Triple Crown of Motorsport Part 3: 24 Hours of Le Mans

So you may be wondering where is part 2. I missed the Indy 500 2 weeks ago so I wasn't able to comment [I wasn't that interested in it anyways]. I also don't get a lot of the rules as to how it's to be run nor have I been following it as well as the other 2 but anyways enough about indy and onwards to Le Mans.

As the name suggests, it is a 24 hour race and because the race length is determined by time, the winner is declared as the person who covers the most distance over the 24 hour period. There are numerous other 24 hour races such as the 24 hours of Nurburgring, Daytona and LeMons [which I promise to blog about soon]. Unlike these Le Mans is an invitation only event where the best endurance racers are selected to race in different classes. Each entrant is assigned a class based on the vehicle specifications, currently there are 4 classes:

• Le Mans Prototype 1 [LMP1]: The fastest class, replaced the type C class. Cars can either opt for diesel or gasoline power. The rules are lenient towards diesel but rule changes in 2011 may level the playing field. Engines used must be based on engines found in road cars. My choice to win: Audi R15+
  
  
• Le Mans Prototype 2 [LMP2]: The second fastest class, these are gasoline only and are geared towards independent group entrants [as in you may not find any familiar car brands in here]. The few popular constructors like Acura or Porsche usually build the car and sell it to privateers to run them. My choice to win: Highcroft HPD Acura ARX-01
  
  
• Gran Touring 1 [GT1]: These are cars based on production vehicles. As of 2011 the class will be killed off. In this year's Le Mans only 8 cars entered but only 3 finished. My choice to win: Matech Ford GT
  
  
• Gran Touring 2 [GT2]: Similar to GT1 just with slower cars. In 2011 it will be renamed GT and be the sole GT class in Le Mans. My choice to win: Corvette C6R GT2
  
  
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Overall Porsche has won an amazing 16 times, 7 of them consecutive and a win in at least one class since 1991 [except 2006] with 9 wins each for Ferrari and Audi [inclusive of the 2010 win] coming in second

The Track

Le Mans is held on Circuit de la Sarthe found in Le Mans France. The track composes of the Bugatti Circuit and a stretch of public road. It is over 8 miles in length, nearly 1/2 of the track is taken up by the Mulsanne straight. In the 1990 race the Mulsanne acquired 2 chicanes for safety reasons, despite this addition, the Mulsanne is still ridiculously fast. At the end of the Mulsanne is a ridiculously sharp hairpin.

The Rules

Apart from the previously mentioned rules there are some unique additions. Each car should have at least 3 drivers with no one driver driving for more than 4 hours straight. Before this rule was in effect two drivers have tried to do the entire race by themselves. Before the 60s, drivers ran to their cars and jumped in to determine the start. Jacky Ickx protested this by calmly walking to his car, buckling his seatbelt and moving off in last. As a result of this one driver died in the first lap from improperly buckled belts while Jacky Ickx won. Since then the running start was abandoned. In the pits cars must shut off their engine while refueling for both safety and to make engine durability more challenging. While refueling nothing is to be done to the car [with the exception of changing drivers] If repairs to a car is necessary the car can be rolled into the garage to be worked on, although this may take time, its not of the end of the race for a driver.

In a later post I will post up the results and my analysis/highlights [its a lot to cover in a 24 hour race]

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