zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
Why The Hell Would Anyone Watch A 24-Hour Car Race? An Explainer
Why The Hell Would Anyone Watch A 24-Hour Car Race? An Explainer-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:41

It was at about 5:00 AM when even my cat, supposedly crepuscular, gave up and went to sleep. I could see his little cat brain trying to reason out what could cause me to stare at my laptop watching seemingly nothing happen for hours. It was a look of pity. If only I could explain to him what he was missing.

With the 83rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend it seemed like a good idea to try and explain to you what I could not properly articulate to my cat so that you, too, may enjoy what many of us enjoy (or at least suffer along with the rest of us).

This should be easier because my cat can be a little asshole and you’re not a little asshole, right?

That is too long for a NASCAR race, I agree. And yes, it’s a full day, running from Saturday, June 13th to Sunday, June 14th. It is one of a handful of 24-hour races and it is the most famous race in the world that isn’t the Monaco Grand Prix or the Indy 500.

Because they can. More specifically, because anyone can make a car run fast times around a perfectly smooth race track for a couple of hours (well, maybe not Spyker).

It takes an immense amount of skill, mechanical expertise, human strength, and team organization to make a car go very fast around a street circuit for a full day. Endurance racing is an amazing platform for automobile development and the technology developed there often trickles down to the cars we normally drive.

Things like the paddle shifter and carbon ceramic brakes were developed or perfected for this kind of racing.

While some of France’s Circuit de la Sarthe is now a permanent race track called the Bugatti Circuit, the race track is semi-permanent and includes large sections that are public streets.

It’s also nearly 8.5 miles long with only 38 turns, which means that a huge portion of the race is run flat-out, which is why the cars hit sometimes insane speeds.

Some of the Group C cars in the 1980s were going nearly 250 mph regularly on the course’s famous Mulsanne Straight before chicanes were added in 1990 to slow the cars down. Speeds mixed with aero issues also resulted in the above insane flip from the Mercedes CLR in 2001.

It is. While the Isle of Man TT is almost certainly the deadliest single race for competitors, Le Mans has seen 22 drivers killed while competing, about half of which died on the Mulsanne Straight.

In 1955, driver . Over the history of the race there have been numerous changes to the track and to the spectator areas to diminish the chance of death. The Mulsanne Straight now has a chicane to bring drivers down to a more reasonable 200-210 MPH top speed.

Fifty-nine years ago, the 1955 Le Mans 24-hour race started like any other. It ended with the usual

Not exactly. As with any other motorsport, the allure of accidents only exists for the most causal of fans. People who love the sport hate to see anyone injured.

For a person who loves cars, you get to see a mix of wild prototypes and production-like vehicles anyone could buy race side-by-side.

However, the biggest appeal of a 24-hour race like Le Mans is the same alluring chance of something unexpected happening that is essential to enjoying any sport. Put 56 cars and hundreds of drivers on a track for a full day and you’ve created an opportunity for excitement and surprise basically unrivaled in modern sports.

Le Mans is multi-class racing, which means you’ve got super advanced prototype hybrid cars built by companies like Audi and Porsche and Toyota and Nissan.

Because manufacturers don’t have to abide by the same restrictions that normal carmakers have to, they end up coming up with some fairly insane ways of solving the simple problem of how to get a car to go very fast around a few turns.

This year we’ll see an AWD hybrid diesel Audi racing a V4-powered Porsche squaring off against a V8-powered Toyota hybrid and a FWD Nissan.

Not exactly, there are two prototype classes (LMP1 and LMP2) and two GT classes (all running street-based cars).

Throughout Le Mans history the rules and technology have changed such that we’ve seen GT cars win overall and the different classes take importance over others.

Despite a long run of wins by Audi, it’s often not clear who will win the race until the last few hours or minutes.

While some races are duds, there are multiple classes which means that there’s almost always a situation where multiple cars are on the same lap by the end of the race and a leader almost always ends up having a technical problem in the last few hours.

There’s no joy quite like the joy of watching different teams with different cars and different strategies battle it out in the last few minutes after a day of combat.

Hell no. There are a few crazy people who try to stay up and watch the whole thing, but the reality is that it’s a 24-hour race and it’s on the weekend and I need my sleep and I need my loved ones not to abandon me.

Not to mention, if you’re in America, you’re kind of SOL when it comes to watching the full thing unless you’ve got an expensive Fox cable package.

I tend to watch the first few hours and check in throughout the afternoon/evening and then watch as much as I can before I go to sleep (often while listening to the great Radio Le Mans 24-hour broadcast).

I then try to wake up early to catch Le Mans at dawn, when the track is beautiful and the cars emerge slightly beaten up and benefit from the golden french light. It’s kind of magical.

From there I watch as much as I can, making sure to catch the last 2-3 hours.

You’re my kind of people. If you’re in the United States... . But here’s a guide:

While I think Fox or NBC should just stream the 24 Hours of Le Mans live for a full day on their…

Yes, our own Stef Schrader is there and she’ll be bringing you the latest news.

Contact the author at .

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
Name a car from the early 1960s built by a famed racing driver with curvy, lightweight aluminum bodywork, a big American engine, and a reputation for being unruly and fast as all hell. Your first thought was probably the famed Shelby Cobra, did you know there was a who...
Jul 10, 2025
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Fellow nerds, get ready to open your wallets, because I’ve found what may be the greatest store of all time. With designs from Formula 1 teams like , you’re sure to find something that fits your particular nostalgic niche. I’d like to introduce you to Racing Retro. I first...
Jul 10, 2025
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
If you follow racing in the U.S., you probably already know about the . Most of the episodes are too much of a distraction to put on as background noise while you work, but a couple of recent entries in his series have been working incredibly well for me....
Jul 10, 2025
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
The partially North Carolina-based squad has determined that after , it needs to mix things up a little. The team’s firebrand has been following an abysmal 2023 season which saw the team score just four points-paying finishes. The team’s , where scored a fourth-place finish, but that season too...
Jul 10, 2025
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
If you listen to Formula 1 or local officials from Las Vegas and Clark County, you’d probably think November’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was a success. Some sources estimated that the city of Las Vegas made over $1 billion in revenue from the event — but there were...
Jul 10, 2025
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
In another unsurprising example of motorsport’s inhospitable mindset toward hiring competent women, the Racing team has announced a new partnership with Ava Rose, a literal , who will... engage with fans? Share knowledge about technology? “Navigate the cutting edge of innovation to create positive change” (whatever that means)? I...
Jul 10, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved