24h Le Mans
Test Day traditionally takes place two weeks before the 24 Hours of Le Mans and provides a first look at all the cars on the track. It is immensely beneficial to teams and drivers, and a day they definitely don't want to miss. Here's why.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit is extremely unique in that it uses both permanent track and borrowed stretches of road typically open to regular traffic. The famous Mulsanne Straight, for example, is the roadway one takes to the city of Tours. Before 1990, the two chicanes currently in place did not exist and therefore the straight was of an unrivaled length. Engines went full bore for more than 4 km!
The unique features found nowhere else in the world compelled the organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to host a testing day ahead of race week. Initially called preliminary free practice then pre-qualifying, for a long while the day was scheduled in May. That proved tremendously inconvenient for non-European teams, forcing them to make not one but two transoceanic trips to participate in the testing day in May and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.
Now Test Day takes place on the Sunday two weeks before the big race, so all the teams arrive and settle in for a three-week stay. Test Day allows teams and drivers to set their marks at the 13.626 km circuit, and rookies must also demonstrate their abilities by doing a minimum of 10 laps, five of which are timed.
At today's Test Day, 62 cars, 42 teams and 189 drivers will have eight hours (09:00-13:00 and 14:00-18:00) to carry out their testing agendas. Top teams and professional drivers will immediately begin adjusting their car set-ups, testing their tyres and testing their fuel consumption.
PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, TEST DAY 2019. A day of test laps at a one-of-a-kind circuit.
