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Driving to Le Mans 2025

From Breda it is about a 6 to 7 hour drive towards Le Mans. Depending on the number of stops. Perfect to drive in one day, especially in cars like the Toyota GR Supra and GR Yaris. Only you refuel more often. Anyway, the fun starts in the direction of Le Mans, especially if you call yourself a petrolhead. You encounter plenty of nice stuff along the way. Especially if you avoid the route via Paris. That route is quite unpredictable and around Paris it is almost always busy.

Driving via Rouen

A better and more enjoyable route is to drive via Rouen. An absolute must, because the British also hook up at some point. They come off the boat and drive the same route towards Le Mans. And you notice that. Along the way it is great spotting cars and enjoying the scenery. During our outward journey we also happened to catch up with Toyotas from the United Kingdom. So we unexpectedly formed a nice column with, among others, a GR Supra and GR86.

Gas station turned into car meeting

Quick refueling is not an option, by the way. During our refueling stop, it seemed as if we had arrived at a car meeting. Bizarrely many striking cars, from classic to supercar. From a Ferrari 12Cilindri to a Lamborghini Aventador, several GT3s, Aston Martins and a classic Sunbeam. After refueling, the car spotting continued merrily. You notice so well that you share the asphalt with other car enthusiasts. For example, a Honda S2000 giving its VTEC a hard time, or a Lotus Elise with rooftop tent and a beautiful Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Little by little, you approach the sacred ground of Le Mans.

Le Mans: a beautiful city

After a long travel day of about 7.5 hours, we arrive in the heart of Le Mans city, secretly a very nice city to visit even outside of Le Mans. The city itself has a population of 130,000, but during Le Mans that number of people triples. Night falls, unsuspecting of what was ahead of us. In the evening, we arrived at the Le Mans Country Club for a nice dinner. A historic location that is also well worth a visit, as the Bentley Boys used to celebrate their Le Mans victories here on this beautiful grounds. Taste was something those gentlemen had. Also waiting for us in the parking lot … four examples of the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Whew!

Aston Martin Valkyrie

Aston Martin produced a total of 275 examples of this Valkyrie between November 2021 and December 2024, including 150 coupes, 85 Spiders and 40 AMR Pro examples. Unique to the Valkyrie is its atmospheric 6.5-liter Cosworth V12 engine supplemented with electric power. Good for 1,176 horsepower. The car was designed by Adrian Newey, the world-renowned Formula One designer. In fact, this is just a Formula One car with a license plate. A bizarre ending to Day 1. And there is even more to come. On to day two.

Circuit de la Sarthe

Day two begins at the race track. Circuit de la Sarthe. The circuit consists of a piece of public road and a piece of track, and as a result, stands a track with a length of 13.6 km: one of the largest circuits in the world. And on this iconic asphalt, several brands have already made history. Think Mazda, McLaren, Audi, Peugeot, BMW, Jaguar, Bentley, Ford, Ferrari and of course several times Toyota. Toyota previously won in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Drivers Parade

Traditionally, a day before the 24-hour race, there is also a real Drivers Parade in Le Mans city itself. Thousands of people attend this as well. All drivers then pass by in stylish transport through the streets of Le Mans. Each team has three drivers and there are 62 teams. So a lot of drivers and cars pass by. The drivers are welcomed like true stars.

Car Paddock at Le Mans

The Car Paddock in the town itself is also interesting. Among the various movie icons on display are the Peugeot 406 from the movie TAXI, James Bond’s BMW Z3, DMC DeLorean from Back to the Future, original transportation from Jurassic Park and from the movie hit Ghostbusters, including owner in matching outfit. Thumbs up for this man (see video!) Secretly there are also several firsts, such as the new Alpine A390, the new DS Number 8 and a Toyota Hilux H2 with hydrogen drive train. Other than that, mostly lots of fun in the heart of this atmospheric city.

Also in the square is a Ferrari 296 with the Le Mans 24 Hours trophy on the passenger seat. This iconic and especially towering trophy goes to the team that manages to win this 24-hour endurance race.

Magic of Le Mans

You can already tell: Le Mans is more than a race. But what is that magic of Le Mans anyway? We ask Nyck de Vries, former Formula One driver and Toyota Gazoo Racing driver. “It would be helpful if you are a motorsport fan but I think the whole event is a fantastic show and there are lots of different activities around the event. The event also has a rich history. The complete event lasts for ten days. There are also plenty of fun things to do in the city. The 24 Hours of Le Mans offers campsites, barbecues, concerts, festivals. In short: plenty of activities for young and old.”

De Vries: “Typical Le Mans is that we actually smell the BBQ smell when we are driving the car. The air really gets to us in the cabin, even at over 300 km/h. You also experience that during the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, but here during Le Mans it is extra intense. A very special experience.”

Merkendorp

Back to the racetrack. Because if you come to see it, absolutely visit the brand village as well. It is more than worth it. Here participating but also non-participating manufacturers often present new models. In the same area you will find various stores of brands and race teams for buying merchandise. And believe us: it is incredibly busy there. BMW presented this year the new M2 CS in a purple color as well as a unique Art Car. Genesis announced that they will also drive in the Hypercar class and presented a GV60 Magma Concept. In honor of 40 years of Toyota in Le Mans, the Japanese automaker brought out several iconic Le Mans racers, such as the 85C with which the Le Mans adventure began in 1985, the TS040 and TS050 Hybrid.

The new Peugeot e-208 GTi

Peugeot also had big news. This brand presented at Le Mans the new e-208 GTi, a 100% electric hot hatch with 280 horsepower, a 0-100 time of 5.7 seconds and a mechanical pin differential on the front axle. The car stands out nicely with different bumpers, specific GTI wheels and a large diffuser. We’re curious to see how it drives. And at Ferrari, among other things, is this new hypercar: the Ferrari F80, successor to icons such as the F40, F50, Enzo and LaFerrari.

Visit the campground!

At the campsite we come across some very special cars. From a whole collection of Renault RS models, several Porsches, several Caterhams with which you can also do excellent camping. There was even a Lamborghini Diablo at the campsite. The owner has been coming here to Le Mans with his Diablo for 15 years. The black GT3 RS and 430 Scuderia also stood out. Coincidentally, it is the same Scuderia that passed us on the highway on the way there. We also came across a Porsche 911 Dakar, a nice company with a Caterham 21, a TVR Tuscan S, Vanquish, Lancer Evo 8 MR FQ 320, Toyota GR86 with ducktail, Ferrari California and Lotus Emira. So lots of variety!

Walking the grid

On the Grid, chances are you can meet your favorite drivers. But do keep in mind top crowds. It seems to get busier on the grid every year. But the atmosphere is great. Because you can get very close to the cars. And then … then it’s almost 4 p.m. and everyone has to get off the track. There is first a ceremony where the army comes to bring the official start/finish flag. Roger Federer is waving the flag this year instead of a racket. Before the eyes of 320,000 people, the endurance race begins at the stroke of 4 o’clock.

Wear earplugs

Wearing earplugs is recommended, as some cars – such as Cadillac’s Hyperar – produce 108 dB. The LMP2s are also very loud at 105 dB. Magisterially, Aston Martin’s Valkyrie, with atmospheric V12, sounds magnificent. The atmosphere is sensational. Especially when you also get an inside look at Toyota GAZOO Racing. We are not allowed to film everything in the pit box, but we do have some fun facts. A total of 140 engineers from 28 different nationalities work in the pit box. Of those 140 people, 30 engineers work in the control room. Each engineer tracks and analyzes specific sensors in the car. The team can rebuild the car up to three times with all spare parts. In total, they may use 56 tires throughout the event. Toyota GAZOO Racing’s complete team consists of 400 people. And that is only relatively few.

Impression Le Mans 2025

So much for this impression of Le Mans 2025. Not a race report, but more of a look behind the scenes of the event. And that event is sensational. Le Mans is not a race, but an experience! Enjoyment from start to finish. Ferrari won the race in the 2025 Hypercar class. Toyota eventually finished fifth in the hypercar class, after a Ferrari was disqualified afterwards. In 2026, more brands will join this Hypercar class, such as Genesis. In 2027, Ford and McLaren will join as well. In short: it gets more exciting every year! And from 2028 we may be listening to the first hydrogen combustion engines. We are looking forward to it.