1931 (ninth running): an Italian first
In the wake of the "Bentley Boys" domination (four consecutives wins from 1927 to 1930), Alfa Romeo became the first Italian constructor to win the 24 Hours, thanks to British duo Sir Henry Birkin-Lord Howe, also the first to surpass the 3,000 kilometer cap. The Italian marque ruled at the following three runnings as well thanks to Luigi Chinetti (1932 and 1934), Raymond Sommer (1932 and 1933), Tazio Nuvolari (1933) and Philippe Etancelin (1934). For the last time, in 1931 the 24 Hours took place on the 16.340 kilometer circuit utilised since 1929. Beginning in 1932, it was reduced to a little more than 13 kilometers.

1953 (21st running): Jaguar draws blood
Two years after its first victory, Jaguar won the 30th anniversary edition of the 24 Hours with four Type Cs in the top 10: Duncan Hamilton-Tony Rolt (winners), Stirling Moss-Peter Walker (second), Ian Stewart-Peter Whitehead (fourth) and Roger Laurent-Charles de Tornaco (ninth). The leaders for a stunning 22 hours, Rolt and Hamilton also established the first distance record exceeding 4,000 kilometers. A major player at the race in the early 1950s, Briggs Cunningham and his cars achieved an impressive showing with third place (John Fitch-Phil Walters), seventh (Briggs Cunningham-William Spear) and 10th (John Gordon Bennett-Charles Moran).

1981 (49th running): Jacky Ickx, proof by five
Starting from the pole, Jacky Ickx won his fifth 24 Hours, thereby succeeding Olivier Gendebien, win record-holder since 1962 with four. Winner in 1975 (already with Ickx), Derek Bell won his second victory. The Belgian and the Brit participated in the race as a duo two more times, with another win (1982) and second place (1983). Sixth overall, Le Mans local Anny-Charlotte Verney secured her best result at the 24 Hours. She still holds the participation record for a female driver at Le Mans, with 10 starts from 1974 to 1983.

1987 (55th running): a new record and the end of Porsche's streak 
Undefeated since 1981 and new win record-holder since 1985, Porsche won its 12th victory at Le Mans. It was the second win for Derek Bell, Al Holbert and Hans-Joachim Stuck, winners the previous year. In 1987, Porsche's seventh consecutive win was a new record of sorts, surpassing the six clinched by Ferrari from 1960 to 1965. But, it was also the end of the winning streak for the German marque as new adversaries reared their heads: Mercedes (fastest in-race lap thanks to Johnny Dumfries) and Jaguar (fifth in 1987 and winner the next year).

2009 (77th running): Peugeot's third triumph
Having returned to Le Mans in 2007, Peugeot faced off against Audi and pulled of a winning one-two thanks to (in order) David Brabham-Marc Gené-Alex Wurz and Sébastien Bourdais-Franck Montagny-Stéphane Sarrazin. Gené became the first Spaniard to win the 24 Hours, Wurz clinched his second victory and David Brabham joined his older brother Geoff (winner in 1993) in the 24 Hours hall of fame. It was Peugeot's third Le Mans win after 1992 and 1993, and the last to date for a French constructor. Debuting in the U.S. in 2005, four years later the Porsche RS Spyder scored its second victory in a row in LMP2 in as many participations with at the wheel Emmanuel Collard, Casper Elgaard and Kristian Poulsen (10th overall).

2020: Porsche, a virtual anniversary
Held on the original dates of the 88th running, the first 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual saw Porsche win the LMGTE class, thanks to Nick Tandy-Ayhancan Guven-Joshua Rogers-Tommy Ostgaard, 50th years to the day after its first overall victory. The 911 RSRs' livery was largely inspired by that of the 917 of Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann, winners in 1970. The overall win at the inaugural running of the Virtual went to Rebellion Williams Esports, with at the wheel Louis Delétraz, Raffaelle Marciello, and Polish sim racers Kuba Brzezinski and Nikodem Wisniewski.

PHOTOS (Copyright - ACO/ARCHIVES): LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS. From top to bottom, three of the six winning driver line-ups on a Sunday 14 June: Sir Henry Birkin-Lord Howe (Alfa Romeo) in 1931, Duncan Hamilton-Tony Rolt (Jaguar) in 1953 and David Brabham-Marc Gené-Alexander Wurz (Peugeot) in 2009.