24H du Mans: The race in numbers

0 – Race number of the car occupying Garage 56 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, dedicated to an innovative prototype which races with the other 55 but is not classified.  This year it is the Nissan ZEOD RC.

1 – The R-One is the new LMP1-L prototype entered by Swiss team Rebellion Racing.  Designed in partnership with ORECA and powered by a Toyota engine.

2 – Number of LMP1-H 919 Hybrids entered by Porsche on its return to the top level of prototype racing.

3 – The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the third round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship.

7 – Seven Russian drivers are due to take the start this year, and there are 4 Russian entries – 3 from SMP Racing and one from G-Drive Racing.

8 – Race number of the Toyota TS040 Hybrid of Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi, winners of the first two rounds of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship. Will they get a hat-trick with victory at the 24 Hours?

10 – Ten former winners of the 24 Hours will be lining up for the start of the 2014 edition: Tom Kristensen (nine victories), Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer, Benoît Tréluyer, Alex Wurz (two victories each), Marc Gené, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Loïc Duval and Eric Helary (one victory each).

10/2 –Ten cars will be under the management of Italian team, AF Corse, including the SMP Racing and 8Star Motorsport entries.

12 – Number of victories achieved at the 24 Hours by Audi since its first appearance in 1999.

13 – Thirteen Ferrari 458 Italia cars will be at the start at the 2014 24 Hours.

14 – Nissan will be out in force powering 14 cars in the LMP2 class.

19 – With 19 cars, the LMGTE Am class holds the most entries.

20 – Race number of the Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Mark Webber who will make his return to Le Mans after an absence of 15 years.  He will have as teammates German Timo Bernhard and New Zealander Brendon Hartley.

22 – Number of victories at Le Mans for French tyre manufacturer, Michelin, with 16 consecutive since 1998.

24 – The most coveted race number (apart from No.1!) this year belongs to Sébastien Loeb Racing’s ORECA 03 Nissan which will be driven by René Rast, Jan Charouz and Vincent Capillaire.

34 – Record of wins held at the 24 Hours by a tyre manufacturer…by the British Dunlop company.

37 – Number of French drivers at the start of the 2014 24 Hours.  Next best represented nationalities are Britain (28) and USA (18).

42 – Race number of the LMP2 Zytek-Nissan of Caterham Racing which has in its driver line up Matt McMurry, who at 16 years of age will be the youngest driver to ever take the start of the 24 Hours.

50 – Number of the Larbre Compétition Morgan-Judd to be driven by Keiko Ihara in the LMP2 category; she will be the only female driver at the 2014 24 Hours.

58 – Race number of the Ferrari 458 Italia driven by Fabien Barthez, the former goalie for the French FIFA World Cup team in 1998.  This year’s soccer World Cup begins on Thursday 12 June.

77 – Race number of the Dempsey Racing-Proton Porsche 911 RSR to be driven by Patrick Dempsey.

1,405– The number of accredited journalists at the 2013 event

245,000– The number of spectators who attended last year…the 2014 race looks set to exceed this!
 

Fiona Miller (with thanks to the ACO)

Photos:  1 & 4) CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES (LE MANS, SARTHE, FRANCE), 2013 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, RACE, 22/23 JUNE 2013; 2) SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT (SILVERSTONE, NORTHANTS, UK) 6 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE, 20 APRIL 2014, some of AF Corse's Ferrari 458 Italia entries; 3)  Record holder Dunlop recently announced a partnership with the FIA WEC