In honor of the 78th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2010, the michelinracingusa.com staff offers 24 bits of Le Mans history, factoids and trivia. See www.michelinracingusa.com for updates, features and the complete list, plus Rick Dole photos.

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Note 23 of 24: Before the Flag Flies

The Rolex will soon click off the final seconds.  The marshals will wave every flag at their stations. The checkered flag will appear and  the celebrations will soon begin, but the winner of the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans is already clear.

The winner is the race itself, and the demands it makes of everyone who accepts the invitation to dance at the world’s greatest race.

The challenges of Le Mans are many and the tests of man and machine can be humbling.

A race that opened with the defending champions from Peugeot holding the first four positions, as the three factory cars were joined by last year’s winning car now privately entered, will end with all four cars retired. They are not alone, as the incredible pace and competition takes a heavy toll with Corvette, Risi Ferrari, Flying Lizard and many others all out.

In recent years, the race organizers have adjusted the rules in an attempt to keep the top LMP1 cars to a three-minute thirty-second target lap time.  Teams beat that this year by nearly 11 seconds. 

Top manufacturers and teams embrace the concept of Le Mans, the history, the tradition and most of all the spirit of competition. 

There is no shame in losing at Le Mans or breaking a car. To those teams who pushed and pushed until they pushed too far, their efforts, and even their failures, bring honor. As racers they learn from this race and now plan to return to make success all the sweeter.