THE FILMS

Le Mans (1971)

Director: Lee H. Katzin, with Steve McQueen and Elga Andersen

This film is an absolute must and real fans will have already seen it several times over. Steve McQueen was a genuine racing enthusiast and a renowned daredevil. He was also a talented driver and got it into his head to make a film about the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite numerous problems – and several dramatic accidents – during filming, the 1970 film contains some spectacular race scenes. McQueen, who come second at the 12 Hours of Sebring the same year, hoped to take part in the French endurance classic as he made the film but the insurance firms refused to cover him. The actor therefore had to make do with a few shots filmed in the pits during the race. To make up for that disappointment, McQueen hired the circuit for three months in summer 1970, brought together more than 20 cars and drove some of them himself.

Michel Vaillant (2003)

Director: Louis-Pascal Couvelaire, with Sagamore Stévenin, Diane Kruger and Jean-Pierre Cassel

Inspired by Jean Graton’s comic strip, this film shows Team Vaillant pitted against eternal rivals, the “bad guys” from Team Leader, headed by Ruth, played by Lisa Barbuscia, mesmerizing in her wickedness! The two teams come face to face at Le Mans ready to do battle. The fast-moving images and vivid colours point to the film’s comic strip origins. The production team joined forces with racing outfit Dams to enter two cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2002, a Lola (for Vaillante) and a Panoz (for Leader), compliant with the same regulations as the other teams.

THE ACTORS

Paul Belmondo

The son of French film star Jean-Paul Belmondo has long combined careers as an actor and a racing driver, even competing in Formula One in the 1990s. He raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans ten times from 1985 to 2005 in cars including a Porsche, Ferrari and Courage. He admits he feels the same ‘stage fright’ on the starting grid as when performing!

Paul Newman

Paul Newman’s fell in love with motor racing while filming Winning, released in 1969. He was 42 years old at the time but still decided to take up
racing. He took this new role very seriously and became a real professional. In 1979, he lined up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the wheel of a Porsche 935 (which you can see in the “Americans at Le Mans” exhibition), and put in a great performance with co-drivers Dirk Barbour and Rolf Stommelen, finishing second – much to the delight of his many admirers!

Jean-Louis Trintignant

Jean-Louis Trintignant has motor racing in his blood as the nephew of Maurice Trintignant, a very popular French Formula One driver in the 1950s. Jean-Louis was a versatile driver, trying his hand at virtually every motorsport discipline. The 24 Hours of Le Mans was therefore pretty much mandatory for him, and he took to the start in a Porsche 935 in 1980. Unfortunately, he didn't finish the race.

Patrick Dempsey

A worthy successor to Paul Newman, Grey’s Anatomy’s Dr McDreamy has taken part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times: his first outing was in 2009 to raise money for two charities – one American and one French – helping children with heart defects. He came back in 2013 and 2014, and finished in an excellent second place with his own team in the GTE Am class in 2015. That same team is fielding a 911 RSR in GTE Pro at this year’s race, but Dempsey will not be at the wheel this time.

 

Did you know?

To shoot '"Le Mans", the production company actually fielded a car in the race. The Porsche 908/02 was driven by Herbert Linge and Jonathon Williams and fitted with two cameras to capture genuine race scenes. Despite the harsh weather conditions and the time spent changing reels of film, the car went all the way to the chequered flag in a race in which many competitors were forced to retire.