A gruelling test of endurance
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an experience that must be lived, but the allure of the storied race is in the sounds
Achieving success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a hardfought battle, something forged out of the fiercest of competitions over some 300 laps. Andre Lagache and rene Lenard were the first to ever do so, crossing the finish line at France’s circuit de la Sarthe on May 27, 1923.
That moment, though more than 90 years ago, initiated a motorsport tradition words fail to describe. It is an experience that must be lived. Perch yourself outside the grandstands above the pit lanes and out of the exclusive paddocks and one quickly grasps the allure of the 24 Hours of Le Mans: the sounds.
The high-pitched shriek of the Ferrari 458 Italia gT2. The resonating thrum of the corvette c6.r Zr1. The cacophonous rumble of the SrT Viper gTS-r. The swish — with a hint of a fierce growl — of the Audi r18 e-tron Quattro, no different than a fighter jet preparing at takeoff. The flamespitting, machine gun pop as the Lola B12/60 slows before clipping an apex. These are the sounds forever immortalized in what could be hundreds of thousands of spectators in attendance.
Mud, beer bottles and cigarette butts blanket the ground behind the fenced-off kinks and bends along circuit de la Sarthe. That does not faze the spectators; some questionably sober, each one young and old sit in eager anticipation for a chance to catch a glimpse of their favourite cars printed in the spotter’s guide.
They’re lucky if they catch it on video. even luckier if their camera lens is long enough and they press the shutter release button on time. And if their car is actually in focus, frozen in time on an Sd card? Well, they may as well be multimillionaires.
The race forces an emphasis on balance rather than flat-out speed, maintaining a fine degree of harmony between running a car for 24 consecutive hours while effectively managing its expendables — tires, brakes, fuel and the lot — with weather conditions.
Many drivers frequented the pits this year. The dog’s breakfast cycle of spotty yet sometimes heavy rainfall lasting minutes, followed by pockets of sunshine, has a tendency to do that. Trodden rain tires or bald racing slicks can be obsolete in a matter of minutes. Thankfully, the good folks at Michelin, rubber provider to many teams, spare no expense stocking their temporary warehouse to the brim.
This highly regarded race also has the tendency to delicately craft champions out of manufacturers and drivers. carroll Shelby is among them, piloting a factory-backed Aston Martin dBr1 for 323 laps (grand total: 4,347 kilometres) before crossing the finish line in 1959. Jacky Ickx is another, having six titles under his belt from 1969 to 1982. In those years, he began with a Ford gT40 Mk. 1 before moving onto two Porsche racers — a 936, followed by a 956.
Ickx is bested by another driver, Audi’s Tom kristensen. 1997 marked his first cham- pionship behind the wheel of a Porsche WSc-95 before his team, Joest racing, became Audi Team Joest three years later. Though driving a Bentley Speed 8 in 2003, his dominance of the Le Mans circuit ties in almost exclusively with Audi. This year’s race marks kristensen’s ninth win and Audi’s 12th, a very tight victory over Toyota and coming close to Porsche’s 16 wins.
running three examples, the r18 e-tron Quattro is nothing short of a technological masterpiece. running in the LMP1 category, its 3.7-litre turbodiesel V6 is rated at 490 horsepower and 656 poundfeet of torque. Mated to a six-speed sequential manual transmission, it is effectively all-wheel-drive, with two 80 kW electric motors sitting on the front axle. race regulations, however, dictate they kick in at speeds above 120 km/h.
Toyota, however, has established itself as something of a rival for Audi’s Le Mans team. Its two hybrid racers, the TS030 Hybrid, also runs in the LMP1 class. No. 7 is driven by Nicolas Lapierre, kazuki Nakajima and Alexander Wurz, while Sébastien Buemi, Anthony davidson and Stéphane Sarrazin pilot No. 8. Powered by a 3.4L V8 good for 530 hp, the TS030 also sports a hybrid electric powertrain. The electric juice is sent to the rear wheels, unlike the e-tron, but both cars sport a monocoque carbon fibre chassis, tipping the scales at just 915 kg.
Meanwhile, in the gTe-Pro class, the SrT Viper made its return after a 13-year hiatus. running two cars, Viper No. 93 was piloted by canada’s own kuno Wittmer, as well as Jonathan Bomarito and Tommy kendall. Like Audi and Toyota, Viper’s main rivals lie with corvette racing and the c6.r Zr1. It’s impossible to tell which car sounds better, but there’s something inexplicably alluring about the Viper’s normally aspirated V10.
In the corvette garage, the atmosphere was surprisingly lax, to say the least, especially when No. 74, driven by Oliver gavin, Tommy Milner and richard Westbrook rolled in for its pit stop. Including a tire change, the process proved to be nowhere near as tense as that of a Formula 1 garage, but changing one set of tires in less than 30 seconds is an impressive feat.
The atmosphere and work ethic differs considerably over in the Audi garage. Where corvette racing welcomes you with the most open of open arms, Audi relegates you to a cordoned-off box marked off with red masking tape. Of the two, Audi is most like the F1 garage, where photographs are strictly forbidden and nearly everything is neatly organized. Spare carbon-fibre front ends sit across from rear body panels, which are manufactured from kevlar. Smaller parts, such as carbon fibre mirrors no heavier than a 78-page magazine, sit on shelves. Behind them lie engine parts and other internal components concealed by tarps, keeping prying eyes off from the pit area.
Tragedy also struck this year’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Aston Martin racing’s Allan Simonsen lost control of his V8 Vantage gTe 10 minutes into the race, veering off the track and colliding into a barrier. He succumbed to his injuries after the crash, becoming the first person in 15 years to lose their life during LeMans.
Simonsen’s family requested the race went on and Aston Martin continued to participate. They did, and when the 24th hour rolled around, kristensen, now the nine-time champion, dedicated his win in Simonsen’s memory. Le Mans, the gruelling test of automobile and driver, must go on.