# Evening With A Legend: Charles Mendez

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/break-fix-the-motorsports-vehicle-enthusiast-variety-show-379180/evening-with-a-legend-charles-mendez
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/break-fix-the-motorsports-vehicle-enthusiast-variety-show-379180/evening-with-a-legend-charles-mendez.md
Podcast: [BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show](https://stenobird.com/podcast/break-fix-the-motorsports-vehicle-enthusiast-variety-show-379180)
Published: 2026-08-11T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.gtmotorsports.org/evening-with-a-legend-charles-mendez/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/aqbzms77hsu8w5wc/EWAL_episode_26-MENDEZ.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/break-fix-the-motorsports-vehicle-enthusiast-variety-show-379180/episodes/evening-with-a-legend-charles-mendez
Duration seconds: 2541

## Resource

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.

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## Transcript

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