When the Rolex clock at the Circuit de La Sarthe showed three pm, Jean Todt, President of the FIA waved the French national flag to start the 79th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The two Audi R18’s on the front row led the competitors into another epic battle held on this famous racetrack in the west of France.
Half an hour before the start, the 56 cars lined up as they did until 1970 in what is known as a “Le Mans Start”: the cars on one side of the main straight, the drivers on the other. After a symbolic signal, the competitors ran to their cars and set off for the first reconnaissance lap. After making the 13.629-kilometre loop for the first time in final race trim, competitors came back to line up in double file. They began the race under perfect weather conditions: partly cloudy skies and temperatures just over 20 degrees centigrade. By waving the start flag, Todt confirmed the interest the Federation has shown in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Earlier in the week, Todt and Jean-Claude Plassart, President of the ACO, signed an agreement to launch the official FIA World Endurance Championship starting in 2012.
Drivers from no less than 24 different countries will run in this edition of the race. Among them, Japanese driver Shinji Nakano. This year, the ACO is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Mazda’s win at Le Mans. Additionally, all at Le Mans are showing their respect to the Japanese people following the tragedies that struck the country earlier this year. The French national flag, signed by all of this year’s competitors and waved by Jean Todt, will be given to the President of the Japanese Automobile Association to be auctioned off. The money raised from the auction will be donated to the relief funds for the Japanese disaster.
After just over three and a half minutes, the first cars crossed the start-finishline for the first time: both front row Audis leading the 56-car strong field. In the GT class, the Italian AF Corse Ferrari was leading its class. Even before the first of the 24 hours was over, a big crash eliminated one of the favourite teams. The Audi of Allan McNish – which he was sharing with Kristensen and Capello – heavily crashed coming out of the Dunlop curve. Trying to overtake one of the Ferrari GT’s, the Audi got into the run-off area and somersaulted into the barriers. The Audi R18 was completely destroyed in this accident. Fortunately, the Scottish driver was able to get out of his car by himself, confirmation of the strength of today’s racing cars. This is yet again proof that the outcome of the race will only be decided when the Rolex clock at the track shows 15:00 on Sunday afternoon.
