Simeone Foundation Museum To Host 4th Annual 24 Heures du Simeone Event
Celebrating Americans at the Circuit de la Sarthe, the event will feature live check-ins from Le Mans, historic driver interviews & the unveiling of a new collection addition...
The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum will host the fourth annual 24 Heures du Simeone on June 13-14, 2026, co-presented with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the French organization that has produced the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 1923, museum officials stated in a press release.
This year’s theme, “The Americans at Le Mans,” examines the history of American participation at the Circuit de la Sarthe, from the earliest American entries in the 1920s through the defining campaigns of the 1960s. The program moves chronologically through that history, with more than 40 demonstrations organized around figures including Briggs Cunningham, John Fitch, Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby, with cars of the type they raced, noted the release.
Live programming will include interviews with historic drivers and competitors and real-time check-ins from drivers and engineers on the ground at Le Mans as the race unfolds. The weekend will also mark the public unveiling of the latest addition to the Simeone permanent collection. The museum has not disclosed what the acquisition is, describing it only as a significant addition to one of the world’s great collections of racing sports cars.
The ACO’s partnership, now in its second consecutive year, brings an expanded presence to the event with three racing simulators, a custom Le Mans trivia game, an ACO Members Lounge, exclusive swag bags for new ACO members, and a raffle for WEC Lone Star Le Mans weekend tickets. Live coverage of the race streams throughout the museum for the full 24-hour duration.
“The Americans at Le Mans is a story about ambition and persistence,” said Kevin Kelly, executive director of the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum. “It’s about individuals—Briggs Cunningham, John Fitch, Phil Hill, Carroll Shelby—who believed they belonged at the greatest race in the world. We’re telling that story with the cars that wrote that history.”
The event takes place during America’s 250th anniversary summer, lending particular context to a program centered on American achievement in international motorsport, museum officials said.
