Le Mans is a 1971 action film directed by Lee H. Katzin. Starring Steve McQueen, it features footage from the actual 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race. The film is today still popular among race fans as it is a relatively accurate depiction of the era, with a lot of racing but very little dialogue (Indeed, there is no dialogue whatsoever until approximately 35 minutes into the film). Due to this, and partly to the American market's general low awareness of the Le Mans 24 Hour race, it was only a moderate success at the box office there. It followed in the wake of the similar 1966 film Grand Prix. Main parts of the film were shot on the circuit during the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans race. McQueen had intended to actually race a Porsche 917 together with Jackie Stewart, but the #26 entry was not accepted. Instead, in the movie, he was shown starting the race on the blue #20 Gulf-Porsche 917K, which in the real race was driven by Jo Siffert and Brian Redman. The race-leading white #25 Porsche 917 "Long tail" was piloted by Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens, Jr.. The Porsche 908/2 which McQueen had previously co-driven to a second place in the 12 Hours of Sebring was entered by Solar Productions to compete in the race, equipped with heavy movie cameras providing actual racing footage from the track. This #49 camera car, which can be briefly seen in the starting grid covered with a black sheet (at approximately 17:51) and again at just before the 79 minute-mark (at 1:18:42) racing past the starting line, was driven by Porsche's Herbert Linge and Jonathan Williams.[2] It travelled 282 laps (3,798 km) and finished the race in 9th position [3], but it was not classified as it had not covered the required minimum distance due to the stops to change film reels. It did, however, manage to finish 2nd in the P3.0 class. Additional footage shot after the race used genuine racing cars of the day, mainly Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512 models, painted as real competitors which staged the main rivalry in the 1970 season and the film.[2] According to rules, 25 of each sports car had to be built, so enough were available, compared to few if any of the prototype class. In the crash scenes, cheaper Lola T70 chassis were sacrificed, disguised with bodywork of the Porsche and Ferrari. Despite the film's lack of success, the film now has a large cult following as it is considered difficult to replicate realistic racing scenes with the use of CGI and without an over-dependency on stunt doubles. Also the film tends to be used as a referencing point by motorsport and car media, when referring to the race itself. For example, at the time of the film's release, a pitwall was added for the safety of pit crews as other circuits already had similar set-ups. Although the pit lane has been commonly used as a referencing point in the film, it was unpopular with both drivers and pit personnel for being cramped as well as difficult to get cars in and out of the pits, even when repairs were needed. It wasn't until following the 1990 race that the outdated pit lane was demolished in favor of a modern complex which is still in use today. In addition, the 1970 race was the first in which the famous Le Mans "running start", in which the drivers lined up against the pit wall and ran to their cars as the flag was dropped, was not used. Instead, the race started with the drivers already strapped into the cars. The previous year, Jacky Ickx had made his famous protest against the danger of the traditional start by waiting for all of the other drivers to run to their cars and start the race, before walking to his car and fastening his seat belt carefully before joining the fray and eventually winning the race with co-driver Jackie Oliver. The song is "I Can't Drive 55" by Sammy Hagar. THIS VIDEO IS FOR EDUCATIONAL VIEWING PURPOSES ONLY AND NOT FOR SALE, UNDER THE FAIR USE ACT.This video "Compilation" is protected by copyright, Title 17, Ch 1, section 103. The copyright ...