History
Endurance Racing, like all great things (pizza, pretzels, and Jacuzzis), got its start in Italy. The first races began around 1900 and were about 300 miles long, lasting around 4.75 hours. Endurance racing, unlike some other sports, was predominately to test the car’s ability to handle a challenge, making it a good way for automobile companies to show off their car’s reliability. In endurance racing’s early years, companies such as Fiat, Mercedes, Peugeot, and Bugatti competed. Targa Florio was a race through the mountains of Sicily; as one of the toughest competitions in Europe, the race was 277 miles of treacherous mountain roads, hairpin curves, and to heights where severe fluctuations in climate would challenge the cars and their drivers. The first race of Targa Florio in 1906 took nine hours and the winner averaged 30 MPH. The first 24-hour automobile race event was on a one-mile long oval track in Columbus, Ohio in 1905. The winning car covered 828.5 miles. 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest active sports car race in endurance racing; it has been held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France. It is currently part of the FIA WEC. (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile: World Endurance Championship). Up into the 1950s, it was still legal for one driver to race for 24 hours. However, most teams used two drivers. Today, the WEC requires a certain amount of drivers depending on the length of the race, and also requires that they switch after a specified amount of time. Now a common custom for winners of all motorsports, the first known instance of champagne being sprayed from the bottle (instead of drank) by the winner was at Le Mans in ’67.
Autos
The WEC races began in 2012 as a way to race GT (Grand Tourer cars) and Le Mans Prototype racers. GT cars are made to travel long distances at high speeds (and usually in comfort and style). These are essentially road cars that have been modified. They appear as they would on the road. However, this “GT” badge tends to be abused and just used on any car to sound fancy. WEC racing is a way for automobile manufacturers to prove the worthiness of their cars, show their racing competence, and gain publicity. Currently, manufactures that take part are Audi, Porsche, Toyota, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Chevrolet, and Nissan, among others. There are different classes racing together. Although they race together, and other than the Driver’s Championship, there is no overall winning platform; there are multiple different types of platforms to win based on the type of car.
Technique
It’s hard enough to imagine what it must have been like for racers to drive the 24hr endurance races solo, let alone with multiple drivers. There are a few people who monitor each car: one person for car welfare, one for the engine, and then the driver’s engineer. The driver and engineer must have a tight relationship and mutual understanding to allow for clear, concise advice that is accurate. There are mechanics and pit crew all ready to implement orders. Everything has to be perfect. The 24hr Le Mans race is the Olympics of automobile racing. Racing teams continually need to validate their existence to their sponsors, and that means bringing home gold. Just because you passed the checkered flag first doesn’t mean you’ve won—it’s the car that has traveled the furthest distance in 24hrs. Drivers are wearing diapers for urination and have to carefully balance when and what they eat to avoid digestion at certain times so they do not become tired while driving. They will eat and nap in stretches of a few hours while the other driver is out with the car. I am no racing driver, but I have driven solo 13 hours straight through, refueling twice and not urinating. (Road trip!) It’s hard enough to stay awake and alert switching between audiobooks, music, and silence driving straight through the night on an empty highway—I averaged 68 miles per hour. I can’t imagine the intensity of racing fifty-some cars while trying to understand what your vehicle is doing and reiterating that to your engineer. The fastest average speed at Le Mans for the 24hr race is 153 miles per hour.
Full-Speed Ahead
When I was little, I remember asking my dad why NASCAR didn’t go on for five laps so that it didn’t have to last so long. I was little and thinking in terms of a few students running from one end of the playground and back again to see who was the fastest. But it isn’t really about speed. It’s about balancing speed, intuition, smooth driving, breaking, efficiency, and everything else involved. My dad said to me, “They have to go two-hundred laps because it’s about endurance.” It clicked for me. That made sense. It didn’t make me any more interested in it, but at least it made sense. Endurance racing makes sense. It is the ultimate test of manufacturers of all parts involved, especially tires. It’s about the endurance of the drivers. If you’re not committed or passionate about racing, you’ll never make it to Le Mans. For races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it’s an accomplishment to finish the race. In fact, it's expected that more than four-fifths of the cars will not finish the race.
References:
Erskine, James. Dir.Le Mans: Racing is Everything. Amazon Studios. Streaming. 2017. George, Patrick. "These Incredible Photos Show How Le Mans Evolved Over 84 Years." Jalopnik. 2014. Web. Other hyperlinks included in body text.
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AuthorLiberty White Archives
November 2017
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