Well I didn't had the impression that most of the specators are there just for being seen and thats one of the aspects I really like about Le Mans. You can go to the Porsche Curves at 3AM and people are talking about racing strategies.... . Its not as glamorous as the Monaco GP. For sure at the end it is about the technical and driver aspect how you cope the challenge but it would miss the emotional aspect which is - in my opinion - at the end why lots of people watching Motorsports and thats also including drivers and teams. I would find it quite depressing to race in front of empty stands... but thats maybe just me
The motorcycle 24 Hour of Le Mans race weekend has just been rescheduled from April to September so a final decision on the 24 hours of Le Mans car race weekend should come in April and will obviously depend on how things progress, i.e. the number of infections in the country. China is seeing a clear decline in new cases now and Xi Jinping is trying to claim it as a victory...
https://sport24.lefigaro.fr/auto-moto/endurance/24h-du-mans/fil-info/coronavirus-les-24h-du-mans-reportees-les-19-et-20-septembre-997052 It took place in September, once before, in 68 because of the spring riots.
In a good year they can't produce schedules without conflicts between championships. With everyone trying to reschedule events to the fall, how is this all going to work?
Cooties is not a reason to delay the world's greatest automobile race. Running out of vino...maybe. But not cooties. This is getting ridiculous.
Not that I wuz goin' anyhow, but, at my advanced age, and for many of the same that I know that do go, I can see it. I'm holed up right now.....
Like all things, this too shall pass. Stay safe and look forward to the fall edition of the greatest race in the world!
Full fields. After all this nonsense....people will want to go racing. And I am all in favor of that!!!!
Americans usually think that. But you would be surprised to hear from many European drivers who feel that the Rolex 24 is a bigger deal than Le Mans.
That would be interesting. I guess there is a different perspective living abroad. I certainly would love to hear those thoughts.
Interesting? Very. Different perspective? Indeed. Also very. 'Boring track ('can't even call it a circuit), meaningless (internationally) race. Now, when it was part of the WSC (as was the 12 and the WG 6)..........
Yeah, I've never seen that sentiment either. Considering Le Mans is the most important race in the world with a global TV audience and huge media attention, Daytona certainly lost its luster during the ALMS/GrandAm split (which it is only now regaining) and (where) the media are treated like dogs, that is a bold statement. It would seem, if a driver who has won both races such as Hurley Haywood was asked, the response might be that winning overall at Daytona puts a driver on the national stage but winning at Le Mans puts a driver at a whole other level on the global stage. Also consider French sports car racing heroes such as the late Bob Wollek or Claude Ballot-Lena, both of whom raced at Le Mans upwards of thirty times without an overall win and had overall success at Daytona, one may think they would have gladly traded a Le Mans win for their Daytona victories in an instant. Had it not been for the unfortunate split in U.S. sports car racing and Daytona had hosted ALMS P1 cars at the 24 Hours, the story may be different. But, as it is, Daytona isn't even the most important sports car race in the U.S. now. BHW
Buy a pit pass. They'll talk to you. Check out this article on drive tribe dot com WHY THE DAYTONA 24 HOURS IS EVEN HARDER ON CARS AND DRIVERS THAN LE MANS - Tiff Needell
The Indy 500 is older. Has the biggest purse. Consistently has more spectators. Actually the most spectators of any race, or any other sporting event. So it could certainly be considered the most important race in the world.
Perhaps, but Le Mans was the very making of the world's leading luxury and sports car brand manufacturers (along with the sponsors and media that follow them) which literally turn out by the dozens year after year. Throughout the history of Le Mans, every major luxury and sports car brand such as Bugatti, Bentley, Jaguar, Ford, Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Audi, et.al. may all credit success at Le Mans for their positions in the market place. Indy would seem to be more of a driver's event, the name of the winning driver is in the headlines following the race rather than a manufacturer brand name. Globally, there are far more eyes on Le Mans than Indy which is again seen more as a national event. BHW
This is true. The Indy organizers have always downplayed manufacturer brand names. The year a Maserati won, they were calling it "The Boyle Special". A rule change in 1980 prevented Porsche from dominating. Americans know names like Foyt, Andretti, Unser. Most probably have no idea who Tom Kristensen is.
Aaahh yes....in the same vein.... A friend had a trivia book with the question "What was Foyt's '77 winning car?" It's answer was "The Gilmore Broadcasting Special". Of course, we know, it was a Coyote. Gotta give the guys with the bucks some exposure.
And, if you ask an Indy Car fan who won the series championship last year, they're stumped most of the time. BHW
I am going to go out on a limb here...Was it a 8 year old Dallara chassis with a Chevrolet engine using an Xtrac gear box driiven by a man who's owner has the last name of Penkse? It's that boring!
May be.....but this thread is getting pretty exciting with the breaking news that Rogere is a slave owner..... "driiven by a man who's owner has the last name of Penkse."