The 24 Hours of Le Mans race, typically held in June, had to be postponed to the 19/20 weekend of September due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s the 88th edition this year, and well aware of the financial impact of the situation on racing teams, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) was keen to ensure that their resources are not tied up over too long a period.
In agreement with the FIA and the main partners and stakeholders of the international event, the event will have a packed 4-day schedule for the 62 teams confirmed to be taking part. Between Thursday and Sunday, there will be 4 free practice sessions, qualifying, the Hyperpole session and a warm-up, culminating with the 24-hour endurance race itself.
Compact time-frame
The schedule of practice sessions – vital to good race preparation – has been rearranged, with qualifying, the warm-up and the race, packed into a 4-day time-frame. This is expected to maintain the requisite level of quality for such an iconic international event.
The traditional scrutineering procedures will take place at the Circuit on Wednesday before the 62 cars take to the track on Thursday for the free practice sessions, qualifying and night-time practice. Friday will see more practice sessions and the much-awaited new Hyperpole shoot-out where 24 competitors will battle it out on the 13.626-km circuit in a test of sheer speed, without the ‘heavy traffic’!
Hyperpole format
The Hyperpole qualifying format replaces the previous approach which involved 6 hours of qualifying in 3 two-hour sessions over Wednesday and Thursday. It was confirmed late last year to determine the top positions on the grid. The top six cars in each of the four classes during a 45-minute qualifying period will go forward to the Hyperpole session.
The 24 cars that make it through to this shoot-out session will be allowed one run because they will not be permitted to return to their pit during the 30 minutes. Teams will have free choice of tyres within the existing allocation for qualifying and the race.
Pierre Fillon, President of the ACO, explained that the new format was aimed at ‘guaranteeing two exciting sessions for both drivers and spectators, where all the focus will be on sheer speed in a quest for the perfect lap’.
Last year, the starting time of the 2020 race was changed to 4 pm on Saturday, one hour later than usual. However, in replanning the whole event program this year, the race itself will start at 2:30 pm on Saturday.
The race at Le Mans will be the finale for the 2019/2020 World Endurance Championship (WEC). The season began with the 4 Hours of Silverstone in September 2019 and races were run in Japan, China, Bahrain, and the USA (Texas). There was also a second race to be held in the USA at Sebring but this was cancelled due to the pandemic. Before Le Mans, there will be a round at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium in August.
Looking ahead
The 2020/2021 WEC season will see the brand new Le Mans Hypercar category in place of the LMP1 category. Assuming the pandemic diminishes and countries are less restrictive, there are 8 races (ranging from 6 hours to 24 hours) scheduled to be run in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa and the USA. Two new venues – Monza in Italy and Kyalami in South Africa will be on the calendar.
