You Gotta Love Le Mans

Nascar may be the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. but for sheer excitement, entertainment, and gutsy driving, nothing beats France's Le Mans

LE MANS, FRANCE - JUNE 15: Jacques Villeneuve of Canada and Team Peugeot drives during the 76th running of the Le Mans 24 Hour race at the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans on June 14, 2008 in Le Mans, France. Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

by Marty Bernstein

Over the weekend of June 14-15, while most American TVs were tuned to Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open, or the Lakers vs. the Celtics in game five of the NBA Finals, millions of motorsports fans around the world were watching million-dollar cars roaring through the French city of Le Mans for 24 straight hours.

Since 1923, the "24 Heures du Mans" has been the premier event in Grand Prix racing. It is such a major sporting event in Europe that Euro Cup matches were scheduled so as not to conflict with the start or finish of the race. And almost 260,000 fans attended the race itself.

Le Mans is an exciting—make that unequaled—motorsports event of endurance, style, speed, tactics, strategy, and pageantry enhanced and augmented with motorcar-brand rivalries and nationalistic fervor.

It's unlike anything I—and I suspect most Americans—have ever seen. This is not the Nascar or Indy 500, not 400 to 500 miles over an oval track with nothing but left turns for three hours and cars that look the same except for the decals. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Rain or Shine

This is a race that lasts 24 hours with each lap 13.65km (8.482 miles) at speeds over 225 mph (the lap record is 3 minutes, 18 seconds) on a variety of road surfaces from racetrack smooth to bumpy roads and highways blocked just for the race. There are curves, banks, straights, and speed-limiting "chicanes"—a series of twisting S-shaped curves, some so famous they have names—to push both driver and car to the limit.

Just to complicate things, there are four different classes of race car on the track simultaneously, each fighting for position. There are passing lanes with different aerodynamic designs, coefficients of drag, horsepower, and engine types. Oh, if it rains…so what? The race goes on, as it did this year.

Also unlike Nascar there is no grandstand or midfield, but fans gather wherever possible. And they are a knowledgeable, respectful, and courteous group, apart from the occasional hooligan—but they were more funny than rowdy from what I saw. One other difference: Unlike with other motorsports, the ubiquitous T-shirts and caps did not feature drivers' names, but logos for the various sponsors.

Caravans and Pup Tents

A carnival atmosphere prevails in the "village" where a large group of stalls and stands is erected to offer race souvenirs, posters, postcards, model cars, magazines, books, candy, a huge variety of food—the Grand Marnier crepes were especially good—and a colorful collection of auto-branded clothing, accessories, caps, jackets, and flags. A gigantic Ferris wheel and bungee-jump tower dominate the view from afar.

Cars of every brand, size, and color imaginable were parked everywhere, including on sidewalks. Entire fields were covered with pup tents for those who could not get or could not afford hotel rooms. Caravans (the European version of campers) were in great abundance.

The race hype pitted the Audi R10 TDI diesel against the Peugeot 608 HDI diesel cars and their driving teams. Drivers no longer run to their cars as in the Steve McQueen movie. It's now a rolling start like the Indy 500.

As the 55 vehicles in the race came to the last portion of the course, headlights blazing, and entered the S-curves—there was silence—then as they drove under the Rolex start/finish sign and roared off…the spectator stands and VIP hospitality suites erupted in cheers and applause.

Changing Tires and Track Conditions

Peugeot (PEUP) led Audi (NSUG) early in the race, but by no more than one lap; then as the sunny day started to turn cloudy and overcast, the Audi team began to move up and took the lead, but not for long, as the faster Peugeot again claimed first place. As twilight turned to darkness, showers began and eventually became rain. Then the Audis—the better but slower cars—reclaimed the lead and held it through the balance of the race: a race of nearly 400 laps, almost 3,000 miles in total.

There were numerous pit stops to add special biodiesel fuel, and numerous tire changes to meet the changing road surface conditions—from wet to moist to dry throughout the night.

Dawn broke to a gray, cloud-covered sky as lap after lap after lap was run and accounted for on an amazing race-detail monitor. At no time was Audi ahead of Peugeot by more than one lap, which is fewer than four minutes. At noon, with just three hours to go, the attitude and demeanor of the Audi Race Club changed from confidence to concern as many began to worry about the ability of Audi to maintain its slim lead as Peugeot began to regain momentum.

The Most Demanding Race

Other than one incident in which an Audi was T-boned, but with no real damage, the race was Audi's to win, and win it did. Audi's R10 TDI cars were the class of the day, with the No. 2 car driven by a multinational team taking first place.

This is the 10th Le Mans race Audi has entered and its eighth win, a remarkable accomplishment under the most difficult and demanding circumstances of any motorcar race anywhere. Other category winners included Aston Martin, Porsche, and Ferrari.

At precisely 3 p.m. the race ended and more Le Mans pageantry began. Thousands of cheering, clapping fans walked up the track to the presentation podium for the official announcement of winners.

The winning Audi team was presented with a trophy, and in a tradition attributed to two Americans—Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt, who won the race in 1967—huge bottles of champagne were shaken and sprayed on the crowd—that's the American aspect of the race.

Certainly this is a race about winning and bragging rights, rewards the Audi team richly deserves, but it's also about just finishing. Merci, Le Mans.

Marty Bernstein is a contributing editor at the American International Automobile Dealers Assn.