WEC - Preview for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans
At 14h30 on Saturday 19 September the 88th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is due to get underway. This will be Round 7 of the 2019/20 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Lap distance: 13.629 km
Race duration: 24 hours
Location: Situated 200km from Paris, Le Mans is located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.
Other Races: Road to Le Mans – Porsche Carrera Cup
Website: LeMans.org
Airport: Paris Orly – 198km – http://www.airport-orly.com/
WHAT HAS CHANGED FOR THE 2020 24 HOURS OF LE MANS?
Hyperpole
The traditional qualifying session for Le Mans has been shaken up for 2020. There will now be two stages, designed to encourage sheer speed and spectacular track action.
On Thursday there will be qualifying and at the end of this session, 24 competitors – the six best in each class – will go on to compete in a new “Hyperpole” session the following day [Friday]. Hyperpole will determine the first six places on the grid for each class.
Behind closed doors
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and for the first time in Le Mans history, this year’s event will be staged behind closed doors. Fans will be able to watch all the action from home on television or via various digital platforms including the official FIA WEC app.
Change of start time
The start of this year’s race will be at 14h30 CEST on Saturday 19 September instead of its more recent 15h00 start time.
Not the Season Finale
Originally the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans was going to be the final race of the 2019/20 FIA WEC season. However this is now going to be held in Bahrain in November.
ENTRY LIST
CLICK HERE for the 60 car entry list for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans
VIDEO TEASER
ROLL OF HONOUR
Winners
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| LMP1 | Hulkenberg/ Bamber/ Tandy No19 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (M) 395 laps | Dumas / Lieb / Jani No2 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (M) 384 laps | Hartley / Bamber Bernhard No2 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (M) 367 laps | Buemi / Nakajima / Alonso No8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota TS050-Hybrid (M) 388 laps | Buemi / Nakajima / Alonso No8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota TS050-Hybrid (M) 385 laps |
| LMP2 | Howson / Bradley / Lapierre No47 KCMG Oreca 05-Nissan 358 laps | Menezes / Lapierre / Richelmi No36 Signatech Alpine Alpine A460-Nissan (D) 357 laps | Tung / Jarvis / Laurent No38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07-Gibson 366 laps | Lapierre / Negrao / Thiriet No36 Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470-Gibson (D) 367 laps | Lapierre / Negrao / Thiriet No36 Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470-Gibson (M) 368 laps |
| LMGTE Pro | Gavin / Milner / Taylor No64 Corvette Racing – GM** Chevrolet Corvette C7R 337 laps | Hand / Muller / Bourdais Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA ** Ford GT (M) 340 laps | Turner / Adam / Serra No97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage 340 laps | Christensen / Estre / Vanthoor No92 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR (M) 344 laps | Calado / Pier Guidi/ Serra no51 AF Corse Ferrari F488 GTE EVO (M) 342 laps |
| LMGTE Am | Shaytar / Bertolini / Basov No72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia 332 laps | Sweedler / Bell / Segal No62 Scuderia Corsa** Ferrari 458 Italia (M) 331 laps | Smith / Stevens / Vanthoor No84 JMW Motorsport** Ferrari F488 GTE 333 laps | Campbell / Ried / Andlauer No77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR (M) 335 laps | Bergmeister/ Perfetti / Lindsey No56 Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR (M) 334 laps |
Pole Position
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
LMP1 | N. Jani No18 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (M) 3:16.887 | N. Jani No2 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (M) 3:19.733 | K. Kobayashi No7 Toyota Gazoo Racing TS 050-Hybrid (M) 3:14.791 | K. Nakajima No8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota TS050-Hybrid (M) 3:15.377
| K. Kobayashi No7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota TS 050-Hybrid (M) 3:15.497 |
LMP2 | R. Bradley No47 KCMG Oreca 05-Nissan 3:38.032 | R. Rast No26 G-Drive Racing Oreca 05-Nissan 3:36.605 | A.Lynn No26 G-Drive Racing Oreca 07-Gibson 3:25.352 | P. Chatin No48 IDEC Sport Oreca 07-Gibson 3:24.842 | L. Duval No28 TDS Racing Oreca 07-Gibson (D) 3:25.345 |
LMGTE Pro | R. Stanaway No99 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 3:54.928 | D. Muller Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA ** Ford GT 3:51.185 | D. Turner No97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage 3:50.837 | G.Bruni No91 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR 3:47.504 | M. Soresen No95 Aston Martin Racing Vantage 3:48.000 |
LMGTE Am | P. Lamy No98 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 3:55.102 | R. Bell No61 Clearwater Racing Ferrari F458 Italia 3:56.827 | F. Rees No50 Labre Competition Chevrolet Corvette C7.R 3:52.843 | M. Carroli No88 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR 3:50.728 | M. Carroli No88 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR 3:51.439 |
LAP RECORDS | |||||
LMP1 | M. Conway | Toyota TS050-Hybrid | 3m17.297 | 248.6kph | 15-16 June 2019 |
LMP2 | N. Berthon | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m27.200 | 236.7kph | 16-17 June 2018 |
LMGTE Pro | J. Magnussen | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | 3m49.448 | 213.8kph | 16-17 June 2018 |
LMGTE Am | M. Cairoli | Porsche 911 RSR | 3m52.567 | 210.9kph | 15-16 June 2019 |
DID YOU KNOW?
- 2020 will be 88th edition of the 24 Heures du Mans. The first race was held in 1923.
- 2020 is only the second time the event has been held in September. The first was in 1968.
- This is the first time the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been held with no spectators
- 17.262 km (10.726 Miles) was the length of the original circuit in 1923. It was shortened in 1929 and again in 1932.
- The city of Le Mans has hosted the French Grand Prix on four occasions: 1906, 1921, 1929 and 1967
- The fastest speed achieved on the Mulsanne Straight was 403.9kph / 251mph set by Roger Dorchy’s WM-Peugeot in 1988.
- 5410km (3362 Miles) – the greatest distance achieved by a winning car (2010 Audi R15 TDI – Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard, Mike Rockenfeller). By comparison the winning car in 2019 completed 385 laps or 5246km.
- After winning the 1967 race with A.J. Foyt and Ford, American Dan Gurney spontaneously sprayed champagne while celebrating on the podium. This was the first occasion that this had been done and one that has become the traditional victory celebration.
- In 2018 Fernando Alonso became the first Formula One Grand Prix winner to win at Le Mans since Michele Alboreto in a Joest Racing TWR Porsche WSC-95 in 1997
- 1997 was also the first of Tom Kristensen’s record nine wins at Le Mans.
FIA WEC TIMETABLE
Wednesday, 16 September
08:00 - 18:00 Scrutineering
Thursday, 17 September
10:00 - 13:00 Free Practice 1
14:00 - 17:00 Free Practice 2
17:15 – 18:00 Qualifying Practice Session
20:00 – 00:00 Free Practice 3
Friday, 18 September
10:00 – 11:00 Free Practice 4
11:30 – 12:00 Hyperpole
Saturday, 19 September
10:30 – 10:45 Warm-up
14:30 RACE START
Sunday, 20 September
14:30 RACE FINISH
14:45 Podium Ceremony
FIA OFFICIALS
Eduardo Freitas FIA Race Director
Jean-Francois Veroux FIA WEC Steward (Chairman)
Manuel Leal FIA Technical Delegate
Christian Wahlen FIA Medical Delegate
Jeff Carter FIA Media Delegate
Cristobal Lopera Chief timekeeper
Yannick Dalmas Driver Adviser
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