LE MANS, France: French football great Zinedine Zidane acted as starter to get the mythic Le Mans 24 Hour race on its way at 1400GMT on Saturday.
Ahead of the 62 cars split into three categories on the grid lies the ultimate test of motorsport endurance — for the 186 drivers, their cars, mechanics and last but not least the crowd estimated at 250,000.
One major unknown for the 92nd edition was — despite being mid-June — the weather.
Zidane was wearing winter gear as he waved the ceremonial starter’s flag — a French tricolor with ‘24’ embossed in gold on it — handed to him by French soldiers who had abseiled down with it from a hovering helicopter.
The temperature was a chilly 15 degrees celsius with plenty of rain forecast until Sunday at 1400GMT when the winner will take the cherished chequered flag after around 350 laps of the iconic 13.6kilometer Sarthe circuit in the west of France near the medieval town of Le Mans.
There was nothing ancient about the gleaming machinery setting off led by the elite category Porsche Hypercar, in pole after qualifying on Thursday.
Ferrari are the defending title holders after claiming the centenary edition 12 months ago.
The Hypercar class is the most open in almost three decades with no fewer than nine different constructors presenting 23 cars.
In the early stages, Ferrari’s number 50 car led from the team’s 51 car, which won last year. A Porsche was in third.
Ferrari’s Formula One team principal Fred Vasseur predicted a close race.
“The fight is very, very tight, lot of good drivers.
“Twenty-four hours with this weather, very, very tight, we are just focused on ourselves.”
Football great Zidane kicks off Le Mans 24 Hours
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Football great Zidane kicks off Le Mans 24 Hours
- Zidane was wearing winter gear as he waved the ceremonial starter’s flag
- The temperature was a chilly 15 degrees celsius with plenty of rain forecast until Sunday
Lando Norris says F1 cars gone from best to ‘probably the worst’
- Norris’ title defense comes amid sweeping changes to the cars
- The 26-year-old British driver has endured a tough weekend at Albert Park so far
MELBOURNE: Formula 1 champion Lando Norris is struggling with his new era McLaren car and frustrated to line up only sixth in Sunday’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Norris’ title defense comes amid sweeping changes to the cars, and the 26-year-old British driver has endured a tough weekend at Albert Park so far.
F1’s new cars are complex, with unprecedented changes across the chassis and power unit, which now feature an almost 50:50 output split between the turbo 1.6-liter V6 engine and electrical energy harvested from the brakes — one that requires a new, often counterintuitive driving style.
“We’ve come from the best cars ever made in Formula 1, and the nicest to drive, to probably the worst,” he said after Saturday’s qualifying.
He’s not just coming to grips with his car’s complex energy management systems, but also in getting out on track — with the Briton losing significant time in Friday’s two practice sessions.
“Just getting into the rhythm of lifting everywhere to go quicker and using gears you don’t want to use and just understanding that when you lift more, you brake later but you have to brake less,” Norris said.
“That’s why laps are more valuable than ever. In the past, miss P1, not too bothered. Now, you miss five laps, not only do you as a driver have to figure things out quicker, the engine doesn’t learn what it needs to learn and then you’re just on the back foot.”
