for Aston Martin Racing again at Le Mans this year, in the same number car. “Everything is a lot more organised these days and much safer, although you still get exactly the same thrill out of competing,” he adds. “It’s nice to feel a link with the past though, and to know that my car will be the same colour as the one driven by Steve McQueen. I’m not sure that we’ve got a lot else in common, but at least that’s one thing!”
Aston Martin Racing will enter two factory cars in Gulf livery for the Le Mans 24 Hours from June 14-15, and in addition there will be a further DBR9 entered by Team Modena.