Competition, Cars And Timekeeping At The 24 Hours Of Le Mans

If we were to condense everything fierce, glamorous, and dangerous about motorsport, it’s highly likely we would end up with something like the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race has got all the ingredients making a motorsport pinnacle, and then some. Over the course of twenty-four relentless hours for which the race is run, and in the grand build-up to it, a perfect synthesis of passion-juice is poured in generous measures for literally every single motorsport enthusiast across the globe. For those in attendance, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and for the ones glued to their screens, stealing time from packed schedules, it’s no less special.

As someone who ardently follows various categories of motorsport, take my word for it - nothing, absolutely nothing, comes close to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This race is a whole championship-worth drama, excitement, heartbreak, on-track action, and inevitable motorsport misfortunes bottled in one race.

It’s also pretty distant from the usual motorsport format. Well, that goes for endurance racing in general. If while you’re following the race from home, you get called to a Sunday afternoon catch-up with friends, and when you come back, the cars are still going round. Even if you get to the dentist’s appointment, sit through the aftermath of anaesthetic-induced numbness and also when the numbness fades away, the cars are still racing around the Circuit de la Sarthe. And not just streaking around in circles, but clocking in consistently fast laps. Now, that’s endurance!

When cars scream down the Mulsanne Straight at 340 kph, day or night, and pit crews snatch mere minutes of shut eye here and there, the relentless rhythm of Le Mans keeps on. And when it finally ends? That’s a sight to witness. You can’t help but stand and applaud what these machines, drivers, engineers, and teams have achieved over 1,440 relentless minutes and 5,300 kilometres. Not just those on the podium - but all of them: 62 cars, 13 manufacturers, and 186 drivers.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans isn’t just a battle against rivals - it’s a battle against time itself.

Timing The Longest Day In Motorsport

Every motorsport event measures time. But Le Mans is somewhat different. Unlike Formula 1 or any other category of track racing, Le Mans is a marathon at full throttle. The race doesn’t end after a set number of laps - it ends when a total of 24 hours has passed, from 4:00 PM on Saturday till 4:00 PM on Sunday. The car that covers the greatest distance in 24 hours is the winner.

This fundamental rule transforms the race into a high-speed game against time:

• Pit strategy must account for day, night, rain, and fatigue.
• Mechanical reliability is tested like nowhere else - one tiny failure can cost hours.
• Driver stamina is pushed to the brink as they battle exhaustion, darkness, and G-forces for total stints of maximum 14 hours.

The clock never stops. And neither do the competitors.

Timekeeping Precision In Motion

Nowhere in motorsport is the essence of timekeeping more crucial than at Le Mans. When a race lasts 24 hours, every single second becomes currency. The race is a masterclass in timing: pit stops choreographed down to the tenth of a second, tire swaps and refuels measured with utmost precision.

This is where elite timekeeping instruments earn their prestige. From the early days of hand-stopped chronographs to today’s atomic-level accuracy, here timekeeping has evolved into an element that defines victory and defeat.

• 1920s-1930s: Mechanical stopwatches and handwritten lap charts. Human error was a constant threat.
• 1960s-1970s: Electronic timing emerged, reducing discrepancies.
• Today: FIA’s high-tech systems track cars with millisecond precision, using transponders, synchronized chronometers, RFID technology, GPS telemetry and even AI-powered analytics.

At Le Mans, a single second lost in the pit lane can mean the difference between a podium and anonymity. A 30-minute mechanical repair? Well, that’s an eternity. Yet teams have triumphed even after long garage sessions - such is the chaotic rhythm of the race. Never say never at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Rolex, A Long-Term Partner

Since 2001, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has enlisted Rolex to keep time for the most important day on the motorsport calendar. The brand’s long-standing association with motorsport in general and particularly the endurance race in Le Mans is completely redefining sport sponsorship. From ensuring precision telemetry to offering specially engraved Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytonas for the winners, Rolex is every bit intrinsic to this greatest motorsport spectacle on the planet.

Tom Kristensen - the most successful driver in the history of Le Mans with none victories is a Rolex Testimonee and an ardent admirer of the Crown’s impact on the sport. “You carry a win at Le Mans with you forever. When I think about the history of the race and Rolex’s commitment to motor sport, I feel very proud, but also humbled.” - Tom Kristensen.

As a very significant aside to the usual practices of the Manufacture, Rolex, to the broader watch community’s astonishment, released a special edition ‘Le Mans’ Daytona Ref. 126529LN for the 100th running of the 24 hours of Le Mans in 2023. This white gold model featured a re-configured dial layout and a new caliber to function the 24hr sub-register at 9 o’clock instead of the usual 12hr sub-register. Rolex discontinued and replaced the white gold model with a yellow gold Le Mans Daytona in 2024. The latter too was discontinued earlier this year and very discreetly replaced with an Everose gold variant.

Various precious metal iterations of the Rolex 'Le Mans' Daytona. Source - Hodinkee & Everest.

What remains now is the platinum iteration of the ‘Le Mans’ Daytona. Fingers crossed for that!

Technological Evolution in Pursuit of Time

Every year, the race at Le Mans becomes a laboratory for pushing boundaries - not just of speed, but of time efficiency. Hybrid systems, regenerative braking, aerodynamics, alternative fuels - all serve one objective - time optimization. How fast can you go while using the least fuel? How can you maintain pace with fewer pit stops? How do you ensure drivers stay alert across multiple shifts in a 24-hour window?

Modern telemetry means that race engineers have real-time data on hundreds of variables - tire pressure, brake wear, fuel flow, and engine temperatures, all to shave seconds off a stint or add minutes to reliability. Even the way drivers are rotated is optimized to perfection. A typical Le Mans team uses three drivers, each pushing their physical and mental boundaries in 2 to 4-hour shifts. Their performance too is monitored, not just by stopwatch, but by biometric sensors.

The Checkered Flag

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is motorsport madness and mythology. It’s the absolute limit of human and mechanical performance, yielded alongside a collaboration with time. The ones that keep pace with it for 24 unforgettable hours emerge triumphant.

As the checkered flag falls, one truth remains: That time is the only opponent that never tires. And Le Mans is where we fight it, and sometimes, just sometimes - win!

The 93rd running of the 24 hours of Le Mans 2025 will start on 14th June and end on 15th June.