The 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans – in numbers

The 24 hours of Le Mans is without doubt a spectacular race but it’s often hard to understand as an outsider to the event. However, there is no better way to quantify something than the cold hard facts.

Supporting and sponsoring race teams and individuals through our Qualube, Classic or Motul range of products, here at Witham we’re passionate about Motorsport. Let’s take a look back at one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world, 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Racing as usual, but different

The number that haunted this race the most is zero, signifying the amount of fans and spectators allowed during the event. The 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans will go down in history and will always be remembered as (hopefully) the only iteration of the race that ran behind closed doors.

From Morocco to Moscow

5.272,46km is the distance travelled by the winning Toyota #8 over 387 laps, 10 laps short of the 2010 Audi R15+ TDI record holder, which covered 5.410,73km, which equals the distance from Morocco to Moscow.

97 meters per second

During the race the fastest speed in LMP1 was recorded by the Gibson-powered Rebellion R13, which managed to set a top speed of 349kph, which equals almost a soccer field per second. It’s still a long way off the overall record of 405kph set in 1988. However, it’s unlikely this record will ever be beaten again as it was set the year before the introduction of the chicanes on the Mulsannne straight. The fastest LMP2 car was the Ligier JSP217 #35 from Eurasia Racing, recording 338kph. In GT, both top speed honours went to the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, with the #82 Risi Competizione machine clocking 305.6kph and the AF Corse #53 car closely following with 303.9kph.

A fierce battle for pole position

31 is, maybe, the most spectacular number. This was the amount of leader changes in the LMP2 category, and a great insight into how close the battle was. This was overshadowed by a whopping 44 leader changes in GTE Pro.

One of the most reliable races ever

17 of the 24 LMP2 starters made it to the end of this race. With only 10 retirements counted throughout the entire field, making this year’s race one of the most reliable events to date.

Three times around the globe

During the entire race weekend and practices that preceded it, all of the LMP2 cars combined ran for no less than 665 hours and 12 minutes, covering a mind boggling 133,970 kilometres.

Five times to the moon

If you are thinking that this was an impressive LMP2 number, engine partner Gibson technology just reported that their entire LMP2 engine fleet, consisting of 56 V8 engines, has covered over two million kilometres to date! Which equals five flights to the moon.

And we’ll leave you with one last number: the Le Mans 24 Hours race started in 1923, making it the oldest and longest-running sports car race of all time. Here’s hoping that for its next birthday, we’ll be able to watch it again in person!

Witham provides the whole range of Motul Automotive products throughout the UK by working closely with stockists, distributors, direct customers and the racing industry whether that’s off road, on a race track or on the water. The automotive market is an exciting arena where top class products are required to ensure performance and reliability. Our expertise ensure quality products and quality deliveries to all Motul and Witham customer.

Motul is an official partner of the virtual 24 hours of Le Mans race, and their lubricants are used by Le Mans competitors.

Read more about Witham Motorsport, our automotive products and our exclusive partnership with Motul here.