2012 24 Hours of Le Mans

2012 24 Hours of Le Mans
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The 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: 24 Heures du Mans 2012) was the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race, and formed the third round of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship season. It was held on 16–17 June 2012 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and was organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO).

For the second year in a row the race was won by Marcel Fässler, Benoît Tréluyer, and André Lotterer, who were driving an e-tron quattro, hybrid electric version of the Audi R18. They were a lap ahead of their sister R18 e-tron quattro entry, and three laps ahead of a conventionally powered Audi R18 ultra. This victory made the Audi R18 e-tron quattro the first hybrid electric vehicle to win at Le Mans, as well as the first with four-wheel drive.

A test session was held at the circuit two weeks before the race, on 3 June, scheduled to avoid clashing with events within the 2012 Formula One season. The race itself was also scheduled so as to avoid Formula One event clashes.

For the second year, the ACO granted 56 invitations to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Entries were divided between the LMP1 (Le Mans Prototype 1), LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2), LMGTE Pro (Le Mans GT Endurance Professional), and LMGTE Am (Le Mans GT Endurance Amateur) categories, while a final 56th entry was granted for the Nissan-engined DeltaWing, which does not conform to any of the four categories.

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