Le Mans Circuit Voted France's Favourite Monument

It’s rare (in the UK anyway) to see motorsport venues mentioned on prime-time television, unless there is some kind of elite-level racing taking place, that is.

That’s not the case in France, it seems, as the historic circuit has been voted as the nation’s most cherished monument. And we’re pretty sure that kind of thing would never happen in the UK!

The surprising news is the result of a TV show that sets out to find, you guessed it, France's most cherished monuments. And when you think about some of the more traditional buildings that would fall into that category (Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower - I could go on), the fact that the motorsport venue was chosen makes the result all the more impressive.

On the point about a motorsport venue not being a ‘traditional’ option, the presenter on the show who announced the result (while driving around the track in a stunning Bugatti Type 35) explained the thinking behind it. “The Le Mans circuit is certainly not a monument as such. But it is a popular heritage site,” he said, “which is still more than a hundred years old. Heritage is vast, and the 24 hours circuit is a perfect illustration of it”.

The Circuit de la Sarthe first hosted motorsport events in 1923 and was originally a mammoth 10.7 miles in length. The modern-day track is considerably shorter at 8.4 miles, although it is still one of the longer racing tracks still in existence.

The layout that will be familiar to most bikers and race fans is the Bugatti circuit, a 2.6-mile FIM and FIA spec layout that plays host to MotoGP and the FIM Motorcycle Endurance World Championship (EWC). It’s a firm favourite with fans and racers alike, a feeling that is clearly shared with the French public.