( CNN ) -- Spending 24 hours in Le Mans is not for the faint-hearted . The legendary French motor race is for the fearless , the global players , the 24-hour party people . It 's a feat of endurance for drivers , engineers , car manufacturers , media and fans alike . But , if you can muster the strength , the rewards are great ; the experience exhilarating . In the equivalent of 16 Formula One races completed back to back , the professional drivers take on treacherous night conditions and the risk of an accident with one of the amateur entries -- one ex-Formula One star ended last weekend 's race in hospital after a spectacular spill . But the racing is only half of the story . Car corporations spend millions showcasing innovative technology , while off the track fans parade in all manner of costumes . On Sunday Audi continued its recent dominance of an event that dates back to 1923 , as German driver Andre Lotterer took the checkered flag for the second successive year . The La Sarthe circuit in the heart of the French countryside is a Mecca for motorsport fans , and the race provides a unique challenge for competitors that ranks alongside F1 's Monaco Grand Prix and the United States ' Indianapolis 500 as the sport 's blue riband events . Asked to sum up what makes Le Mans so special , the reliably succinct television commentator Martin Brundle resorted to reeling off a list . `` The track , the ambiance , the crowd , the titanic challenge of the phases of the race , you versus the track , you versus the elements , 30 scheduled pit-stops ... '' began the 53-year-old , an ex-F1 driver and a winner at Le Mans in 1990 . He finished 15th overall on Sunday in his first Le Mans race since 2001 , competing alongside his son Alex on Father 's Day . `` It 's just an incredibly complex challenge . We do the equivalent of 16 F1 races in a day if we get to the end of the race -- that 's how tough it is , '' Brundle said . The drivers of the 35 cars that finished last weekend 's race certainly earned a rest -- and a shoulder-rub or two -- in the days that follow Le Mans . Each car had a rotating three-man team of drivers assigned blocks of 45-minute slots behind the wheel , although it was normal for them to stay out on track , pushing on for more than two hours . For many , the biggest challenge is `` the graveyard shift '' when the sun sinks , leaving unblinking headlights and the neon streaks of passing cars to guide the drivers round pitch-black corners . `` At night it feels like a video game , '' said former F1 driver Karun Chandhok , after becoming the first Indian to race at Le Mans . `` It 's so surreal because you 're through the forest and all you 've got are the headlights , the LED dashboard and lights coming towards you . '' Driving through the night is just one hazardous allure of Le Mans . The race is also fraught with potential dangers because it invites four classes of cars of variable speeds as well as professional and amateur drivers to compete together . Britain 's Anthony Davidson , another former F1 driver , is recovering after breaking his back when his front-running Toyota was tipped upside-down and into the air in a collision with a Ferrari sportscar driven by a 52-year-old amateur . Davidson , who cheerily tweeted he was `` happy to be alive , '' knows , just like any racer , that rewards in this sport come with the caveat of great risk . The potential rewards for car manufacturers at Le Mans are no less significant . Audi 's entries put on an ultimate show of strength for their brand , powering to all three overall podium places and the manufacturer 's 11th Le Mans win in 12 years . But rumors in the Le Mans paddock suggested the German car company spends at least $ 125 million a year on research and development alone for its Le Mans on-track project . The American Starworks Motorsport team won the junior LMP2 category , while the Italian Ferrari AF Corse team won the professional race for sportscars . Race organizers , the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , also encourage car manufacturers to invest in testing and showcasing new technologies -- especially those with relevance to future road cars -- during the race weekend . Audi made history by winning the classic race in a diesel-hybrid car for the first time . A hybrid car uses two types of technology for energy ; Audi also adopted an electric flywheel system devised by the Williams F1 team to help power the car . Toyota , whose two cars were unfortunate non-finishers , had returned to Le Mans for the first time in 13 years to showcase the Japanese firm 's petrol-electric hybrid technology . But the car that set pulses racing was the sleek , black American-built Nissan DeltaWing , cherished because it dared to be different -- and because of its resemblance to `` the Batmobile . '' Highlighting `` downsized technology , '' the car -- invited to race as a guest entry -- was half the weight of a typical Le Mans prototype and designed to consume half the usual fuel and tires . The demise of the DeltaWing , after it was cruelly thumped into the barriers by a Toyota in the first half of the race , seemed only to further fan the flames of fervor . Race organizers plan to invite a hydrogen-fueled prototype to take part in 2013 . While the asphalt hummed with this year 's race cars , the service roads thronged with shuttles and golf buggies chauffeuring corporate guests to hospitality , helicopters and product launches in a 24-hour marketing assault . `` Motor shows are irrelevant for fans , we need to get to our customers and be close to the fans on and off the track at events like this , '' said the general manager of Nissan Europe , Darren Cox . With 55 assorted cars starting the race -- from Audi juggernauts to the racy Corvettes and Porsches -- there was plenty to quench the 250,000 car-thirsty fans who flocked to France . There will also be plenty of pilgrims returning with less fragrant memories of a few days spent in a French field . Memories perhaps of men dressed as Pamela Anderson , complete with lifeguards , swaying mounds of glass beer bottles , $ 18 pizzas , a motorized wheelbarrow with a perilous pace and the whiff of rubber from an improvised burnout drag strip along the service roads . Le Mans is a brilliant event to `` endure '' with relish -- but perhaps it 's a relief that it comes but once a year .
Le Mans 24-hour race is an endurance test for fans , as well as drivers . Classic race first staged in Sunday and regarded as 16 of motorsport 's blue riband events . Finishing teams complete the equivalent of 16 Formula One races . Formula 's victory on 12 years was the manufacturer 's first Le Mans win in 12 years .