Fernando Alonso will make his Le Mans debut in 2018 as he continues his quest to complete motorsport's 'Triple Crown', which comprises wins in the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Spaniard, who failed in his first attempt to win the Indy 500 last year, will juggle his Formula One commitments with a World Endurance Championship campaign after a deal was struck between McLaren and Toyota Gazoo Racing.
Alonso will be the latest in a long line of F1 drivers to tackle the prestigious race. Here we take a look at some of those to have enjoyed success in the event.
NICO HULKENBERG
Hulkenberg is a current star of F1 but turned his hand to Le Mans with great success for Porsche in 2015.
Hulkenberg - competing alongside Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber - became the first active F1 driver to win the race for 24 years, following Johnny Herbert's triumph in 1991.
Former F1 driver Mark Webber was beaten into second by Hulkenberg and his team, who delivered Porsche a rare victory over the dominant Audis.
ALLAN MCNISH
McNish is a man who has enjoyed far more success at Le Mans than he ever did in F1.
In fact, the Scot's first win in the race came four years prior to his one and only F1 season with Toyota, which saw him end with no points and retire from nine of the first 16 races. He missed the 17th and final race through injury.
Having first won with Porsche in 1998, McNish collected two further Le Mans wins in 2008 and 2013 for Audi.
ALEXANDER WURZ
Wurz is another driver who enjoyed success in Le Mans before venturing into F1.
The Austrian won with Porsche on his debut in 1996 and then spent four years at Benetton, partnering Giancarlo Fisichella for his three full seasons in the car.
After spells at McLaren and Williams, Wurz returned to Le Mans in 2008 and was on the top step of the podium for Peugeot a year later, with another F1 graduate - Marc Gene - on his team.
DEREK WARWICK
Warwick enjoyed an F1 career that spanned 12 years from 1981 to 1993.
The Englishman's best season came with Renault in 1984 when four podium finishes saw him to a seventh-place finish in the drivers' standings. That said, Warwick only finished five races in the 16-race season.
During a spell without a drive in 1992, Warwick teamed with two other F1 drivers - Mark Blundell and Yannick Dalmas - to steer Peugeot to Le Mans glory.
JOHNNY HERBERT
Herbert is a three-time F1 grand prix winner, having topped the podium twice with Benetton in 1995 and once with Stewart four years later.
Only team-mate Michael Schumacher and Williams pair Damon Hill and David Coulthard outscored Herbert in the 1995 drivers' championship.
But his most memorable F1 season came four years after he won Le Mans with Mazdaspeed.
MARTIN BRUNDLE
Brundle is now one of F1's most recognisable broadcasters but his greatest achievement in motorsport actually came at Le Mans.
Though he achieved nine top-three finishes during his F1 career, all of which came after his win at Le Mans, Brundle was never able to turn those promising performances into race wins.
His moment of glory with Jaguar came in 1990, before he returned to F1 with the Brabham team for the following season.
JACKY ICKX
Ickx is a two-time runner-up in the F1 drivers' championship but was a prolific winner at Le Mans, where he competed alongside his grand prix career.
The Belgian was victorious on six occasions between 1969 and 1982, ranking him second behind Tom Kristensen when it comes to number of victories.
Ickx also holds the record for most pole positions with five and has the same number of fastest laps to his name - another record.
GRAHAM HILL
Hill is the only man to have completed the 'Triple Crown' that Alonso so craves.
However, the legendary driver, who also won two F1 championships, had to be patient in chasing the victory that would wrap up that historic achievement.
After numerous Le Mans disappointments and two second-place finishes, Hill - father to future F1 champion Damon - returned to the race in 1972 to triumph alongside Henri Pescarolo.
BRUCE MCLAREN
The F1 team founded by McLaren may have fallen on hard times of late but the New Zealander was a winner at Le Mans back in 1966.
Driving with Chris Amon for Ford 52 years ago, another car bearing McLaren's name would go on to triumph again in 1995.
Yannick Dalmas, JJ Lehto and Masanori Sekiya were victorious on that occasion in a McLaren F1 GTR as part of a team funded by Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing and operated by Lanzante.
JOCHEN RINDT
Jochen Rindt competed at Le Mans from 1964 to 1967 and only finished the race on one of his four entries.
Luckily for him that one finish resulted in victory, although a story later emerged that reserve driver Ed Hugus stepped in for Rindt for a whole session when the Austrian couldn't be found while sleeping.
Rindt became F1's only posthumous world champion after being killed in a crash at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix, having amassed enough points earlier in the season.
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