I cued up Thin Lizzy before the start, but at the end of the race it was still on the turntable.” I took a bunch of seven-inch vinyls and LPs – in previous years they played music to fill the gaps. I drove down with Harry in a Dodge Day Van towing a caravan – we built the studio in that, and I slept on the floor. “At first it was pretty basic – nobody was a pro broadcaster. “It all started in the late 1980s with a chap called Harry Turner, the father of Radio Le Mans,” says Hindhaugh. How did it all happen? On the eve of the 24-hour race’s 100 th anniversary, as he prepares to drive a Porsche Cayenne from his home near Silverstone to La Sarthe, Hindhaugh explains. In the racing world, Hindhaugh and his crew are radio royalty, and – like the races they call – their story is one of endurance, perseverance and a little luck. John Hindhaughīeyond Le Mans, they provide live coverage of sports car races all over the world, from Bathurst to Daytona to the Nürburgring, and every round of America’s IMSA Championship. Just the ticket for the ups and downs of an around-the-clock race like Le Mans.įor many of the 250,000 fans at the circuit, including the assembled media, race teams plus millions more listening around the planet, Hindhaugh and his Radio Le Mans team are the voice of the race, broadcasting live and uninterrupted, online and over the airwaves. Raised in Sunderland in north-east England, his accent is loveable, lyrical and – at times – supercharged.

At this year’s race, along with a team of co-commentators, pitlane reporters and special guests, John Hindhaugh will once again describe the race to the world. Above the never-ending noise of the 24 Hours of Le Mans – above the blare of more than 60 cars through day and night, above the roars from the grandstands and the well-oiled cheers from the campsites – one man’s voice stands out.

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