Time management

In the middle of the night in the 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans, the leading no.7 Audi R8 suffered a rear left puncture. By the time it had reached the pits and been inspected, one of the mechanics noticed some excessive play in the suspension.

What happened in the following six minutes was like a choreographed display. The team of mechanics removed the rear bodywork and underfloor diffuser, disconnected oil, brake and hydraulic fluid lines, removed the gearbox (complete with rear suspension and brakes), fitted a new gearbox and suspension assembly, put the rest back together and set the car back down the pit lane.

It was very clear to see this was a repair that had been anticipated in the car’s development, and rehearsed intensely by the team. It was obviously designed around the fact it is quicker to replace a whole sub-assembly than an individual suspension component.

This is but a quick glimpse into the preparation and rehearsal that goes into a 24-hour race entry, and highlights the level of professionalism and desire to win that teams bring to the competition.

Endurance racing brings a whole new dimension to competition. If you suffer a puncture or mechanical failure in sprint championships such as DTM or F1, at best you lose the race, at worst it’s a retirement. In a 24-hour race, you might still stand a chance.

The 24-hour racing arena is much more of a strategic event than traditional racing. It’s not just about having the quickest car over a lap, key to success is tyre, fuel and human management.

So, how exactly do the trackside teams approach car development and set-up to challenge for a win? How do mechanics prepare for unforeseen repairs due to mechanical failure or crash, and how do the engineers approach the development of the car over the race event?

In this article we’ll follow the engineering journey of teams from the first pre-race tests at the beginning of an endurance championship through to the final race debrief, exploring exactly how competition at 24-hour racing is prepared and executed.

Lead up

The preparation for an endurance event such as Le Mans starts in the preceding race season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, or European Le Mans Series (ELMS). The pandemic this year has turned things upside down, but it usually means a team new to WEC have had a minimum of two to three ‘mini’ endurance races prior to the big event.

For other races, such as the ADAC TOTAL 24-hour race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the NLS series (formerly VLN) gives a handful of races at the same venue before the main event, allowing time to practice.

The Rolex 24 at Daytona is a slightly different