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When Bridge Classic Cars went to Le Mans 24hr
By Craig Ranson
Managing Director – Bridge Classic Cars
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It is one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world and Bridge Classic Cars were lucky enough to attend this year’s event. Known as ‘The Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency’ the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world’s oldest active sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France.
10am to 3pm – Fringe events – Pitwalk – Anyone with a pit walk ticket can wander around the pits all day and take a look at each team’s set-up for the race. Meanwhile, the mechanics continue working on the cars to get them ready for the practice and qualifying sessions.
10am to 12pm – Fringe events – Fun Fair – The Le Mans 24 Hours fun fair is a key part of the race atmosphere. Get a commanding view of the circuit from the top of the huge Ferris wheel or try the rollercoasters to fulfil your need for speed. All the fun of the fair without leaving the circuit!
4pm to 8pm – 24 Hours of Le Mans – Free Practice Session – As the lap times in these sessions are of no consequence, teams use this session to adjust the car’s settings. Rookie drivers will already have driven the course on the Test Day. Some teams focus on the race and plump for long stints at the wheel; others have their eyes on the clock and opt for aggressive setups. Watch out for the traffic!
8:30pm to 9:30pm – Road to Le Mans – Free Practice 1 – This is the first practice session for Road to Le Mans, which is part of the Michelin Le Mans Cup series for LMP3 and GT3 classes. Today, drivers have sixty minutes to get used to the circuit and get the car set up just right. There’s no time to be lost!
10pm to 12pm – 24 Hours of Le Mans – Qualifying Practice Session – The main priority is to complete the five night laps required of each driver, including the most experienced, during one of the two night sessions held between 10pm and midnight. The second goal is to register a qualification time in case rain disrupts the next day’s session. That done, everyone can concentrate on getting ready for the race itself. All in all, this is a pretty tense two hours.
Thursday 14th June 2017
9am to 10am – Road to Le Mans – Free Practice 2 – This is the second practice session for Road to Le Mans, which is part of the Michelin Le Mans Cup series for LMP3 and GT3 classes. Now is the time to tweak the settings before the qualifying sessions and the first race in a few hours time. The morning session lasts sixty minutes.
10am to 12pm – Fringe events – Fun Fair – The Le Mans 24 Hours fun fair is a key part of the race atmosphere. Get a commanding view of the circuit from the top of the huge Ferris wheel or try the rollercoasters to fulfil your need for speed. All the fun of the fair without leaving the circuit!
10:30am to 11:15am – Aston Martin Festival – Free Practice 1 – This is the first opportunity for the Aston Martin field to take to the track. As its name suggests, the race is open to Aston Martins only. Drivers have 45 minutes to familiarise themselves with the 13-kilometre long Circuit des 24 Heures.
11:55am to 12:40am – Aston Martin Festival – Free Practice 2 – The second session takes place 40 minutes after the first. In this session, drivers pay more attention to vehicle settings, ready for the qualifying sessions which start at 15:30.
1:30pm to 1:50pm – Road to Le Mans – Qualifying Practice Sessions 1 – Now for the serious stuff. The first timed session is only 20 minutes long, which leaves no time for messing around! Times recorded in this session determine the starting order for the race that will be at 17:30 this afternoon. The fastest drivers usually take the wheel for the first qualifying session. Now is not the time to have an accident because their teammates need the car for the next session.
2:05pm to 2:25 pm – Road to Le Mans – Qualifying Practice Sessions 2 – Bronze-rated drivers take their turn on track in another 20-minute qualifying session. Times recorded in this session determine the starting order for the 55-minute race that will be at 11:30 on Saturday 16 June.
3:30pm to 4:3pm – Aston Martin Festival – Qualifying Practice Sessions – The only timed session for the Aston Martin Festival lasts an hour. In that time, both drivers will take the wheel to qualify for the race at 10:15 on the morning before the 86th 24 Hours of Le Mans.
5:30pm to 6:25pm – Road to Le Mans – Race 1 – The first Road to Le Mans takes place just a few hours after the qualifying sessions. Forty or so LMP3 and GT3 cars line up to test their skills on the demanding Circuit des 24 Heures. A thrilling race is in store! Last year, United Autosport came home first. Whose turn is it this year? We’ll know in less than an hour’s time!
7pm to 9pm – 24 Hours of Le Mans – Qualifying Practice Session – Everyone pretends that pole position has no importance for a 24-hour endurance race. Rubbish! For manufacturers like Toyota or Porsche a pole position in Le Mans is of capital importance because it guarantees worldwide media attention. The qualifying sessions are always the scene of the first achievements and sometimes also of the first moments of anguish as drivers test their car’s limits.
10pm to 12pm – 24 Hours of Le Mans – Qualifying Practice Session – This is a decisive moment. As the sun sets on the circuit, you could be forgiven for thinking that the chase for pole position is over. Think again! Every year in the last few minutes of this session, the air is thick with drama as the sprinters of the best teams do their utmost to register the best time. It’s guaranteed to send shivers down your spine!
Friday 15th June 2017
10am to 8pm – Fringe events – Pits & Track Discovery – There is no racing on the Friday. The pit lane is open to the public all day. Those with an “Enceinte Générale” ticket can observe the 60 cars and their drivers and jostle for photographs in front of the garages. For most spectators, a selfie with a driver is an absolute must!
10am to 12pm – Fringe events – Fun Fair – The Le Mans 24 Hours fun fair is a key part of the race atmosphere. Get a commanding view of the circuit from the top of the huge Ferris wheel or try the rollercoasters to fulfil your need for speed. All the fun of the fair without leaving the circuit!
5pm to 7pm – Fringe events – Drivers Parade – The Drivers’ Parade, celebrating its 22nd running this year, is the not-to-be-missed rendezvous between the drivers and the public the day before the race. In the late afternoon all the drivers in the Le Mans 24 Hours will parade in the Le Mans town centre in historic cars. The organiser, Classic Automotive, in partnership with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest will pull out all the stops to give the spectators an unforgettable festive spectacle along the specially prepared route that winds through the streets of the town.
8pm to 11pm – Concert – THE LE MANS 24 HOURS GRAND CONCERT – Jamiroquai will perform in the MMArena at the first Le Mans 24 Hours Grand Concert – a new event in the event! The British Group led by the charismatic Jay Kay has imposed its style resulting in the sale of more than 35 million albums worldwide in a career lasting almost 25 years. Who does not remember hits like Cosmic Girl, You Give Me Something as well as Virtual Insanity After an absence of almost seven years Jamiroquai is making his big comeback to centre stage with a new studio album, Automaton, released in 2017.
Saturday 16th June 2017
9am to 9:45am – 24 Hours of Le Mans – Warm-Up – The big day has arrived – at last! Before the start drivers and cars have a final 45-minute free practice session in the morning to carry out final preparations. The warm up provides the 60 participants with the last opportunity to fine-tune the setups and adapt the cars to cope with the day’s prevailing weather conditions.
10:15am to 11am – Aston Martin Festival – Race – The warm-up has just finished and we are ready for the Aston Martin field to race in earnest. There are five classes: LMP1, GT1, GT2, GT3 and GT4. The race is 45 minutes long. What a pleasure to see such an impressive line-up of vehicles, some of which have an illustrious past on this very track.
11:30 t0 12:25am – Road to Le Mans – Race 2 – After the the 24 Hours of Le Mans warm-up and the first support race of the day, the Aston Martin Festival, it’s time for the LMP3 and GT3s of Road to Le Mans to take to the track. The first race was on Thursday and competitors will be eager to better their performance today. The 55-minute long race is likely to be as spectacular as the first.
3pm – 24 Hours of Le Mans – Start – Those long minutes before the start are legendary. After the morning’s entertainment and races, the tension mounts as the cars line up along the grandstand straight. It goes up another notch as the band plays the national anthems. Adrenaline peaks at 3pm when the green flag hails the beginning of 24 hours of excitement and fervou.
Sunday 17th June 2017
10:30am to 12:30am – Fringe events – Mass – The traditional religious service in the La Chapelle corner. En 1932 a chapel was built inside the circuit at the foot of the Panorama hillock, in which mass was celebrated during the 24 Hours. It was destroyed during the war and when the Bugatti circuit was being constructed another was built in 1965 in the inside of the first corner on the track after the run-down from the Dunlop Footbridge. It was immediately called the ‘’Virage de la Chapelle’’. In 2000, to meet the demands of the car and bike Federations it was taken down to be moved. Unfortunately, despite all the precautions taken it did not survive: only the stained glass windows, statues and the altar were saved. A new chapel was built in 2011, near the site of the two previous ones but still in the Virage de la Chapelle.
3pm – 24 Hours of Le Mans – Finish – Spectators throng to the grandstand from midday onwards. There are not many laps left, but anything can happen. At 3pm, drivers and mechanics can breathe easily again. They have finished the 24 hours. As the track is cleared of cars, apart from the winning machine, the crowds gather under the podium to applaud the winners. See you again next year!
