Few sporting events in the world can match the unique nature and prestige of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The annual test of endurance is one of the year's biggest racing events, and winning it immediately becomes a monumental part of a driver's career resume.
Racing for an entire day obviously leaves the door open for any number of pitfalls. From major mechanical problems to crashes and driver fatigue, all it takes is one mistake in the final few hours to offset 20 hours of success, which keeps the race intriguing throughout.
Let's check out all of the important viewing details for the 2015 edition of the marquee event. That's followed by a preview of the action from France.
24 Hours of Le Mans Information
Where: Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France
When: Saturday, June 13, 9 a.m. ET - Sunday, June 14, 9 a.m. ET
Watch: Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 (detailed schedule)
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Route: Course info
Race Preview
A full field of 56 cars across four different classifications is set to take part in this year's race. Each one will have three designated drivers who will swap in and out throughout the race, which is another part of the numerous facets of strategy that comes along with an endurance competition.
Audi has dominated the race in recent years. The German manufacturer has captured the trophy eight times in the past nine years, including each of the past five. The only other winner during that remarkable run of success was Peugeot in 2009.
Perhaps Porsche is at least ready to provide some serious competition, though.
The fellow German manufacturer has been posting strong times during the buildup to at least put the Audi teams on notice. Total 911 noted Porsche had a lot of success particularly during the test action earlier in the month:
Toby Keel of Eurosport passed along comments from Audi driver Oliver Jarvis, who talked about where Porsche cars are gaining ground.
"Porsche definitely has more hybrid boost out of the corners, but on a very long straight, like at Le Mans, we'll hopefully catch up once they've used their boost," Jarvis said. "The longer the straight and the higher the speed, the closer we get to them. Where we lose out is in tighter corners that are followed by short straights."
Jarvis is part of one of the Audi Sport Team Joest groups. But everybody is chasing the trio of Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer, who have won three of the past four races for the team.
One other thing worth keeping an eye on throughout the race is the slow zones and how the drivers handle their reduction in speed. With the track broken into 35 different zones, there are designated areas where the cars must reduce their speed to 80 km/h.
Sam Smith of Motorsport.com spoke with Toyota driver Anthony Davidson, who's very concerned about the rules. He said racing officials told him there would be no penalties unless there is speeding in the actual slow zone.
So rather than gradually slowing down, drivers are likely to wait as long as possible to hit the brakes, which could cause safety concerns. Davidson explained his stance to the outlet:
The simple answer that I got (at the drivers briefing) was 'no' there are no plans to issue penalties. I think it could be dangerous and it is wrong because it forces drivers to not want to lose any time.
It is uncomfortable in the same sense that you can't and shouldn't trust a driver to slow down in those situations. It is not a case of we enjoy taking that risk but it is a case of we cannot afford not to take that risk.
Hopefully there are no major accidents because of the rules, but it's clear Davidson believes a lot of ground can be gained or lost by how each driver handles the zones.
All told, there are a lot of different things that can happen in 24 hours that make the race tricky to forecast, even with Audi's recent dominance. That track record makes the German manufacturer the favorite once again but it appears Porsche is ready to contend as well.
It should make for a highly entertaining race. In a perfect world, it would still be up in the air heading into the final hours to create some real drama.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2492159-le-mans-24-2015-route-start-time-tv-schedule-and-more
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