The 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 74th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place over 17–18 June 2006. The winners of the race were Frank Biela, Marco Werner, and Emanuele Pirro, driving the Audi R10 TDI. For the first time in the history of the race, the winner was a diesel-powered car.

Marco Werner is a professional racer from Germany. Born in Dortmund, he was the eighth driver to complete the informal triple crown in endurance racing. In his early career, Werner finished runner-up in the Formula Opel Euroseries in 1989 and runner-up in the German F3 series in 1991 behind Tom Kristensen. Having failed to graduate to Formula One, Werner switched to sports car racing and touring car racing. Werner was a regular driver in the STW and Porsche Supercup during the 1990s, but he found more success in the 24 Hours of Daytona, which he won in 1995 in a Kremer-Porsche.