www.porscheroadandrace.com A very different Le Mans 24 Hours Published: 25th September 2020 By: Glen Smale Online version: https://www.porscheroadandrace.com/a-very-different-le-mans-24-hours/ Le Mans 24 Hours, 19/20 September 2020: The pre-race grid was a busy place despite the presence of the Covid-19 pandemic – note the empty grandstand The 2020 motor racing season will undoubtedly go down in history as the most unusual and disrupted year on record. Only twice has the Le Mans 24 Hour race been rescheduled from its traditional June slot, to a later date in September, the first being in 1968 when the race was run on 28/29 September due to ongoing unrest in Paris. The second occasion was this race just finished, this delay being due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, so it is quite significant that the race was still able to be contested at all in 2020. www.porscheroadandrace.com Right on cue, just as was forecast, it rained overnight at Le Mans following a week of intense heat, which was so unusual for September. The first race of the day on Saturday was the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland Round 1 at 09h15. Usually, a number of these cars are eliminated at the first turn into the Dunlop Bridge chicane as they all try to pile into the same little bit of track at the same time. It’s a classic case of trying to win the race at the first corner, but on Saturday this was not the case. It was almost as though the drivers had had a good talking to because, as the pace car came through the Ford Chicane and onto the start/finish straight to release the cars, the driver and passenger in the pace car could be seen to be waving their arms out of the window in an up-and-down fashion, motioning the group to slow down and be careful of overdoing it at the start. Against all expectations, all the cars were well behaved…for the first couple of laps anyway. Le Mans 24 Hours, 19/20 September 2020: The race gets underway with the pole-sitting Toyota just ahead of the pack www.porscheroadandrace.com But Saturday was of course primarily about the 24-hour race comprising a field of 59 cars that took to the track for the start of the 88th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The start was at the slightly earlier time of 14h30, in order to accommodate that other great road race that day, the Tour de France cycling event, which also finished on Sunday afternoon. While this race did not have the buzz of any past Le Mans races due to the race taking place behind closed doors, we did at least have a race and in the years to come, we will look back at this race as perhaps unusual, but also as a rather special race. Le Mans 24 Hours, 19/20 September 2020: The #91 works Porsche 911 RSR driven by Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz and Frederic Makowiecki, lines up on the grid prior to the start www.porscheroadandrace.com The breakdown The field was made up of a very different set of cars this year. In the LMP1 class, there were just five contenders: two Toyotas, two Rebellions and the ByKolles. After the Hyperpole, it was the #7 Toyota on pole, followed by the #1 Rebellion, #8 Toyota and #3 Rebellion. In a class of 23 LMP2 cars, it was the #22 United Autosports that was on pole. The GTE Pro class was significantly depleted this year with just three manufacturers participating: Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin. After the Hyperpole shoot out, it was the #91 Porsche 911 RSR of Bruni, Lietz and Makowiecki who headed the class, followed by #51 Ferrari and the #95 Aston Martin. In the GTE Am class it was the #61 Luzich Racing Ferrari followed by two Porsches, the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing and #56 Team Project 1 cars. Le Mans 24 Hours, 19/20 September 2020: The #57 GTE AM Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR still looks resplendent in its striking colour scheme – captured here in the early part of www.porscheroadandrace.com the race piloted by Jeroen Bleekemolen, Felipe Fraga and Ben Keating The race start Leading up to the start of the race itself, the weather in the morning was first drizzly, then the sun peeped through the clouds which was an indication that the early morning dampness would soon burn off. And as expected it did, so that the lead up to the pre-race fanfare all took place in hazy, lazy sunshine. Despite the presence of Covid-19 precautions, the pre-race grid looked almost as packed as it usually does despite the need for social distancing, but the whole atmosphere was decidedly subdued. The ACO must, though, be congratulated for putting on an event of the magnitude of the Le Mans 24 Hours in such trying and challenging times. Le Mans 24 Hours, 19/20 September 2020: The #92 works Porsche 911 RSR captured here www.porscheroadandrace.com in the early part of the race in the hands of Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor At shortly before 14h30, the Porsche 911 pace car led the field away and about five or six minutes later the field arrived at the Ford Chicane, the final curve before the main start/finish straight. As the five red lights were switched off, the #7 Toyota led the field by a half a car length with the #1 Rebellion just itching to get going. By the time the lead cars reached Turn 1 at the end of the start/finish straight, the Rebellion had edged ahead of the Toyota. This position was short-lived though, as when the cars came around after completing the first lap, the #7 Toyota was a good 50 metres in the lead. Le Mans 24 Hours, 19/20 September 2020: The #99 GTE AM Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR driven by Julien Andlauer, Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak and Lucas Legeret, accelerates hard out of Indianapolis towards Arnage on Saturday www.porscheroadandrace.com In the GTE Pro class, the class pole sitting #91 Porsche steadily fall back and by the end of the first hour it was lying sixth in class and eventually eighth in the third hour. The Porsche drivers were frustrated by the 911’s lack of pace down the long straights at Le Mans, where they found their rivals easily pulling away from them. Porsche commented in a press release: “After just a few laps, it became clear that the rivals had not fully shown the potential of their cars in the practice sessions and qualifying. The Porsche 911 RSR lacked the top speed to match the pace of the competition on the long straights.” Alexander Stehlig (Head of Operations FIA WEC at Porsche) put it this way: “The first six hours of the race were very difficult for us. We weren’t quite able to maintain the pace of our rivals.” Le Mans 24 Hours, 19/20 September 2020: The #91 works Porsche 911 RSR is seen here in the hands of Gianmaria Bruni exiting Tertre Rouge on the Friday during the Hyperpole shoot out in which it set the fastest qualifying time in the GTE Pro class www.porscheroadandrace.com After around 40 minutes, the #91 pole-setting car served a five-second penalty at its first pit stop. However, Richard Lietz managed to remain within striking distance of the frontrunner during his stints, but an early puncture forced Estre in the #92 car to pit early. Christensen then underlined the strengths of the 911 RSR and stayed within reach of the leading group but in the fifth hour, his teammate reported a problem with the power steering. The entire power steering system was replaced and these two pit stops for repairs cost the crew 40 minutes, after which they unfortunately lost contact with the other GTE-Pro cars. Le Mans 24 Hours, 19/20 September 2020: Here the #92 works Porsche 911 RSR is seen passing under the Dunlop Bridge early on Sunday morning driven by Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor At 20h30, after six hours of racing, the gap between the sixth-place #91 Porsche and the leading GTE-Pro car was around one lap, while the #92 Porsche was two places further www.porscheroadandrace.com back in eighth place. Richard Lietz (#91) commented, “We’re faster in the corners, but we just can’t get past. We’re unable to do anything against the higher top speed of the other cars on the straights.” Le Mans 24 Hours, 19/20 September 2020: Here the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing 911 RSR GTE Am driven by Matt Campbell, Riccardo Pera and Christian Ried exits Indianapolis Unfortunately the #88 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche was involved in a collision early in the race. Just 24 minutes after the start, the #61 Ferrari had an accident at Turn 1 and Thomas Preining, who was driving the Porsche, tried to avoid the spinning Ferrari. However, there was little Preining could do other than to take avoiding action which saw him collide with the tyre barrier. The car sat abandoned for about two hours in the recovery area at the Dunlop Bridge before being returned to the pit garage where it remained for lengthy repairs. www.porscheroadandrace.com Le Mans 24 Hours, 19/20 September 2020: The #88 Dempsey-Proton Racing 911 RSR GTE Am (drivers: Dominique Bastien, Adrien De Leener and Thomas Preining) was involved in an accident early on in the race, and remained abandoned near the Dunlop Bridge for ages From third place in class at the start, the #56 Team Project 1 Porsche maintained a steady pace and in the third hour, the car moved up to second in class.