Having had the ‘leisurely’ privilege of arriving for DSC’s race week coverage, this writer has always swerved scrutineering report duties. With its Sunday Test Day happening the weekend before competitive track sessions though, 2022’s 24 Heures Du Mans crams a jam-packed schedule into an eight-day programme and it’s all hands on deck.
Arriving early at Le Mans’ traditional scrutineering location of the pretty and historic Place de la Republique, first impressions of the scrutineering ‘village’ is of a professional and secure set-up in its own right: media coverage concentrates on car and team presentation, but the carefully controlled process is a polished annexe of the main event itself.
Cars are delivered to the scrutineering awning on flat-beds and spend up to one-and-a-half hours undergoing thorough ACO technical examination before rolling out for photographic duties, one of the few, if only, opportunities for an entire team to be photographed with its car(s). The atmosphere is relaxed, marred today by thunderstorms and a heavy, persistent downpour to thoroughly soak proceedings.
Driver crews are vetted too: overalls, helmets, accreditations, etc. before their first presentation to the media in its various forms. It’s an easy-going affair, everyone looking very relaxed – if not rather damp – and ready to talk, away from the looming pressure of race preparation.
Impressions of the upcoming Sunday session are mixed. For the more seasoned it is almost a formality; for the rookies, which number around 50 this year (a third of the driver entry), it provides important track time:
Alex Brundle: “For me, the test day is a ‘sighter.’ It’s a time to dial the car in and refamiliarise with the circuit. The real work starts on Wednesday; conditions that affect set up can change massively from test day to the start of proceedings proper.”
Inter Europol team mate and Le Mans inductee Pietro Fittipaldi is more cautious, and reveals some of the pre-event rookie preparation: “I did all the mandatory SIM stuff in Paris a couple of weeks ago, which takes you through all the procedures and gets you to learn the track, all the safety car zones, how the safety car works.
“But I’m looking for some decent seat time on Sunday and hoping it stays dry. If it’s wet you obviously get to learn the track too, but it’s more difficult conditions.
For sure there’s a lot to be gained, to get a baseline for the car, especially for the P2 car which is so dependent on ride height. With 27 cars all closely matched it’s a very important day.”
