The circus is well and truly back in town at Le Mans and welcoming the crowd as business-as-usual for the first time in three years.
With some fans making Sunday’s Test Day the start of their Le Mans week festival, campsites are already showing signs of life as the Circuit de La Sarthe completes its infrastructure in readiness for what is anticipated to be a bumper crowd, much of which usually starts to arrive today.
Tuesday afternoon on pit lane saw fans back in number at Le Mans for the first time in three years, the driver autograph session back on schedule, unrestricted and good fun as usual, attracting new young fans and welcoming back the regulars.
Like everyone else, Brenda and Nick Worth watched 2020’s Le Mans on Eurosport at home in the UK, but managed to get to Le Mans in 2021:
Nick: “We’re ACO members, which is recommended as it brings a number of benefits in communication, and they also send you some rather nice gifts at the end of each year, so we knew what we had to do in advance.
For various reasons though it was a little bit as if we shouldn’t have been here, all slightly surreal. We are refugees from Camping Maison Blanche; they’ve shut us out of there now after that being ‘home’ for many years, and were at Camping Bleu. The whole thing was a bit of a nightmare with the regulations, especially getting home. I don’t think we would have come if we had known how hard it would be.
It’s fabulous to be back though and it all seems back to normal. We’re making an extended holiday, coming down for Test Day, doing the week then coming back for the Classic in three weeks, where we are allowed back into Maison Blanche, so we’re making up for it.”
“We’re so looking forward to the weekend, just to be back up there in the grandstands. I love the start, it always makes me cry,” confides Brenda.
Helen and Paul from Brentwood in Essex have endured a 3-year hiatus, not just at Le Mans but from motorsport in general, which they describe as “horrible.”
“We gave this a miss last year, purely because we didn’t think it would feel the same. My father came and said it was a rather muted Le Mans,” says Helen
“I’m controversial this year,” Nick confides, “I want the Alpine to win. Simply to make a mockery of the Hypercar class. Because I’m not enjoying the new rules so far… until the new teams come in and I hope it gets better.”
“I like to see drivers do well rather than teams. Jack Aitken is racing, who I like and hope will do well (with Algarve Pro). I was a big Anthony Davidson fan, but he’s retired now so it’s good to see other British drivers coming through.”
Helen’s favourites: “My heart lies with Aston Martin, ever since my first time here in 2006, so I’d like to see any of them get a result. Also, I’d love to see the ladies do well. As much as we’ve got things like the W-Series coming in, to see the ladies here taking part and being treated as equals is so lovely. And some of them are in teams with men, competing and being treated as an equal. I just want to see them do well.”
Both agree, “It’s great to be back to normal after three years – it feels like we’re home.”
A new spectacle for fans in 2022 is the Pit Stop Challenge, due to take place today, Tuesday 7 June, from 15:30 to 16:45. Trophies will be awarded to mechanics executing the fastest change of four wheels in each class.
Tuesday at Le Mans is the second clear day of preparation for the teams, pitlane access allowing the casual observer a fascinating glimpse of the intricacy that goes into entry to the 24-Hour classic. It’s a day of detail for many teams, much of the heavy lifting having been accomplished during and after Sunday’s test, a logistical bonus of the end-to-end format of the week in situ.
Detail is where time is lost, and time lost can make or break success here. JMW Motorsport’s Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, spotted here in its less than familiar livery, knows how to win Le Mans and has an intriguing line up this year.
Jody Fannin knows the car and dialled in set up during eight laps on test day as reserve driver, allowing rookies Mark Kvamme and Jason Hart to acclimatise. Jim McWhirter’s team has landed a stellar talent for this year’s race in Renger van der Zande, fresh in from a prototype win in IMSA and immediately on the leading pace in GTE-Am. However, race conditions are intense and being smooth in every detail is key.
Practice pit stops are rigorously drilled, driver changes no different, timed to the split second as an athletic process. Bronze driver and Le Mans rookie Mark Kvamme is seen here, Van der Zande aboard the car, following a lengthy discussion about the best way to unclip the driver’s debris curtain as part of their handover.
Penske Team Manager, Joel Svensson, is enjoying his first visit to Le Mans and explains the learning curve leading up to what is their last run in LMP2: “We had an additional scrutineering session at the circuit this morning, so we had to make sure the car was all good for that. There are a lot of rules and regulations to familiarise yourself with here, timing for fuelling for example, fuel flow regulations, that sort of thing.
“So there’s a lot to learn, but of course we are looking through the lens of what is coming next. The Oreca is a strong and proven platform and it’s about working our own skills around it to get a best fit. Then there’s the Pit Stop Challenge today, which is a bit of a distraction but actually great for the guys; it’s good to see mechanics and team members getting the spotlight for a change! I did Indycar for many years and that was always a fun feature of the Indy 500.”
Pipo Derani was taking an interest in his Glickenhaus 007 LMH’s preparation and reported general satisfaction with Test Day performance, “We’re really pleased with how things went. The BoP has given us an even chance, but there are a number of things we’ve improved upon ourselves. There’s a bit more pace in the car but we also found some set up. Toyota will always have something in reserve though. We’ve also worked hard on saving time during pit stops, which was an area we needed to improve. We take every day as a progression towards the race, session by session.”
Inception Racing’s Garage 59 team crew reported their day had been fraught, but nothing to do with their GTE-Am Ferrari. With staff arriving from Paul Ricard, Le Mans is part of a 5-week road trip for the team covering a multitude of events on its calendar. Work started early today with a decision to rearrange their entire garage, to accommodate what the team describes as ‘additional and essential equipment,’ seen here.
