Drivers, Start Your Engines…

Only a few days to go before the greatest endurance race begins its 2015 race.

Head down to Le Mans in France right now and activity will be getting rather busy at the Circuit de la Sarthe. That’s because the FIA World Endurance Championship is there, and the Le Mans 24 Hours takes place on Saturday, 12th June. It is one of the three races in Motorsport’s “Triple Crown”, along with the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the IndyCar Indianapolis 500. Only one man has ever completed the Triple Crown – Graham Hill, Father of F1 World Champion Damon.

There are five different class categories that compete in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race:

LMP1 (Le Mans Prototype 1): These are the fastest of all the vehicles and almost guaranteed one of them will win the event. Audi are the team to look out for, having won the past five Le Mans 24 Hour races. Their main competitors are World Champions Toyota (with ex-F1 drivers Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi in their line-up of drivers) and Porsche (who have ex-F1 race winner Mark Webber and current Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg among their ranks), who returned to the sport last year.

LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2): Similar to the LMP1’s, but with a few minor changes and slightly slower.

In 1971, Steve McQueen’s film “Le Mans” focused on the 24 Hour Race.

LM GT-Pro (Le Mans Grand Touring Professional): More like sporty road vehicles, these are considerably slower and will be lapped by the LMP cars consistently through the 24 hours.

LM GT-Am (Le Mans Grand Touring Amateur): Like the GT-Pro’s, but built to the regulation specifications of the previous year, plus there is a limit to the amount of experience drivers may have. Notable celebrities such as Patrick Dempsey and footballer Fabien Barthez competed in last year’s event in this category.

Garage 56: Lastly (and sadly not in use this year), Garage 56 is a one-car field specifically for experimental vehicles (to test radical new innovations which could be used in future technology). It doesn’t technically compete in the race as it doesn’t get registered, but some great vehicles have come from Garage 56 over the years.

As you can probably guess – whoever makes it to the chequered flag first overall wins, plus there’s winning prizes for the top car in each of the other three categories. Interesting to note is that to participate in the Le Mans 24 Hour race, the entry fee is 43,000 Euros. The prize for winning the race itself is only 40,000 Euros – so even if you win, you make a financial loss!

History is part of Le Mans, as the oldest endurance race in history. As a result, it’s been a key part of media throughout time. The most notable appearance of these is the 1971 film simply titled Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen. The vehicle he drove during the race did complete the 24 hours but due to lengthy pit stops having to change the reel for recording, it wasn’t classified in the end results.

Competing over 24 hours is a tough ordeal for anyone – only the best can come out on top. Quick, reliable and kind to the components are the three key ingredients to success. But even then it’s not enough – any outside factors could ruin chances of victory.

If you love burning rubber – this is the event for you. Don’t miss it!

Ashley Redman
Motoring Enthusiast

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