Amazon races towards Le Mans series

Amazon Prime Video has greenlit an original series about the day-long Le Mans car race.

Le Mans: Racing is Everything comes from London-based indie New Black Films, and will offer “unprecedented access to the entire 24 hours of the race, while exploring the storied legacy of Le Mans and the generations of drivers who have braved the course”.

Amazon already caters for petrolheads with its Jeremy Clarkson-fronted series The Grand Tour, and is pushing further into the space with this latest effort.

The limited series will be made available online to Amazon’s subscribers in 200 territories worldwide, and can download it to watch offline on mobile devices.

New Black was embedded with teams such as Porsche, Audi, Aston Martin and Toyota as they ready their cars for the gruelling competition. Featured are racers such as former Formula 1 star Mark Webber, triple champion André Lotterer and English gamer Jann Mardenborough, who won a spot on Team Nissan after winning an eSports tournament.

“Fans are consistently thrilled by the excitement and danger that is the annual Le Mans race,” said Conrad Riggs, head of unscripted, Amazon Originals. “Le Mans: Racing is Everything will take that excitement to the next level, giving Prime members behind-the-scenes access to what it takes to win this singular event.”

New Black’s James Erskine (American Masters) directs, with production partner Victoria Gregory (Man on Wire) producing.