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During the two days of the race, there will be no cheers or barbecues at the Circuit de los Angeles Sarthe.
By Luke Smith
Since Le Mans’ inaugural 24-hour race in May 1923, only twice the race has taken place in June.
In 1956, the race was held in July so that innovations in the protection of the track could be completed, while social unrest in France in 1968 forced a suspension until September.
But the Covid-19 pandemic prevented the 2020 edition from positioning itself on its original dates of thirteen and 14 June, now scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
“We have set a date for the 24 Hours as soon as the lockout in France takes effect in mid-March,” said Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the organizer of the race.
“While some occasions delayed the resolution to see how the stage unfolded, we liked to set a date quickly, but with enough scope to allow the closure of blocking measures.
“We may not go too far in the fall due to weather conditions and hours of sunlight. We also had to take into account restrictions around the world to make sure the competition really gets on a plane and comes here. “
Fifty-nine cars will participate in the race, divided into 4 classes: two for sports car prototypes, LMP1 and LMP2, and two for grand tourers, GTE-Pro and GTE-Am.
Each car has 3 drivers who have 24-hour responsibility percentages, which means the hiring list has 177 drivers.
For the protection of computers, there are strict protocols to prevent the spread of the virus.
Each team must remain in “bubbles” and not interact with rival teams. Masks must be wearing at all times, and everyone in the paddock will have to test negative before being admitted to the circuit.
If a positive case of Covid-19 is detected, those who have been in contact with the user will be quarantined so that additional tests can be performed.
“We will have to break the transmission chain of the virus if a positive case is reported on site,” Fillon said.
“The option of touch instances deserves to be kept to a minimum. In some cases, we’ve split a team in two to avoid having to quarantine an entire group, such as race control or the media center. “We also have covid special fixes in case of suspected cases on the circuit. We tested this protocol 24 Hours of Motorcycles, and everything went according to plan.
Numerous Le Mans groups took part in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps last month, a circular of the World Endurance Championship, of which Le Mans is the end of the season. It is a first check of the new viral procedures.
One team, Algarve Pro Racing, was forced to withdraw from Spa after 3 team members tested positive for Covid-19. Jackie Chan DC Racing’s driving force, Gabriel Aubry, also missed the race due to a positive test. .
Rob Leupen, Toyota manager, praised the race organizers for their safety management.
“W. E. C. has done a great job and we expect the same thing at Le Mans,” he said.
“The team has to be disciplined. It’s a combined beer in the evening after a hard day’s work,” he added. “If you take care of yourself, you take care of the other team members and other teams. “
Updated September 15, 2020
Here’s what happens as the global game slowly comes to life:
All Le Mans events, in addition to qualifying, are held for 8 days. There is also a day off before the race, which gives groups more time to prepare.
This year, it condensed into five days to minimize equipment time on site. It’s going to be a challenge.
“We don’t have this Friday off as usual, where you have enough time to rebuild the car,” said Sébastien Buemi of Switzerland, who drives for Toyota.
“I’m not convinced it’s such an intelligent concept to condense it because it’s going to be so difficult. On Thursday we have 10 hours of testing in a day, and on Friday, many tests, then Saturday is the race.
When organizing the race in September, drivers also have to deal with cooler temperatures and less daylight.
“It will be much darker because we will run much more at night because it is in June,” Buemi said.
“This can make things a little more difficult. The fact that we also run when there is not enough blood can have an effect on the tires. If it’s a Bloodless September, it can be quite difficult. “
The organizers of Le Mans hoped, first of all, to open the race to a limited number of spectators, establishing a plan to have “peoples” of fans who could accommodate up to 5,000 people.
But those plans were abandoned in August after France faced an increase in Covid’s cases.
“This has proven incredibly complicated to organize for general isolation,” Fillon said. “The aptitude scenario in France has not been sufficiently solved with the correct implementation of the system. “
“As the number of cases began to accumulate in the region at the time, we reluctantly decided to run the race behind closed doors. This meant that we can be almost certain that the 24 Hours of Le Mans would take place.
Last year, the 24 Hours of Le Mans received 252,500 official spectators, which made it one of the busiest motorsport occasions in the world. Fillon said the Sarthe circuit, where the race takes place, was empty.
“These cases make you see how popular and festive our occasions are,” he said.
Buemi has won the race for more than two years and thought that the absence of enthusiasts would be remarkable given the same atmosphere as long as they believe.
“It’s going to be bad,” Buemi said. This is going to be weird, it’s not happy to have a career like this without the fans, they are part of the program.
“When you drive, you smell the barbecues and you see the smoke, and that probably doesn’t happen. I’m happy to run, but I hope it doesn’t last too long [no fans]. “
Fans are invited to walk the circuit once the race is over and to stand under the podium, waving flags and applauding the winners.
Fillon said the end of the race would be very different without the event, but that the Automobile Club de l’Ouest “could take any chances. “
Fillon said enthusiasts can watch the race on television and virtual channels.
“We’re working with an exceptional setup to allow enthusiasts to revel in the race as if they were there,” he said. “This will come with viewing photographs of the faces of enthusiasts on the screens around the track.
“Fans will enjoy a totally immersive delight with a state-of-the-art virtual platform. We’ll take you to le Mans’ nerve center, adding race control, TV production studio and pit lane.
Fillon also used Le Mans’ screen to witness the war against Covid in Europe, focusing on a much larger one beyond car racing.
“Our network will be called upon to make a donation to the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine for fitness education in the treatment of Covid-19,” he said.
Fillon said the competition was cooperative.
“Financially, some are in trouble, but they’ll be there,” he said. “For them, race means survival. From a sporting and economical point of view, the 24 Hours of Le Mans will have to take position for the intelligent of all. “
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