Has anyone attended a 24 hour race such as Le Mans?

Question

Was it actually fun, or was it boring? I just watched the movie Le Mans and I think those events are kind of insane to think people will sit and enjoy a race that is 24 hours long.

Answer 1

I've been to DAYTONA twice back when IMSA was the sanctioning body.Aside from the fact we had brake problems and had to make 16 pit stops (fuel,tires,driver changes,BRAKES 6 times) it was a blast.It's too bad that type of racing isn't more popular here.We campaigned that car (GT-1 Corvette) until it met it's demise at ROAD ATLANTA during a SCCA race. Someday I plan on going back to DAYTONA as a spectator.I'm getting too old to wrench these days,but I'll never forget how much fun I had .

Answer 2

I blew off a weekend of studying in college and went to the Daytona 24 in 1995. It was a blast! It's much more like a big sportscar fan getogether that just happens to ahve a race going on, than a typical "sprint" race.

Endurance racing is an entirely different creature than most other types of racing. The fastest car doesn't necessarily win-- it's the fastest car that's still running. :o) Such was the case at Daytona in '95. In the top prototype class, the Ferrari 333SPs were clearly the fastest thing on the track.... too bad 3 out of 4 of them retired is major oil pump failures between midnight and 1 AM. (The fourth also had problems, but managed to stay running.) In the end, the slightly slower but more durable Porsche took the overall & class victory.

Also, with any type of sportscar racing, remember you can have anywhere from 2-4 different classes of cars running. That creates its own issues and such.

You don't sit & watch the race the whole time... You drop off for a quick nap, wander through the garages (access is usually included in the price of your ticket), and most of all get to know your fellow sportscar fans. (I hooked up with a large Porsche Club contigent at Daytona, thanks to my Dad's vintage racing jacket.)

I've been to 2 of the big 3 enduros in the world, the Daytona 24 & 12 hours of Sebring, thanks to spending a few years living in FL. I hope someday to make it to LeMans if I can. The appeal of Enduros is hard to describe, but they definetly are fun-- and if you're not having fun, go explore the track a little, because you'll probably find it. :o)

Answer 3

I was at Le Mans last year for the classic 24hrs and it was great!!

24hr races are more like a music festival than a motorsport event as they tend to involve excessive drinking, sleep deprevation and a strange buzzing in your ears for at least a week afterwards.

Most people get to le mans a few days before the race to set up a bit of space for themselves. The thousands of people camping mean that pretty soon there is a kind of temporary village full of people who just want to kick back, enjoy the sun, drink gallons of beer and maybe take in some racing too.

To give you an idea, the dutch Porsche owners club were set up next to our pitch. They had a working bar (and trailer full of kegs), 42" flat screen TV, floodlights, catering facilites etc etc. Every night was just full blown party time - especially after the race because france were playing in the world cup final. These guys were friendly too - they just invited people over to chill with them.

The racing is interesting enough though, because the circuit is about 7 miles long and about 75% closed public roads. This means that you tend to watch at lots of different places over the weekend, giving a bit of variation. We had a little motorbike to get about on, which was definately worth it's weight in gold.

Some people stay up the 24hrs but most get some sleep at some point as the beer and sun takes its toll. I stayed up until 8 in the morning, then slept for about 3 hours before watching the finish. I think that almost nobody would sit in the same place to watch the whole thing - that really is insane!

Was it fun? Yes!
Was it boring? Sometimes
Would i go again? Definately

Answer 4

First I would like to attend sebring or Lemans or a gt1 or 2 class racing venue. We usually watch the race on tv for as long as we can sometimes hours to us it is interesting to see how things play out different strategies and such. We have been known to travel 250 miles on a satyrday to take in a race and drive back the same night. Crazy well to some folks maybe but you have to love racing to do that. Also at Lemans and other such big events there are more things to do if you want a break for a while from racing. You have proably heard it mentioned inF1 racing bernie ecclestones traveling cicus and even France family traveling circus in nascar it is because there is much more to do than just take in a race.

Answer 5

The Rolex 24 hours in Daytona it is a carnival the full time during the race.
That's all I have to say about that.