2003 24 Hours of Le Mans

A Noël del Bello Racing Reynard 2KQ-LM driven by Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière, Christophe Pillon and Didier André won the Le Mans Prototype 675 (LMP675) class, 32 laps ahead of the second-placed RN Motorsport DBA4 03S-Zytek car of John Nielsen, Casper Elgaard and Hayanari Shimoda.

Porsche took the first six places in the Le Mans Grand Touring (LMGT) category, with an Alex Job Racing (AJR) 911-GT3 RS driven by Sascha Maassen, Emmanuel Collard and Lucas Luhr winning on the team's debut.

[1][2] The race was first held in 1923 after the automotive journalist Charles Faroux, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) general secretary Georges Durand and the industrialist Emile Coquile agreed to hold a test of vehicle reliability and durability.

[4] At a public meeting, drivers were told that crossing two wheels of a car over the white line denoting the circuit's boundaries and onto the kerbing would result in a stop-and-go penalty that would increase in severity if the transgression was repeated.

Audi Sport North America and Corvette also qualified after winning their respective classes at the Petit Le Mans, as did Alex Job Racing (AJR) in the LMGT category.

[11] Team Nasamax, based in Sittingbourne, England, entered the first renewable-fuelled sports prototype racing car at the Le Mans event to raise awareness of renewable fuels.

[13][14] The Reynard 01Q had a 2.65 L (162 cu in) Cosworth V8 turbocharged engine that ran on bio-ethanol fuel,[13] which does not release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere because it is produced from crops.

[13] On 4 May, the circuit hosted a mandatory pre-Le Mans testing day divided into two daytime sessions of four hours each, involving all 50 entries as well as all six reserve cars.

[16] Late in testing, Frank Biela lost control on an oil patch laid by a Pagani Zonda at the Porsche Curves, crashing into a barrier at 120 mph (190 km/h) and damaging the Audi Sport UK car's right-rear corner.

[23] A lack of slower traffic and better grip allowed Kristensen to displace Blundell and twice improved the overall fastest lap to 3 minutes, 32.843 seconds, followed by David Brabham's sister No.

[23][24] 75 minutes into the session, the Team Bucknum Racing Pilbeam-JPX MP91 car's engine failed at Indianapolis corner and spilled oil on the track.

[25][27] Marshals and safety teams spent ten minutes extricating Campbell-Walter from the car, removing a section of carbon fibre bodywork trapping his legs and put him into an ambulance.

Simultaneously, Roland Bervillé spun, collided with a barrier with his front-right corner, and broke the rear wing of the T2M Motorsport car, temporarily stopping the session.

Thomas Erdos' Graham Nash Motorsport Saleen S7-R stopped on his outlap in a gravel trap at the Dunlop Chicane, necessitating trackside assistance.

[38] Both Bentley Speed 8s underwent checks to their ride heights,[39] Ray Mallock rectified a faulty gearbox that leaked oil in the No.

[43] When three privateer Audis passed Lammers, he dropped from second to sixth place as Bentley quickly pulled away from the rest of the field.

Meanwhile, Intersport's Lola-MG took the lead in LMP675 after the RN Motorsport Zytek developed car trouble and AJR led the LMGT category.

[47] The R8 slowed with a lack of fuel through Mulsanne Corner and was retired at the side of the track after Biela's attempt to weave and keep the car running on its starter failed.

88 Prodrive Ferrari came to the pit lane for a two-minute stop to fix a water leak, handing the lead to Kelvin Burt's sister No.

[52] The LMGTS class was a close battle between the Prodrive pair of Kox and Anthony Davidson,[53] who set nearly identical lap times during the seventh hour.

[53][55][56] David Saelens' Panoz, the Courage Compétition of Gounon, and Christophe Tinseau's Riley & Scott Mk III C-Ford were all within 20 seconds of each other for eighth place overall.

8 Bentley pit stop on lap 116 saw a miscommunication between the mechanic holding a jack and a rear tyre fitter that cost him ten seconds.

[55][56] 1Lammers' Racing for Holland car closed a 15-second gap with its faster pace to pass Olivier Beretta's Riley & Scott Ford for fifth overall 19 laps later.

[57] Beretta suffered a puncture after hitting debris on the dirty side of the Mulsanne Straight at 190 mph (310 km/h) and slowed en route to the pit lane.

7 Bentley made a 1-minute and 40-second pit stop to repair minor damage to the front of the car; he retained the overall lead over Brabham's sister No.

[63] After Team Taisan Advan made a pit stop to replace the driver's-side door, all three top LMGT cars were within a lap of each other, led by Johnny Mowlem's No.

Mowlem held it until his car's engine failed on the Mulsanne Straight, handing Lieb's Orbit Porsche the class lead.

93 AJR Porsche led the field until a front splitter problem forced it into the pit lane for four minutes, handing the position to Lieb's Orbit vehicle.

99 XL Racing Ferrari had an rear engine bay fire at the PlayStation Chicane, causing the third deployment of the safety cars.

[77] Johansson's Champion Racing Audi stalled during a pit stop for tyres, fuel, and a driver swap with co-driver Pirro.