The big day is approaching for the main event of endurance racing
Staggered, compacted, made covid-friendly and emptied of any public… The 88th iteration of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the most disrupted in the history of the event
The organizers are remaking the film with us of this exceptional 2020 edition in more than one way
Patatras.
On March 17, 2020, when the kickoff of the 24 Hours of Le Mans must be given in exactly three months, France is confining itself to fight against the spread of the coronavirus.
Sporting and cultural events are deleted one by one.
The holding of the race initially scheduled for June 13 and 14 is becoming more and more uncertain.
“Cancellation was never an option,” recalls Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile club de l'Ouest (ACO), in charge of organizing the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Our approach was the opposite, we were thinking more in this direction: how to have all the assets to organize this 88th edition.
"
So much so that only a few days after the start of confinement, the organizers announce that the automotive event is postponed to September.
The distressing J-89 becomes a more reassuring J-187.
“It was a sigh of relief for all the stakeholders who were afraid that the event could not take place,” says Vincent Beaumesnil, ACO sports director.
The race had to take place.
First to stay connected to our fans and then so that the teams keep their livelihood.
If they put the key under the door, who will compete in 2021?
"
Disrupted racing conditions
A small delay in planning, but big consequences in the paddocks.
If in mid-June the night lasts only eight hours, it is twelve in September.
“The pilots are going to have to drive longer at night.
The vision is not the same, you have to adapt to the lighting, that requires a different form of concentration than in broad daylight, ”explains Vincent Beaumesnil.
The temperatures will also be cooler, which directly influences the choice of wheels or the setting of engine cooling, for example.
“Usually, the teams develop the race strategy based on the curves and statistics from past editions.
This year, they have some data, but also a lot of unknowns ”.
Another special feature is that the start time of the race is brought forward to 2:30 p.m. instead of the traditional 4 p.m., so as not to overlap with the broadcast of other sporting events.
During the confinement, which continues to last, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest is quickly forced to spend a large part of its team on short-time work.
However, 20% of the workforce continue to work full time and are working in particular on three scenarios regarding the holding of the tests.
“A first where everything is going well and we did as every year, a second in which we welcome an audience but in limited numbers.
Finally, in camera events, ”explains Ghislain Robert, Director of Events & Infrastructures at the ACO.
📢📢📢 # LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/pcdGgjJAy2
- 24 Hours of Le Mans (@ 24heuresdumans) August 18, 2020
In April, without waiting to be fixed on one of the scenarios, the organizers anticipate and choose to compact the event to limit the time spent on the place.
In June, a final form of the 24 Hours is decided, again without taking into account the presence or absence of spectators.
Instead of the usual three weeks, the race will take place over one.
This period of time normally allows the teams to set up, carry out tests or carry out administrative and technical checks.
“We have arranged everything over four days, from Thursday to Sunday, in particular so that the costs for the stables are lower,” explains Pierre Fillon.
"We made a pretty hard choice"
If the starting ceremony and the podium are maintained, the activities intended for the public unfortunately do not survive the drastic cut.
No "weighing" in downtown Manceau, no entertainment in the streets, gathering of old cars, visits to the stands on the circuit, fan zones.
Even the famous parade of pilots must bow.
“It was a pretty tough choice because the 24 Hours of Le Mans is above all a popular event and its magic is its audience,” explains Vincent Beaumesnil.
It is not a show that we sit in front of two hours before leaving, but a moment over several days where we experience many different things.
"
The biggest heartbreak for the teams is yet to come.
On August 6, in agreement with the prefecture, the organizers decide with a heavy heart that the competition will take place behind closed doors.
At the time, the health situation prohibited gatherings of more than 5,000 people.
A regret and surely the hardest decision to take for Pierre Fillon: “It is not in our DNA to organize races without sharing them with the public, the enthusiasts.
"
The 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans, scheduled for September 19 and 20, will take place without an audience.
➡️ https://t.co/tK3r5J0grs#LeMans24 #WEC pic.twitter.com/IMOH1jSRij
- 24 Hours of Le Mans (@ 24heuresdumans) August 10, 2020
But, no time to dwell on a disappointment.
"With or without an audience, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a heavy organization to manage and choosing a scenario at the beginning of August was already very late", launches Ghislain Robert, the events and infrastructures director of the ACO, appointed head of the taskforce Covid-19.
Its team of four has barely more than a month to put in place the logistical and human resources to comply with health regulations.
Because even without an audience, between the 60 car teams made up of at least forty people, the 1,500 volunteers, the TV production, or the security service, nearly 8,500 individuals are expected on the Sarthois circuit.
In fact, the ACO was almost short of arms and people of good will.
The coronavirus crisis deprives many foreign commissioners, especially English ones, of travel.
Defections have also taken place at the national level, probably because Sarthe is one of the departments placed in the red zone.
But without volunteers, no race.
The challenge was therefore considerable for the ACO, who stayed in contact with the commissioners throughout by email.
The club is now confident, and recalls that all arrangements have been made so that the event, like all those who participate in it, benefit from the best safety conditions.
Compliance with health rules requires, the marshals posted on the "closed" circuit will be subjected to a PCR test and will never come into contact with the volunteers of the "open" circuit.
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Dunlop curve.
Red mound.
Porsche curves.
Indianapolis.
Mulsanne.
Arnage.
Coming soon 🔜 # LeMans24
A post shared by 24 Heures du Mans (@ 24heuresdumans) on Sep 10, 2020 at 10:55 am PDT
A “special Le Mans” Covid-19 protocol
The protocol was drawn up based on the texts of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), French regulations and the advice of the chief medical officer of the ACO.
Result: strict and sometimes very restrictive measures, such as the obligation for any person entering the enclosure to have carried out a PCR test within the previous 96 hours.
In addition to this, temperature measurements will be taken at the entrances, a marking on the ground must indicate the direction of movement in the enclosure and the different teams will not have the right to meet.
Wearing a mask is obviously compulsory indoors and outdoors.
Except for the pilots, who will not have one in their racing car.
"They are alone, already have the hood and especially what they wear in the car must be fireproof, but the mask is not," said Ghislain Robert.
On day 7, the health protocol tested at the end of August at the 24 Heures Moto seems to be working well and the teams are already on a war footing.
If the Covid-19 disrupted the event, it will not prevent the competition from raging as it does every year as the ACO president announces.
“We have a grid of 60 competitors, with two female crews, a Toyota manufacturer who can win a third time and keep the big trophy with the Toyota TS050 Hybrid.
Against him, the private structure (that is to say, which is not an automobile manufacturer) Rebellion is in numerical equality on the asphalt, and can boast of several victories this year.
He is an adversary that should not be overlooked for Toyota.
In LMP2 as in LMGTE Pro, competitors can compete for first place with seconds, even after 24 hours on the track.
Despite many twists and turns and uncertainties, past disappointments have given way to impatience and the teams can congratulate themselves on having preserved the essential: the race.
20 minutes in the wheel of the 24h of Le Mans
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