The circuit
The circuit on which the 24 Hours of Le Mans is run is named the Circuit de la Sarthe (Circuit of the Sarthe), after the Sarthe department that Le Mans is within. It consists of both permanent track and public roads that are temporarily closed for the race. Since 1923 the track has been extensively modified, mostly for safety reasons, and currently is 13.65 km in length. Although it initially entered the town of Le Mans, the track was cut short in order to better protect spectators. This led to the creation of the Dunlop Curve and Tertre Rouge corners before rejoining the old circuit on the Mulsanne. Another major change was on the Mulsanne itself, when the FIA decreed that it would no longer sanction any circuit which had a straight longer than 2 km. This led to the addition of two chicanes, slowing the high speeds that cars had been capable of reaching on the old 5 km long straight.
The public sections of the track differ from the permanent circuit, especially in comparison to the Bugatti Circuit which is inside the Circuit de la Sarthe. Due to heavy traffic in the area, the public roads are not as smooth or well kept. They also offer less grip because of the lack of soft tyre rubber laid down from racing cars, though this only affects the first few laps of the race. The roads are closed only within a few hours of the practice sessions and the race, before being opened again almost as soon as the race is finished. Workers have to assemble and dismantle safety barriers every year for the public sections.
Unique rules and traditions
Although the 24 Hours of Le Mans was part of the World Sportscar Championship for most of its existence, it has regularly had rules which differed from those used in other series, partially due to the length of the event. Some rules are for safety reasons, while others are for the purposes of competition.
For many decades, cars were required to run at least an hour into the race before they were allowed to refill fluids for the car, such as oil or coolant, with the exception of fuel. This was an attempt by the ACO to help increase efficiency and reliability. Cars which could not last the first hour without having to replace lost fluids were disqualified.
Another rule that is unique to Le Mans is a requirement for cars to be shut off while they are being refueled in the pits. Based not only the notion that it is safer and less of a fire hazard to do so, this also allows for another test of reliability, because cars have to test their ability to restart many times under race conditions. Another element of this rule is that mechanics are not allowed to work on the car or its tires while it is being refueled, which has led teams to adapt innovative ways in which to decrease the time of these lengthy pit stops. As an exception to this rule, drivers are allowed to get out of the car and be replaced by another driver during refueling.
At Le Mans there are various traditions that have been seen over the years. One of the longest lasting is the waving of the French tricolor to start the race. This is usually followed by a fly-over featuring jets trailing blue, white and red smoke. A similar flag tradition is the waving of safety flags during the final lap of the race by track marshals, congratulating the winners and other finishers.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans also saw the first known instance at a major race of a winning driver celebrating by spraying champagne instead of drinking it. When Dan Gurney won the 1967 race with co-driver A.J. Foyt, the two drivers mounted the victory stand and Gurney was handed a magnum of champagne. Looking down, he saw Ford CEO Henry Ford II, team owner Carroll Shelby and their wives, as well as several journalists who had predicted disaster for the high-profile duo. Gurney shook the bottle and sprayed everyone nearby, establishing a tradition reenacted in victory celebrations the world over for the next 40 years. Gurney, incidentally, autographed and gave the bottle of champagne to a LIFE magazine photographer, Flip Schulke, who used it as a lamp for many years. He recently returned the bottle to Gurney, who keeps it at his home in California.
Official website for live timings and more:http://www.lemans.org/en/Radio Le Mans:http://rlm.0157.org/Teams entry list:LM P1Team Peugeot Total - Peugeot 908 HDi FAP
Team Peugeot Total - Peugeot 908 HDi FAP
Peugeot Sport Total - Peugeot 908 HDi FAP
Audi Sport Team Joest - Audi R15 TDI
Audi Sport Team Joest - Audi R15 TDI
Audi Sport North America - Audi R15 TDI
Aston Martin Racing - Lola Aston Martin
Aston Martin Racing - Lola Aston Martin
AIM Team Oreca - Oreca 01 AIM
Team Oreca Matmut - Peugeot 908 HDi FAP
Beechdean Mansell Motorsport - Ginetta-Zytek Z09R
Signature Plus - Lola Aston Martin
Dome Racing Team - Dome S102 Judd
Drayson Racing - Lola B09/60 Judd
Rebellion Racing - Lola B10/60 Rebellion
Rebellion Racing - Lola B10/60 Rebellion
Kolles - Audi R10 TDI
Kolles - Audi R10 TDI
Pescarolo Sport - Pescarolo 01 Judd
SORA Racing - Pescarolo 01 Judd
Autocon Motorsports - Lola B06/10 AER
LM P2OAK Racing - Pescarolo 01 Judd
OAK Racing - Pescarolo 01 Judd
RML - Lola B08/80 HPD
Highcroft Racing - HPD Acura ARX-01C
Racing Box - Lola B08/80 Judd
Gerard Welter - WR Zytek
Quifel-ASM Team - Ginetta Zytek 09S Zytek
Team Bruichladdich - Ginetta Zytek 07S Zytek
Strakka Racing - HPD Acura ARX-01C
LM GT1Larbre Competition - Saleen S7R
Luc Alphand Aventures - Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
Luc Alphand Aventures - Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
Matech Competition - Ford GT
Marc VDS Racing - Ford GT
Young Driver AMR - Aston Martin DBR9
Peka Racing NV - Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
JLOC - Lamborghini Murcielago GT1
LM GT2Corvette Racing - Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
Corvette Racing - Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
BMW Motorsport - BMW M3 GT2
BMW Motorsport - BMW M3 GT2
IMSA Performance Matmut - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
Team Felbermayr-Proton - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
ProSpeed Competition - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
Flying Lizard Motorsports - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
RSR - Jaguar XKR GT2
Risi Competizione - Ferrari F430 GT2
Risi Competizione - Ferrari F430 GT2
Modena Group Racing - Ferrari F430 GT2
Spyker Squadron - Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R
Hankook Team Farnbacher - Ferrari F430 GT2
JMW Motorsport - Aston Martin Vantage GT2
AF Corse - Ferrari F430 GT2
BMS Scuderia Italia - Ferrari F430 GT2
Topic: 24 Hours of Le Mans 2010 *SPOILERS* (Read 1908 times)
