Palestinian Australian driver Yasser Shahin prepared for the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Speed, stamina, reliability and consistency are a must to win one of motorsport's greatest races — and even that may not be enough to just finish.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a jewel in the motorsport crown, a bucket-list item for drivers and fans, and the 94th edition of the famous race will be held this weekend. 

From 12am Sunday, AEST to 12am on Monday, 186 drivers in 62 cars across three different classes will battle on the 13.626 kilometre Circuit de la Sarthe in the French town of Le Mans. 

Palestinian Australian driver Yasser Shahin enters this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans with plenty to be confident about. 

Shahin is one of four Aussie drivers in this year's race, and his team is bringing excellent form to Le Mans. 

Shahin competes for the number 92 The Bend Manthey team, driving a Porsche 911 in the LMGT3 category of the World Endurance Championship (WEC). 

Along with the top-tier Hypercar category, these two classes compete in all rounds of the WEC, of which this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans is round three.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans also has a third category, LMP2, which is a category of racing that is organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, who run the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Shahin and the number 92 The Bend Manthey team have placed third in the LMGT3 category during the six-hour races at Imola and Spa this year.

The Bend Manthey currently leads the LMGT3 Teams championship, while Shahin, co-drivers Richard Lietz and Riccardo Pera, lead the LMGT3 Drivers championship. 

There is plenty of confidence within the entire team as they enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans as championship leaders, but Shahin knows all too well that the Circuit de la Sarthe is ready to cut down any team.

"Two podiums tell you the car and the team are competitive — and reliable, which at Le Mans is everything," Shahin told ABC Sport this week. 

"You can't win the race in the first hour, but you can certainly lose it; one pit stop going wrong can be the difference between a podium and finishing nowhere. 

"So the confidence comes from knowing everyone is committed. There are more than a dozen of us in the team, and every single person plays an extremely important role."

The number 92 car won last year's race in the LMGT3 class, but Shahin was racing for the WRT team, whose car retired after 168 laps.

Shahin does know what it takes to win at Le Mans. He was part of the Manthey team in 2024 that won the LMGT3 class, with Lietz also being part of that win. 

Drivers and teams are not just battling their rivals, or the time, but often the biggest challenge is the race track itself.

The full 13.626km Circuit de la Sarthe is a mixture of race-specific track and public roads. 

It means the conditions of the circuit change throughout the lap, depending on what type of track a driver is on at the moment. 

The length of time the race takes means the conditions will evolve as the day turns to night, and then back to day. 

"That's one of the things that makes Le Mans unique," Shahin said.

"You've got the permanent circuit sections, which are billiard-table smooth, and then you're out onto public roads — the long Mulsanne straight and the run through to Indianapolis — where the surface is bumpier, the grip is different, and it's constantly evolving. 

"No two laps are ever the same. You're adapting to rubber going down, the track temperature shifting as the sun moves, then the whole character of the place changes at night."

There are four Australian drivers in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Martin Berry will be competing against Shahin in the LMGT3 class, racing in a Mercedes for the number 61 Iron Lynx team.

Two Australians are participating in the LMP2 class — former F1 driver Jack Doohan in the number 24 Nielsen Racing, and James Allen in the 99 AO by TF outfit.

New Zealand is well represented in the top-tier Hypercar class. 

Former F1 driver Brendon Hartley competes for the successful number 8 Toyota, along with Earl Bamber (number 38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota) and Nick Cassidy (93 Peugeot TotalEnergies).

Each car is made up of three drivers who take turns racing during the 24 hours. 

One driver can race for up to four hours in any six-hour period, and cannot exceed a total of 14 hours behind the wheel. 

Preparation for the race starts months in advance, as drivers prepare for the physical and mental test.

For Shahin, the preparation is vital to ensuring a driver can not only handle the high demands of the race but also succeed.

"The real work happens in the lead-up — the team preparation and the mental preparation," he said. 

"It's about getting yourself into a state of mind where you understand that it's stamina, consistency, repeatability and precision that delivers the results, not heroics. 

"You have to be strong without being heavy. The hydration and nutrition strategy gets dialled in well in advance too because the heat in the cockpit and the strain can be relentless over a stint. 

"And mentally it's discipline. The temptation is always to compete for lap time, but at four in the morning, your job is simply to not make mistakes. 

"The win comes from 24 hours of getting it right, not one perfect lap."

There have been four Australians to have been outright winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Bernard Rubin was the first Australian to win the famous race outright, teaming with Briton Woolf Barnato for Bentley in 1928.

It would be 55 years until the next Australian, Vern Schuppan, would be part of the outright winning team. 

Geoff Brabham was part of the winning Peugeot in 1993, and David Brabham was the last Australian winner, also for Peugeot, in 2009.