Evening With A Legend: Charles Mendez

In this episode of Evening with a Legend, we interview American endurance racer Charles Mendez about his two 24 Hours of Le Mans starts—1980 with Racing Associates in a Porsche 935 and 1981 with WM in a Peugeot P79/80—set against his broader Sebring 12 Hours legacy. Mendez recounts how promoting Sebring led to opportunities in a 935, meeting Le Mans organizers, and bringing cars overseas with little European experience. He shares first impressions of Le Mans, the realities of privateer racing, lessons from a rain-soaked 1980 retirement, and how friends helped connect him with WM for 1981 testing at Paul Ricard. Mendez details the Peugeot’s quirks, high-speed Mulsanne challenges, mechanical issues during the race, why he stopped owning race cars, and his advice to young drivers: never give up and don’t get cocky. The conversation also covers safety-driven track changes, today’s endurance racing, Le Mans Classic, and Mendez’s current life and mentoring interests. ===== (Oo---x---oO) ===== 00:00 Meet Charles Mendez 01:49 The Road to Le Mans 1980 04:19 First Impressions of Le Mans 07:14 Speed on the Mulsanne 09:34 Privateer Life at Le Mans 10:49 Lessons from 1980 11:46 Switch to WM Peugeot 14:26 Paul Ricard Test Culture Shock 16:13 Driving the Peugeot P79/80 21:07 1981 Race Challenges 25:24 Why He Didn’t Return and What He’d Do Differently? 27:31 Advice for Young Drivers 28:43 How Le Mans Has Evolved 33:36 Le Mans Classic and 935s 35:56 Life After Racing 38:33 Thanks and Farewell ==================== The Motoring Podcast Network : Years of racing, wrenching and Motorsports experience brings together a top notch collection of knowledge, stories and information. #everyonehasastory #gtmbreakfix - motoringpodcast.net More Information: Visit Our Website Become a VIP at: Patreon Online Magazine: Gran Touring Follow us on Social: Instagram To learn more about or to become a member of the ACO USA, look no further than www.lemans.org, Click on English in the upper right corner and then click on the ACO members tab for Club Offers. Once you become a Member you can follow all the action on the Facebook group ACOUSAMembersClub; and become part of the Legend with future Evening With A Legend meet ups.