24h Le Mans
One of the unique attributes of the Le Mans circuit, which contributes in part to its fame, is that it is comprised of portions of road open the rest of the year to civilian drivers. For the big 24 Hours of Le Mans race, as for the Le Mans Classic as well, the track has to be prepped and road closed.
To host the competitors of the 8th edition of the Le Mans Classic, as for the recent 24 Hours of Le Mans, some work is necessary. County Road 338, also called the "route de Tours" or the Mulsanne Straight, needs to be prepared. Same thing for the portion going from the Mulsanne roundabout, across from the Golf, through the forest to Arnage, and lastly the Porsche curves. All these roads are used everyday by thousands of drivers, unlike the section starting at the entrance to the Porsche curves and ending at the Tertre Rouge turn, passing the Circuit Bugatti.
All the road portions of the circuit are closed by prefectorial order. Then, teams of technicians work to install rails and safety fences, remove road signs which could be dangerous, and clean the track. To prep the circuit requires real coordination. The work takes place at night in record time. Generally, it only takes three hours to transform the roads to circuit standards. The work will commence Friday morning around 4:00 a.m. and end at 7:00 a.m. Then, at 9:00 a.m., the first club cars will be able to hit the track and kick off the big weekend of this Le Mans Classic!
Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
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Photo: Every two years, cars that have made history at the 24 Hours of Le Mans are able to mimic their more modern counterparts and hit the track at the legendary Le Mans circuit.
