The fourth round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship takes place at the Circuit de La Sarthe in France, the venue of the most important race of the season, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Alessandro Pier Guidi, winner of the Centenary 24 Hours in 2023 with the Ferrari 499P shared with James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, describes the iconic circuit that has hosted the most famous endurance marathon in the world since 1923.
“Le Mans is one of the most beautiful tracks as well as one I am most attached to, both because we have achieved extraordinary results in France and because I love high-speed circuits,” says the driver born in 1983, who in his career has won Le Mans twice also with GT cars, in 2019 and 2021 with the 488 GTE, always with James Calado.
Mixing long straights, high-speed corners, and heavy braking zones, the track, which measures 13.626 kilometers and includes 38 turns, represents something unique.
“After the pit straight, we tackle the first corner, a right-hander where braking is tricky because it is easy to lock the outer wheels. Then comes the first chicane, where it is important to cut the curbs without damaging the car, and then a series of difficult ‘esses’ due to changes in elevation.”
Exiting this section leads to the iconic “Tertre Rouge” corner, which precedes the Hunaudières straight: “Where in the past we have reached 347 km/h and then the first chicane, approached with powerful and complicated braking because the car’s low aerodynamic downforce setup forces you to be very precise, similar to the next chicane.”
The Hypercars, after another fast section, arrive at the iconic Mulsanne corner: “Where the combination of braking, the beginning of the corner under braking, and exit speed is the key factor not to lose precious tenths of a second.”
According to the official Ferrari driver, one of the most beautiful parts of the track is the following ‘Indianapolis Esses’: “You enter at very high speed, lightly touching the brakes at the first bend, preparing for the second left corner where braking is much stronger, leading to the only truly slow corner of Le Mans, ‘Arnage,’ which looks simple but is actually very tricky, especially at the entry, where it is easy to lock the rear.”
The cars are then ready to face the final section.
“Exiting Arnage, a straight leads to one of the most fun sequences, several corners in a row where managing tire grip is essential, preparing for the ‘Kart Esses,’ where you slightly cut the left curb and let the car flow to gain speed, arriving at the ‘Raccordement’ without unsettling the car, and then entering the pit straight to complete the lap.”
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