The
24 Hours of Le Mans (
French: 24 Heures du Mans) is an annual 24-hour
automobile endurance race organised by the automotive group
Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and held on the
Circuit de la Sarthe race track close to the city of
Le Mans, the capital of the
French department of
Sarthe.[1][2] It was first staged as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency in
1923,[3] after the automotive journalist
Charles Faroux, the ACO general secretary Georges Durand and the industrialist Emile Coquile agreed to hold the race for car manufacturers to test vehicle durability, equipment and reliability.[1] From the first event in 1923, the ACO advocated sexual equality by permitting women to participate at Le Mans, ranking them equally with men under its performance standards.[4] From 1957, the ACO refused to allow women to enter the event after the fatal accident of
Annie Bousquet at the
1956 12 Hours of Reims,[a][6] as well as spectator deaths in the
1955 Le Mans disaster and the
1957 Mille Miglia.[7] The restriction was lifted in
1971, possibly due to the
women's liberation movement reaching French motorsport.[8]
As of the
2023 24 Hours of Le Mans,[update] there have been 66 female drivers representing 15 countries who have started the race a total of 155 times and have finished on 85 occasions.[b][10]Anne-Charlotte Verney of France holds the record for the most starts in the race with ten.[11] Belgian
Vanina Ickx is second with seven starts and
Marie-Claude Beaumont of France and Switzerland's
Rahel Frey are third with six starts each. The first two female drivers to compete at the event were
Marguerite Mareuse and
Odette Siko in
1930. France is the most represented country, having produced 23 female participants, followed by the United Kingdom with 16 female drivers and Belgium with five female racers. Colombia and the Netherlands became the latest countries to be represented when
Tatiana Calderón and
Beitske Visser made their debuts in
2020. The most recent woman to make her Le Mans debut was
Doriane Pin in 2023.[10]
Since the first race in 1923, there have been 30 all-female squads, consisting of either two or three drivers. There have been two all-female teams who have won their class.[10] The first all-female crew to win their category was the "Christine" – Ecurie Seiko team of
Christine Beckers,
Yvette Fontaine and
Marie Laurent in the
1974 edition and the second was the Société Esso trio of
Christine Dacremont,
Marianne Hoepfner and
Michèle Mouton in the
1975 race.[12][13] The race to feature the highest number of all-female squads was the
1935 event featuring four teams.[10] The highest overall finish by an individual woman at Le Mans was achieved by Siko, who came fourth in the
1932 edition. The best performing all-female team was the seventh-placed Mme Mareuse duo of Maruese and Siko in the 1930 edition.[11]
Drivers
By name
Key
1
Number in the best finish column denotes a driver's highest finish
Spurring, Quentin (2011a). Le Mans 1949–59: The Official History of the World's Greatest Motor Race.
Sherborne,
Dorset: Evro Publishing.
ISBN978-1-84425-537-5.
The
24 Hours of Le Mans (
French: 24 Heures du Mans) is an annual 24-hour
automobile endurance race organised by the automotive group
Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and held on the
Circuit de la Sarthe race track close to the city of
Le Mans, the capital of the
French department of
Sarthe.[1][2] It was first staged as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency in
1923,[3] after the automotive journalist
Charles Faroux, the ACO general secretary Georges Durand and the industrialist Emile Coquile agreed to hold the race for car manufacturers to test vehicle durability, equipment and reliability.[1] From the first event in 1923, the ACO advocated sexual equality by permitting women to participate at Le Mans, ranking them equally with men under its performance standards.[4] From 1957, the ACO refused to allow women to enter the event after the fatal accident of
Annie Bousquet at the
1956 12 Hours of Reims,[a][6] as well as spectator deaths in the
1955 Le Mans disaster and the
1957 Mille Miglia.[7] The restriction was lifted in
1971, possibly due to the
women's liberation movement reaching French motorsport.[8]
As of the
2023 24 Hours of Le Mans,[update] there have been 66 female drivers representing 15 countries who have started the race a total of 155 times and have finished on 85 occasions.[b][10]Anne-Charlotte Verney of France holds the record for the most starts in the race with ten.[11] Belgian
Vanina Ickx is second with seven starts and
Marie-Claude Beaumont of France and Switzerland's
Rahel Frey are third with six starts each. The first two female drivers to compete at the event were
Marguerite Mareuse and
Odette Siko in
1930. France is the most represented country, having produced 23 female participants, followed by the United Kingdom with 16 female drivers and Belgium with five female racers. Colombia and the Netherlands became the latest countries to be represented when
Tatiana Calderón and
Beitske Visser made their debuts in
2020. The most recent woman to make her Le Mans debut was
Doriane Pin in 2023.[10]
Since the first race in 1923, there have been 30 all-female squads, consisting of either two or three drivers. There have been two all-female teams who have won their class.[10] The first all-female crew to win their category was the "Christine" – Ecurie Seiko team of
Christine Beckers,
Yvette Fontaine and
Marie Laurent in the
1974 edition and the second was the Société Esso trio of
Christine Dacremont,
Marianne Hoepfner and
Michèle Mouton in the
1975 race.[12][13] The race to feature the highest number of all-female squads was the
1935 event featuring four teams.[10] The highest overall finish by an individual woman at Le Mans was achieved by Siko, who came fourth in the
1932 edition. The best performing all-female team was the seventh-placed Mme Mareuse duo of Maruese and Siko in the 1930 edition.[11]
Drivers
By name
Key
1
Number in the best finish column denotes a driver's highest finish
Spurring, Quentin (2011a). Le Mans 1949–59: The Official History of the World's Greatest Motor Race.
Sherborne,
Dorset: Evro Publishing.
ISBN978-1-84425-537-5.