Why this year you need to visit the “24 Hours of Le Mans”
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a key element in the endurance racing calendar and one of the cult events in the world of sports. Motorsport Live explains why a trip to this race in 2019 will bring pleasure not only to those who are obsessed with cars.
“24 Hours of Le Mans” is necessarily present in the list of races that a fan of motor racing wants to visit. In this competition – or rather, even endurance tests – almost a century of history. This is not just a race. For some, this is a place of pilgrimage, and for someone – a way to spend the weekend to the fullest. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world come to this event, and even the police cameras on the French roads do not frighten them.
During the week, the city of Le Mans and its surroundings literally live racing. The parade of pilots in the city center allows fans to approach their idols at arm’s length, and a series of training sessions and qualifications – to feed their appetite before the main event.
And racing is not limited. Le Mans is a real festival uniting people who are not indifferent to speed and active life. The very atmosphere of the race encourages not to sit still, but to visit different points of the track, absorb the local atmosphere and appreciate the many cafes and restaurants.
Well, and the racers, of course, think only about the competition.
After the failure of 2016, when the leading car stopped a few minutes before the end of the coveted day, and the average performance in 2017 last season, Toyota eventually conquered Le Mans using TS050 HYBRID car and crew from former Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso, the champion of Formula E Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima. On the eve of this year’s race, which will decide the fate of the awards at the World Endurance Championship, Toyota is once again the undisputed favorite. But the chance to challenge her is in strong private teams Rebellion Racing and SMP Racing, which also include F1 ex-pilots – Andre Lotterer and Jenson Button. Of course, the battle for victory in the race is only one part of the story, because the crews of four different categories take part in the competition.
For example, the second class in the Leman hierarchy – LMP2 – is a less powerful and fast, but still full-fledged prototypes, put up for race by private teams.
Of no less interest are GTE class machines, which are modified serial machines. Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Ford – the cult car brands with their national character and rich history, including the history of racing rivalry, fight in the day and night, in the light of day and in the dark. The class is divided into two categories: GTE Pro for professional pilots and GTE Am for amateur sportsmen.
At the start of the race, up to 60 cars line up, and each crew dreams of picking up the coveted trophy, when on Sunday afternoon the famous clocks on the track will show 15:00. This will be a show that you do not want to miss. And Motorsport Live will help you get the most out of it – you can see the best offers right now.
