Circuit de la Sarthe

The Circuit de la Sarthe is a real world circuit in Gran Turismo 4, Gran Turismo (PSP), Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo 6. It is an exact replica of the Circuit des 24 Heures in France, the home of the 24 Heures du Mans motor race.

The circuit is available in 5 layouts/variants, with the 2013 variant featured in GT6.

The circuit is based on a closed section of the track just south of the town of Le Mans in northern France.

Circuit I (2005)
Circuit de la Sarthe I (labeled as Circuit de la Sarthe 2005 in Gran Turismo 5) is a recreation of the Le Mans Circuit from between 2002 and 2005. The 13.88 km course featured, among its 21 corners, the newly added L'Arche Chicane and Le Florandiere Chicane on the Mulsanne Straight. These chicanes were designed to slow the cars from the 400 km/h+ speeds that were acheived on the old straight section. It also features a slightly modified infield section and flattened Mulsanne Kink at the third section of the mulsanne where Peter Dumbreck, among Mark Webber on the same weekend, managed to flip his Mercedes CLR on the bumpy track. it has appeared in a Demo in the Tokyo Game Show 2010. The Circuit appears in:

In GT4

 * Circuit de la Sarthe 24h I
 * Pan-Euro Championship
 * Tous France Championnat
 * Gran Turismo All Stars
 * Polyphony Digital Cup
 * Formula Gran Turismo World Championship
 * World Circuit Tours
 * Saleen S7 Club
 * Gran Turismo World Championship

Circuit II (2005 No Chicane)
Circuit de la Sarthe II (labeled as Circuit de la Sarthe 2005 (No Chicane) in Gran Turismo 5) is a replica of the Le Mans Circuit from 2002-2005 but without the roadblocks on the Mulsanne straight. The 13.53 km circuit features a flat-out 6 km section commonly known as the 'Mulsanne Straight' (Ligne Droite des Hunaudieres) where race speeds can reach in excess of 400 km/h. A few select players use the hidden chicanes here just to take their time racing in this high speed course, especially when they're in the lead. The Circuit appears in the following events:

In GT4

 * Circuit de la Sarthe 24h II
 * 1000 Miles!
 * Dream Car Championship

Circuit de la Sarthe 2009 + No Chicane (GT5)
This layout is featured in Gran Turismo 5. It is the 2009 version of Sarthe.

The lap record is 3:18:513 set by Stéphane Sarrazin in 2009 while driving a Peugeot 908 HDi FAP.

Circuit de la Sarthe 2013 (GT6)
This track layout appears in Gran Turismo 6, and to date is the newest version of Sarthe playable in Gran Turismo.

The lap record for this version of the track is 3:16.887, set by Neel Jani at the 2015 event in a Porsche 919 Hybrid.

Sector 1 & 2
From the start/finish line, the circuit follows a gentle right-hand turn on approach to the Dunlop chicane, a tight right-left-right complex, as it passes under the famous "Dunlop Bridge". The 2009 version has tighter corners at the Dunlop Curve to create more run-off area. This is followed by a short straight, leading into sweeping left then right hand corners at the northernmost point on the course.

From this follows the most important corner on the circuit, Tertre Rouge, a fast right hand turn with gravel on the outside to punish mistakes.

Sector 3 to Mulsanne Corner
A good exit speed from Tertre Rouge is crucial, as it leads to a 2 km flat out straight on Layout I/6 km flat section on Circuit II. This straight, run on public roads, is punctuated on Circuit de la Sarthe I by two chicanes, a right-left then a left-right approximately 2 km apart. Speeds on this section can top 400 km/h in some cars.

At the end of this section lies a very tight right-hand hairpin corner, Mulsanne.

Route to Arnage
From Mulsanne, the road narrows dramatically into a fast, fairly straight section. The run down to Indianapolis has two right hand kinks. At the end of the long stretch is a quick right hand bend followed by a sharp left hand turn (Indianapolis). The next corner is a slow right hand corner (Arnage). After Arnage, the track has a 1 km straight heading to the Porsche Curves. This marks the final section before the track returns to the non-public stadium section.

Stadium section
This section begins with a fast, uphill, right-hand turn followed by the tricky left-right-left Porsche Curves and a short straight. As the pit lane entry approaches on the right, the track follows a pair of slow, left-right chicanes (Ford Chicanes) into the shadow of the large grandstand, and across the finish line.

Easter Eggs

 * In GT4, at the start during replay (when your car crosses the start/finish line at the start of the race), you can see three jet fighter planes on the top left corner spewing colored smoke forming the colors of the French flag (the left spews blue, the middle spews white, while the right spews red).