2005 24 Hours of Le Mans

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The 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans took place on June 18–19 at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. It was the 73rd running of the race, a famous 24-hour endurance event for Le Mans Prototype and Grand Touring cars. About 230,000 people attended.

Pole position went to the Pescarolo Sport C60 Hybrid Judd driven by Jean-Christophe Boullion, Emmanuel Collard and Érik Comas after Collard set the fastest qualifying time. The No. 16 Pescarolo led early, but a gearbox problem sent it to the pits, allowing Emanuele Pirro’s Champion Racing Audi R8 to take the lead until Pirro crashed after a safety-car period.

The race was won by the No. 3 Champion Racing Audi R8, driven by JJ Lehto, Tom Kristensen and Marco Werner. This was Kristensen’s seventh Le Mans win, Werner’s first, and Audi’s fifth overall since 2000. The No. 2 Audi finished third, with the No. 16 Pescarolo (the pole car) securing second place.

In other classes:
- LMP2: The Ray Mallock MG-Lola EX264 won, driven by Thomas Erdos, Mike Newton and Warren Hughes.
- LMGT1: Corvette Racing took the class win with the No. 64 Corvette C6.R, driven by Olivier Beretta, Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen.
- LMGT2: Alex Job Racing won with a Porsche 911 GT3-RSR, with White Lightning Racing and Flying Lizard Motorsports finishing behind.

This race, noted for its high attrition and dramatic moments, highlighted Audi’s strength in LMP1 and showcased competitive battles across all four classes.