Your Ultimate Guide To Le Mans 24 Hours 2013
It's the 90th birthday of one of the world's oldest and fastest endurance races this year, and while all signs point to another inevitable Audi walkover there's plenty to do and see at and around the Circuit de la Sarthe that make it one of the best experiences in motorsport.
Itinerary
It's important to know when things happen at Le Mans, so plan your visit. While the circuit is in use, a significant portion of local roads are closed, so it's vital to know what you can access and when so you don't find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
4.00pm-8.00pm: LM24 Free Practice - This is the final practice session and the last chance to learn the track before proper times get laid down.
8.30pm-9.30pm: Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Free Practice.
10.00pm-12.00am: LM24 Qualifying 1 - For the Le Mans newbies, this will be the first time they've driven the track at night. All drivers are required to complete five night-time laps to be eligible to race at the weekend.
4.00pm-5.00pm: Le Mans Legends Qualifying.
5.30pm-6.30pm : Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Qualifying.
7.00pm-9.00pm: LM24 Qualifying 2 - The only daytime qualifying session, so the teams' #1 drivers will be out to get their fastest times. This session will likely decide pole position.
10.00pm-12.00am: LM24 Qualifying 3 - The second night session and last chance to improve times.
10.00am-6.00pm: Open Pit Lane - Free public access to the pits and a chance to get up close and personal with the cars and drivers. There'll be a multitude of mementos and freebies on offer and it gets very crowded, but is utterly unmissable.
5.30pm-7.30pm: Driver Parade - Back in Le Mans village (a short tram ride away), the drivers of all 56 cars are driven around the centre of town in convertibles in a show like no other.
9.00am-9.45am : LM24 Warm Up - A short session to give the cars a shakedown.
10.05am-10.50am: Le Mans Legends Race.
11.15am-12.00pm: Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Race.
3.00pm: LM24 race start.
3.00pm: LM24 race finish.
Viewpoints
For the visiting spectator it's actually surprisingly difficult to watch the action from much of the Circuit de la Sarthe. The entirety of the main straight - Ligne Droit des Hunaudieres - is out of bounds as is the fast section of Pierre Baude for safety reasons, well demonstrated by Peter Dumbreck's crash in 1999. There are well-planned and maintained sites dotted around the remainder of the track.
A general admission ticket gets you free access to the concrete expanse around this final section of the track and, while the views are again from track level and interrupted by catch fencing, gives you excellent views of the start and finish to the race.
It gets incredibly crowded here for this reason, but if you're there for the finish you'll get to see the trophy presentations too. It's well worth a visit at night - to sneak up onto the stands just shy of the Ford Chicane and get a great view of the frantic action in the pits.
Image © Nathan de LaceyWith the underpass that travels from the outside of the circuit to the inside at Dunlop Curve, it's difficult to get clear sight until the cars reach the famous Dunlop Bridge. There's good views both inside and outside the circuit around the Esses and the Dunlop Bridge itself serves as the last crossing of the track until the Porsche Curves 6 miles later. The last toilets too!
Image © Nathan de LaceyThe highest point of the track and the start of the majestic straight. The infield banking gives excellent views right from the exit of the Esses onto the beginning of the Hunaudieres and one of the circuit's big screens lets you to catch up on action you may have missed.
It's also possible to get round the campsites on the outside of the track to catch the last sight of the cars as they disappear down the straight.
This sits at the bottom of the Hunaudieres and is a great spot to watch the cars hare down from their 200mph+ top speeds to just 40mph for the corner (many of the circuit's more spectacular incidents happen here). There's ample banking available, along with grandstands, toilets and a big screen on the inside of the corner.
The Arnage/Indianapolis section is the slowest part of the track following another fast section. There's plenty of spills into the gravel on the inside of Arnage, but it's often hidden from spectator view. There's a small section of banking here and the track is largely obscured behind catch fencing so it's difficult to get clean photos, but you get to hear the cars at their throatiest between the two corners, before they blast out of Indianapolis up towards the Porsche Curves.
This area provides one of the best views of the cars as they tackle the fast Porsche Curves - the meaner ones kicking out great spits of flame all the way through. You get plenty of warning to set up your photos too as you can hear the cars coming from Indianapolis, half a mile away. There's quite a great deal of banking here, however it's right next to the largest and cheapest campsite (also called Beausejour) at the track so it's very popular. Facilities are a bit sparse, but there is a kick-ass burger van.
Directly opposite the Beausejour site, the hill here provides great unobstructed views of the cars before they enter Porsche Curves. It's often incredibly crowded, but the views are unrivalled.
Back on the inside of the track, this karting centre - location of Nissan's Nismo Experience centre - provides good views of the exit of the Porsche Curves. You may need your best powers of persuasion to get line of sight on the track though, as this isn't an official spectator area. Nissan is offering free public WiFi here though...
This kart track on the outside is also not an official spectator area, but if you can get access to the banking there's excellent views of the track from the Porsche Curves right down to the Ford Chicane.
Image © Nathan de LaceySited in the funfair on the outside of the track between the Porsche Curves and the final Ford Chicane, there is simply no better way to get eyes on the cars than the ferris wheel. A Le Mans landmark for decades, the ferris wheel is one of the most iconic parts of the track and, if you can stand the French predilection for blaring EuroPop, the best 5 Euro you'll spend all weekend.
Useful Info
Official race programs are available at most vendors in and around the main part of the circuit under the grandstands, while the big screens mentioned above will relay live pictures from EuroSport's coverage of the race. The best resource by far is Radio Le Mans, broadcast live and in English around the circuit on 91.2FM.
A great free aid to take with you is the spotter's guide by Andy Blackmore. Available in a variety of print formats and a smartphone-friendly version, it's a superb aide memoire for those of us who can't memorise 56 cars and 170 drivers.
There's also free buses and trams available to anyone with circuit tickets to take you around. The trams are excellent to take you into Le Mans village for the driver parade and in case you fancy a bit of cafe food rather than greasy motorsport fare. The buses will take you around the various viewpoints on a loop from outside the Beausejour site to the circuit entrance and Le Mans museum (itself worth an hour of your day), Mulsanne, Arnage and the East Entrance for Tertre Rouge. They can get busy though, so don't hinge your timetable on them.
Viewing from Home
A Le Mans trip is a commitment that not everyone's work schedule fits around, but there's plenty of ways to keep up with it from home. Radio Le Mans will broadcast live over the internet at radiolemans.com and provides what fans universally agree is one of the best motorsport commentary services on the planet.
Much of the race itself will be run on EuroSport over the weekend, but there's a live stream that covers every moment of LM24 action (including scrutineering!) at Le Mans TV.
Enjoy the race!
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