There aren't too many 97-year olds that retain a capacity for constant reinvention to keep up with the times. But the Le Mans 24 Hours is a great exception to that norm and organising body the Automobile Club de l'Ouest has proven time and again over the years that it is not afraid to embrace change, with last weekend's Virtual edition of the race the latest example.
From the controversial moving back of the walls at the Porsche Curves in 2018, to the flattening of the Mulsanne hump in 2001 and the new pit complex for 1991, its facilities and the circuit itself have modernised to ensure its first-class institution remains just so. Even now, the gravel trap at Mulsanne Corner has been extended ahead of the delayed 2020 edition in September.
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But arguably its most seismic change came one year earlier than the new grandstand with the insertion of two chicanes onto the 3.7-mile long Mulsanne Straight, a demonstration from the ACO that it was unafraid of making changes to improve safety - even if that meant its most enduring feature would be chopped into three.
For almost 70 years since the first iteration of the 24 Hours in 1923, barreling down the straight at top speed before taking on the Mulsanne kink had been intrinsic to the driver's experience of Le Mans. If you could take the kink without lifting, it was a sure sign that your car was performing well.
But in 1990, the race was no longer about slippery aerodynamic packages that could achieve maximum straightline speed, as more conventional cars with more downforce instead became the norm. The change was controversial in some quarters, not least because - as Autosport reported - the first chicane "was incredibly bumpy". By contrast, the second was "billiard table smooth", prompting five-time winner Derek Bell to remark that "the guy who built the first one must have had a lot more to drink!"
Speaking to Autosport in 1990, Bell said: "The Mulsanne Straight gave you the opportunity to relax and check that all the instruments were working properly. And it was also a very true way to find out if the car was running well.
"If you didn't get exactly the same revs, you'd know that the car was getting worse and you had time to really analyse the problem.
"Now of course we've got to contend with everybody trying to outbreak each other into the chicanes, the slower guys not looking in their mirrors, or anyone that's going around with a slight problem."
Source: Autosport