It started out as a simple question. Who can drive the furthest in 24 Hours? Taking place on mostly public roads and in all weather conditions, The 24 Hours of Le Mans will not only test a car's speed, handling, and technology, but it is also a true torture test on it's ability to simply hold together.
Headlights, windshield wipers, carbon disk brakes, low aero drag, and laser lights have all been invented here.
Follow me below the fold to see why The 24 Hours of Le Mans is truly the only auto race in the world that matters.
So what makes Le Mans so special?
Throughout the decades many factory companies have tried their hand at winning this great endurance race. Ford, Ferrari, Mercedes, Peugeot, Nissan, Jaguar, and Aston Martin have all been there, each coming up with innovative designs and technology to try to win.
There are 4 classes of cars for the race, but the fastest class is called Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) and they are show stoppers that garner world-wide attention.
LMP1 has by far the most wide open rule book in all of racing. These cars only have to meet two rules: Meet basic safety requirements and achieve a certain fuel mileage per lap. Other than that, teams can do whatever they want to the car.
This results in cars that have completely different aerodynamics, completely different engine sizes, turbos versus natural aspiring engines, different tire combinations, and different types of fuels being used. The cars don't look the same. They don't even sound the same. For the past couple of years, the Audi's have sounded like a "whoosh" going by as noise is wasted energy and the engineers want that energy to stay in the engine.
Most racing now days is about creating cars that are equal to each other and letting the drivers decide who is better driver. This is NASCAR and Indycar. Even in most series where you get completely different cars, the rule builders will make them run the same speed to give everyone the same chance to win.
These cars are not built to run equal to each other. This is about who can build the better car, the more efficient car and the most reliable car and the factories are rewarded for innovation.
Most other racing series are just about entertainment.
Not Le Mans. (The other notable exceptions are Formula 1 and MotoGP, but both rules are MUCH tighter.).
Le Mans has a purpose.
This results in a real world playground that showcases the bleeding edge of automotive technology. Today, the battle for the overall win is between the Audi, Toyota, and the Porsche factory teams and the technology each has developed relates to green energy. All of this technology makes it way into everyday road cars.
The Audi factory team has 3 Audi R18 E Tron Quattro's entered and they are running a 4.0 liter V6 turbo diesel with a 2 MJ flywheel hybrid system.
The Toyota factory team has 2 TS040s and they have a natural aspiring 3.7 liter V8 petrol with a 6 MJ super capicator hybrid system.
The Porsche factory team has 2 919s and they are running a 2.0 liter V4 turbocharged petrol with a 6 liter battery hybrid system.
New this year in its own class is the Nissan ZEOD RC, which uses lithium batteries and it is the world's fastest electric racing car.
Nissan will be joining LMP1 next year to battle against the Audi, Toyota, and Porsche factory teams.
There are rumors going around Ferrari may enter LMP1 as well.
Here is the TV schedule if anyone wants to catch this great race:
Europe:
Saturday 3PM France time to Sunday 3PM France time on Eurosport and Eurosport 2.
US:
Saturday 8:30am-4PM EST Fox Sports 1
Saturday 4PM to Sunday 2am Fox Sports 2
Sunday 2am-7:30am Fox Sports 1
Sunday 7:30am -9am Fox Sports 2
Live timing can be found here:
http://live.fiawec.com/
Some pics can be found here:
http://www.fiawec.com/...
Here is a good picture of the Toyota:
Here is a good picture of the Audi (in front):
Here is a good picture of the Porsche:
Enjoy the race!
Leave any questions or comments you have!