The 24 Hours of Le Mans is considered to be one of the toughest tests for both man and machine. But for the teams taking part in the annual endurance classic, race day often ends up being much more than just a 24-hour day for the driving force behind each of the 56 entries, including the world-class crew at Level 5 Motorsports.
With the majority of the team arriving at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning and sometimes not leaving Circuit de la Sarthe until the sun has set Sunday evening, hours after the checkered flag has fallen, it makes for one of the longest day in motorsports, coined by some to be the 40 Hours (or more) of Le Mans.
“It’s been since the old days when you started a race at 10 or 10:30 just after the sun comes up. By the time the race starts now, you work pretty much a full day and lots of days leading up to it,” Level 5 team manager David Stone explains.
From the time the Level 5 crew wakes up to the drop of the tri-colour flag at 3 pm, you could run nearly four regular-length American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón races. Instead, it turns into a morning of last minute preparations, including a crucial 45-minute warmup session, which teams typically utilize as a final test of the car’s race components.
“For race day, we have a precise schedule written out,” says crew chief Ken Swan. “We’re leaving the hotel at 6 am and going to Vanessa’s for breakfast. By 8 am we’re in race suits and then we have the morning warmup at 9 am. We have a minute-by-minute plan for what we do.
“I think having something like that helps with the nervous energy in a day,” Swan adds. “The guys all have a little schedule in their pockets for that day. It’s hard to keep the nerves down until the race. But once the race starts, you’re almost calmer because there’s not much more that you can do.”
Once the buildup and pre-race activities are over, it’s down to business for the Level 5 crew. The focus turns to keeping its No. 33 Honda Performance Development ARX-03b on track, out of the garage and away from trouble as Scott Tucker, Marino Franchitti and Ryan Briscoe rotate through driving duties of the LMP2 car.
With pit stops occurring roughly every 45 minutes for fuel, and tire changes normally every other stop, settling into a routine becomes the objective, especially as the sun begins to set and all three drivers have had time in the car. In a race with an estimated 19 pit stops, including two scheduled brake pad changes, timing becomes everything, especially when trying to catch a few minutes of shut-eye between stops.
“You want to let the guys get some sleep,” Swan says. “You’d see a lot of the teams at Daytona, they’ll be taping things on the guys or writing on them with Sharpies. We don’t let any of our guys do that. If a mechanic wants to sleep, we let them sleep because we need them to be rested if the car comes in at 3 am and needs a nose change. So you don’t want that guy being kept up all night.
“We do whatever we can, after pit stops, to let the mechanics rest and then we usually give them a two-lap warning to get them awake and make sure their wheel guns are working,” Swan adds. “I think keeping them rested helps, especially as you need to be ready to go for whatever situation may unfold.”
Despite having more than 30 crew members working the race, the team keeps the same four mechanics performing “over the wall” duties such as tire changes. An additional mechanic is always on standby during each stop and can fill in when needed. And if the car is pulled into the garage, it becomes all-hands-on-deck, as there are no limitations for the number of people servicing the car.
For the teams lucky enough not to make any unscheduled trips to the garage during the race, victory could very well be in sight as the clock ticks closer to the 3 pm finish. However, once the car completes its final routine stop, the attention in the pit box turns to battening down the hatches in preparation for the invasion of fans. The unique post-race celebrations sees fans flock the pit lane and front straight to take part in podium festivities, a unique feature of Le Mans.
“The one thing you do, because of the exuberance of the fans, is you put everything inside your garage and shut the doors right away after the checkered flag,” Stone says. “Fans rush across, and anything that’s not nailed down is fair game and can grow legs and walk off. From that point on, when things are secure, we let the guys have some much-needed time off. If we’re fortunate to be a podium finisher, we’ll have some celebrations. But we’ll be back the next day to get into the load out after they had a good night’s rest.”
By the time the car clears post-race technical inspection, it can be close to 7 or 8 pm, making it well over a 40-hour work day for the top-finishing crews. But if you’re fortunate enough to see your drivers and team manager on the podium, especially on the top step, it makes the month-long trip, filled with blood, sweat and tears, all the worthwhile, in walking away as champions in the world’s greatest endurance race.
Source : Level 5 Motorsports