A new logo, new technical regulations and fresh

excitement placed the 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours

under the banner of innovation. In front of a record

crowd of 263 000 spectators the race fulfilled all

its promise. The battles between Toyota, Porsche

and Audi in LM P1 and Ligier and Zytek in LM P2,

and the fantastic scrap between Corvette, Porsche,

Aston Martin and Ferrari in grand touring endurance

kept the spectators on tenterhooks throughout the

24 hours. Finally, victory went to Fässler-Lotterer-Tréluyer,

the trio's third since 2011 and Audi's thirteenth

since 2000 in a car that used 30 % less fuel

than the R18 e-tron quattro, which won 12 months

earlier. In LM P2 the outcome was decided in the final

hour with British team Jota Sport snatching victory.

In grand touring the spoils went to Ferrari with its

458 Italia in GTE Pro after its success in 2012 and its

win in the Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours a few weeks

before the Sarthe classic. In GTE Am Aston Martin

emerged victorious in the year that Prodrive, which

prepares and runs the V8 Vantages, is celebrating

its 30th birthday. The 2014 race was an all-action

thriller punctuated with numerous upsets which you

can relive in full in words and pictures in this book.