Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/2008 July 26

This article is about the French motor racing circuit. For the French road bicycle racing stage race, see Circuit de la Sarthe (cycling).

Circuit de la Sarthe

Location	Le Mans, France
Time zone	GMT+1
Coordinates	47°56′15.7″N 0°13′32.2″E
Opened	1923
Major events	Automobile Club de l'Ouest 24 Hours of Le Mans
Website	http://www.lemans.org/en/
Surface	Asphalt
Length	13.629 km (8.469 miles)

The Circuit de la Sarthe, located near Le Mans, France, is a non-permanent race course most famous as the venue for the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race. The track uses local roads that remain open to the public most of the year. The circuit, in its present configuration, is 13.629 km (8.469 mi) long, making it one of the longest circuits in the world. Over the years, several purpose built sections have replaced the normal roads, especially in 1972, when the Porsche Curves section bypassed the dangerous former Maison Blanche section between buildings. Since 1965, a smaller but permanent Bugatti Circuit was added which shares the pit lane facilities and the first corner (including the famous Dunlop bridge) with the longer version.

Drivers frequently refer to Le Mans as a race where up to 85% of the time is spent on full throttle, meaning immense stress on engine and drivetrain components. However, the times spent reaching maximum speed also mean tremendous wear on the brakes and suspension as cars must slow from over Template:Auto mph to around Template:Auto mph for the end of Mulsanne in a short distance. Downforce in the era of Group C cars helped braking to some degree but presently cars are tending towards low downforce to seek higher speeds in the face of power limiting regulations.

Track modifications

The track has undergone many modifications over the years. It was most famous for its 6km (3.7mi) long straight, known locally as Ligne Droite des Hunaudières or in English as the Mulsanne Straight, a part of the route départementale (for the Sarthe département) D338 (formerly Route Nationale N138). Speeds on the Mulsanne Straight had reached over 400 km/h (250 mph) during the late 1980s and so due to safety concerns two roughly equally spaced chicanes were consequently added to the straight before the 1990 race to limit the achievable maximum speed. This was a result of FIA decision in 1990 that it would no longer sanction any circuit which had a straight longer than two kilometres.

• 
  An on site map of the circuit.
• 
  The area before the Dunlop bridge, modified for 2006.
• 
  The Ford Chicanes.
• 
  A large portion of the track still consists of Sarthe Route départementale D338.

See also

• Bugatti Circuit
• 24 Hours of Le Mans

External links

• Official website
• Trackpedia's guide to driving Le Mans
• Satellite Picture by Google Maps
• History and track maps 1921-2006