Circuit de la Sarthe

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

The circuit is available in 2 layouts:

Circuit I
Circuit de la Sarthe I is a recreation of the Le Mans Circuit from between 2002 and 2005. The 13.88km 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 400km/h+ speeds that were acheived on the old straight section. It also features a slightly modified infield section and flattened Mulsanne Kink where Peter Dumbreck, among others 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
Circuit de la Sarthe II is a replica of the Le Mans Circuit from 1987-1989. The 13.53km circuit features a flat-out 6km section commonly known as the 'Mulsanne Straight' (Ligne Droite des Hunaudieres) where race speeds can reach in excess of 400km/h.

The Circuit appears in the following events:

In GT4

 * Circuit de la Sarthe 24h II


 * 1000 miles!


 * Dream Car Championship

Circuit Layout
The circuit starts on a closed section of the track just south of the town of Le Mans in northern France.

Circuit de la Sarthe 2005/No Chicane (GT5)
This layout is featured in Gran Tursimo 4 as Circuit de la Sarthe I. It is the 2005 version of Sarthe. The "no chicane" version is labeled Circuit de la Sarthe II in Gran Turismo 4.

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

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". 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 2km flat out straight on Layout I/6km 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 400km/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 with three right-hand kinks, each one tighter than the last. This is followed by two tight corners, one left (Indiannapolis) and, after a short straight, one right (Arnage) leading into a 1km straight. 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 into the shadow of the large grandstand, and across the finish line.

Easter Eggs
In GT4, at the start during replay, you can see jet fighter planes on the top corner.