The 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: 24 Heures du Mans) is an annual 24-hour automobile endurance race organised by the automotive group Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and held on the Circuit de la Sarthe race track close to the city of Le Mans, the capital of the French department of Sarthe. It was first held as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency in 1923, after the automotive journalist Charles Faroux to Georges Durand, the ACO general secretary, and the industrialist Emile Coquile, agreed to hold the race for car manufacturers to test vehicle durability, equipment and reliability. Each overall victor is presented with a trophy bearing the event's emblem and the logo of the ACO commissioned by the sporting director Jean-Pierre Moreau in 1993. All three-time consecutive winning manuf