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.