The 24 Hours of Le Mans

Imagine hurtling around a track that is nearly 14 kilometres long at breakneck speed in just over four minutes; then imagine doing that for 24 hours straight. Welcome to Le Mans, the race which stops the motor racing world and pushes the limits of possibility for man and machine.

Le Mans, which takes place in June every year near the town of Le Mans in La Sarthe, France, combines a dedicated team of drivers with a big support crew, for a mammoth 24 hours of high adrenalin action. There are usually 55 teams that make it through the qualifying rounds, with four classes of cars each clocking up hundreds of laps of the 13.65 kilometre track. A lot of work goes into the manufacturing process leading up to the race, with designers looking to put together a car that can survive a full 24 hours on the track at top speed, but which is also efficient with respect to its use of fuel and reliable over long distances.

The focus of Le Mans is quality and strategy; teams are made victorious with top performing brakes, tyres and high fuel efficiency. As each team needs to refuel around every 50 minutes, extending the life of the parts and making the most of each drop of petrol means less time in the pit and more laps around the track. The drivers, which consist of teams of at least three, are expected to pull off a mammoth racing performance, which can total up to 14 hours in the seat and total around 5,000 kilometres distance. In the past some drivers tried to complete the entire 24 hours solo, but due to safety concerns that was now been banned and now no one driver can spend more than four consecutive hours behind the wheel.

On race day, the support crew must be prepared for around 30 stops in the pit. As opposed to the large contingent seen at a Formula One races, Le Mans only allows five people access to the pit to refuel and change tyres, with three supporting members outside to monitor safety, to control the fuel flow and to act as the stop-board man. Refuelling and re-shodding a vehicle takes between 45 seconds and one minute, which clocks up to half an hour of being stationary over the 24 hours, not including the time-consuming repairs and changing of brake pads which are inevitable for most teams.

To be successful in this Le Mans it is a lot more than being fast; it is about strategy, being clever and consistent in every aspect and stage of the race. All in all, it is a massive team effort to ensure that the cars, drivers and pit crew continue around the clock and the track, for hundreds of kilometres, both safely and efficiently.