Description
Added on the 21/09/2020 08:16:57 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
Perfect result for the Porsche customer teams in the hyperpole of the 24 Hours of Le Mans: Dries Vanthoor sensationally took pole position in the fiercely contested GTE-Pro class on Thursday evening at the wheel of HubAuto Racing's Porsche 911 RSR in 3:46.882 minutes. The Belgian, brother of Porsche works driver Laurens Vanthoor, prevailed in a close time chase against strong competition from all factory teams. In the GTE-Am category, the 911 will start from the first three positions on Saturday at 16:00. Porsche Young Professional Julian Andlauer from France was more than half a second faster at the wheel of the #88 Dempsey-Proton Racing car than Benjamin Barker in the identical GR Racing car and Matteo Cairoli in the #56 Project 1.
Porsche at Le Mans – 50 years since the first overall victory.
Fans of endurance racing have rarely had so much time to look forward to the 24 Hours of Le Mans as they have this year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the French classic was moved from its traditional mid-June date to 19/20 September.There has only been one other delayed start in the almost 100-year history of the race: in 1968, the Le Mans 24-hour race was contested on 28/29 September due to ongoing unrest in Paris. The postponement of the race also has wide-reaching consequences for the Porsche GT Team. This includes changes to the schedule as well as the waiving of popular fan events such as the technical scrutineering in the town square and the drivers’ parade the day before the start.In mid-June around the summer solstice (20 June), the days are longest in the northern hemisphere. On the originally planned date for the 88th edition of the endurance race on 13/14 June, the vehicles would have driven in darkness for only 8.02 hours. On the new September date, the sun will set on the Saturday evening at 20:01. The first rays of light will appear on the Sunday morning at 07:44 – which means that the period of darkness is almost four hours longer than it would have been shortly before the official start of summer. In the fight twice around the clock on the Circuit des 24 Heures, teams will spend only around 12 hours in daylight.
Pascal Zurlinden shares some behind-the-scenes insights from the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Fans of endurance racing have rarely had so much time to look forward to the 24 Hours of Le Mans as they have this year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the French classic was moved from its traditional mid-June date to 19/20 September.There has only been one other delayed start in the almost 100-year history of the race: in 1968, the Le Mans 24-hour race was contested on 28/29 September due to ongoing unrest in Paris. The postponement of the race also has wide-reaching consequences for the Porsche GT Team. This includes changes to the schedule as well as the waiving of popular fan events such as the technical scrutineering in the town square and the drivers’ parade the day before the start.In mid-June around the summer solstice (20 June), the days are longest in the northern hemisphere. On the originally planned date for the 88th edition of the endurance race on 13/14 June, the vehicles would have driven in darkness for only 8.02 hours. On the new September date, the sun will set on the Saturday evening at 20:01. The first rays of light will appear on the Sunday morning at 07:44 – which means that the period of darkness is almost four hours longer than it would have been shortly before the official start of summer. In the fight twice around the clock on the Circuit des 24 Heures, teams will spend only around 12 hours in daylight.