Clever people, the organisers of the Le Vingt-Quatre Heures du Mans. The annual 24-hour race at Le Mans has been with us since 1923, when the Chenard et Walcker “Sport” of Andre Lagache and Rene Leonard completed 2,209 kilometers at an average speed of 92.06kph over the 24-hour period. Of course, the entrants list for the first few years did read decidedly French but across the Channel it didn’t take long before the English realized what good sport could be…

19xx. Photo: Steve Oom