Le Mans: A Crown Jewel of Motorsports

The 2025 summer blockbuster movie F1, starring Brad Pitt, includes several races in Europe, which has a grand history with auto racing. During the heyday of LIFE magazine’s original run racing was pretty much the top sport on the continent, and in 1953 the magazine sent staff photographer Frank Scherschel to cover one of its marquee races, 24 Hours of Le Mans.

As its name suggests, 24 Hours of Le Mans is an endurance event, where victory is about who goes the furthest in the allotted time, rather than who reaches the finish line first. Drivers switch off with teammates during the round-the-clock race, which takes place on a mix of tracks and city streets. The mix of surfaces meant that Le Mans cars were designed in a way that made them look more like everyday vehicles than your average race car.

Le Mans was once characterized by Sports Illustrated as “more a happening than a neat sports competition” owing to the spread-out nature of the course and also the duration of the competition. The photos Scherschel took for LIFE reflect that. The scene looks like a music festival as must as it does a sporting event. In addition to capturing the action on the track, he took in the entire scene, including the track’s popular “La Maison du Cafe”—coffee was going to be the drink of choice for many at a 24-hour-event. Although the track also had a “Le Vin de Bordeaux” concession stand, a reminder that this was, after all, France.

Scherschel was sure to capture the most distinctive element of the race back then, which was known as the “Le Mans start.” Drivers stood opposite where their cars were lined up, and then when the starter’s pistols fired they ran to their cars, hit the ignition and pulled out. That style of start was phased out for safety reasons in 1969.

While the start has changed, the 24 Hours of Le Mans continues today, and it stands as the oldest endurance race in the world. In June 2025 the 93rd running of the race was won by a Ferrari team for the third year in a row.

The Le Mans road race, 1953.

Frank Scherschel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Alberto Ascari (second from right), who would win the Formula One season championship that year, hung out with group of racers in the dugout at the Le Mans road race, 1953.

Frank Scherschel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The Le Mans road race, 1953.

Frank Scherschel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Back in 1953 the Le Mans road race began with the drivers making a running start to their cars.

Frank Scherschel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock