Patronise F1

The Le Mans 24 Hours is the greatest test of reliability and endurance this side of Russell Brand's condom supply. Over the course of the 24 hour period, cars will be driven for a distance equivalent to that of an entire grand prix season through the pressure of daytime glare, evening shadows, night time bleakness and all the way back round to daytime again. Drivers will be called upon to pull mammoth stints behind the wheel, engineers will need to keep their wits about them at crucial pit stops while feeling the aftereffects of gallons of caffeine stimulants, and cars will need to be pushed to the limit while managing to keep everything bolted on in the right place for over 350 laps of the 13.6km track. It is a worthy addition to the Triple Crown of Motorsports, and as Patronise has already covered the first two in the form of the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500, we are duty bound to complete the set, and pick up our own triple crown of reviewing in the process.

Race Entries

LMP1 Class

The Audi/Peugeot battle for overall victory has captivated attentions during the last two years. While Peugeot have had the edge on speed, the cars were too fragile in 2007, and then last year the team conspired to chuck away a certain win and leave Audi to take their eighth overall win in nine years, and their ninth straight class win. The only non-Audi victory since the 1999 race was the Bentley triumph in 2003, which was essentially an Audi in different clothing anyway. And Peugeot may have missed their big chance last year, because Audi responded to the mounting Peugeot threat by rolling out an all-new and improved machine for this year. The R15 has already beaten the Peugeots at Sebring, and had the edge over the French cars during testing.

The #1 car of reigning champions Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen (an eight-time Le Mans winner) and Rinaldo Capello is the most likely entry to lead the Audi charge, though all three cars have solid driver combinations. For Peugeot, a plethora of failed F1 drivers boost their ranks, with Lamy, Klien, Bourdais, Montagny, Sarrazin, Brabham, Gene and Wurz reading like a fair chunk of the F1 Rejects database. It's hard to see which Peugeot will lead their challenge, with all three more than capable of taking that long-awaited first victory for a 908.

While the Audis and Peugeots are both diesel entries, their nearest challengers will likely all be traditional petrol efforts. A third manufacturer has joined up for 2009 (of a sort), with the three double-0 Aston Martin-run, Lola-built entries joining the party. The #008 Davidson/Turner/Verstappen car is their best bet of a good result, and the car brings back all sort of childhood memories (for some) with their Gulf livery, but the team may need a bit of luck to challenge for the outright win.

The LMP1 class isn't just about the big guys at the front though, there's plenty of irrelevance to be found further back. The Team Oreca entries get more serious by the year, with the team now having new Japanese-designed AIM engines and F1 hopeful Bruno Senna in one car, while shadowing the works teams will be the privateer Audi R10s (a car that has won this race for the last three years) of Colin Kolles and co, the privateer Peugeot of Pescarolo Sport and a privateer Lola-Aston for the optimistically-named Speedy Racing. Elsewhere, the likes of the Team LNT Ginetta, the works Creation and the Signature Plus Courage will just be looking to have incident-free races and climb into the top ten by attrition.

LMP2 Class

The smaller, less powerful prototype class has garnered a motley selection of 12 entries for 2009, spanning any number of manufacturers, though when it comes to the win, you're really looking at a class of two. The pair of private Porsche RS Spyders dominated the class in 2008, in much the same way that the works entries had swept the board in the class over in the ALMS. The class winning car (which finished 21 laps clear of the nearest non-Porsche) has changed hands over the winter, and will be run by the Japanese Team Goh setup. They will fight it out for the win with the #31 Team Essex entry, with the other cars realistically hoping to pick up any scraps the two dueling Porsches drop for them.

Of the other entries, there is a trio of closed-top Lola coupes that will be looking to stay with the Porsches. The Ray Mallock #25 car has the most experience, but the Speedy Racing #33 car and the #30 Racing Box cars have pushed the Essex Porsche in the Le Mans Series so far this year. The #40 Quifel Ginetta will be a dark horse, having run quickly in the LMS, but may well struggle to last the distance. Elsewhere, the Zyteks don't have the drivers to challenge, while the Bruichladdich Radical and the Oak Racing Pescarolos will realistically just be aiming to make the finish.

GT1 Class

The mighty supercar beasts of the GT1 field have dwindled in number over recent years, indeed the class has become moribund in the ALMS, and all that leaves a fairly straightforward battle for supremacy in this subcategory. The two works Chevrolet Corvettes will likely have things all their own way this year, after losing out on victory last year to the works Aston Martin DBR9 by less than a lap. This time, the fight for the top step will be an internecine one between the two Corvettes. The O'Connell/Magnussen/Garcia lineup triumphed in the Sebring 12 Hours earlier in the season, so the Gavin/Beretta/Fassler car will be looking for some revenge.

Elsewhere in the class, the field is looking a little thin. A pair of privateer Corvettes entered by former World Cup skier (and 2006 Dakar Rally winner) Luc Alphand are unlikely to have the talent to match the works cars, while the Austrian Aston Martin and Japanese Lamborghini teams will manage little more than make up the numbers. Though it's fair to say that this particular class needs all the help it can get right now.

GT2 Class

The minnows of the sportscar world, the GT2 class, is once again dominated by a myriad of Porsche 911s and Ferrari F430s, who will wage a slow, but likely spectacular, battle for class victory. The five car Porsche challenge will be led by the runaway ALMS GT2 championship leaders, and the excellently named, Flying Lizard Motorsport team, with Jörg Bergmeister in particular a potent sportscar ace. They are joined by 2007 class winners IMSA Performance, who roll out a pair of entries, and include Flying Lizard ALMS man Patrick Long in their stronger-looking #76 car. The #77 Felbermayer-Proton car will also be in the hunt for the class win. Porsche will be looking to fight back after seeing Ferrari take a 1-2-3-4 finish 12 months ago.

On the Ferrari side of the battle, they will be looking for another strong performance from their leading teams this year, led by last year's winners, and ALMS talent, Risi Competizione, with former F1 failure Mika Salo reinventing himself very well indeed as a GT racer in the #82 entry. The #78 AF Corse car is also likely to figure in the fight at the front, while a good outside bet may be the all-French #99 JMB Racing car, featuring 1993 Le Mans winner Christophe Bouchut. The terrifying prospect of an interview with a moustache-less Nigel Mansell are strong, given that his son Leo forms part of Team Modena's trio of drivers.

Trying to get noticed in amongst all the Italian and German machinery will be the Drayson Racing Aston Martin, where the team owner, Paul Drayson, is a UK government minister who temporarily stood down from office in 2007 to compete in the ALMS, and the sole Spyker C8, which despite being an underfunded operation compared to the Porsches and Ferraris, managed to run surprisingly well in the Le Mans test day. F1 fans will appreciate the comfort of seeing a Spyker near the back of the grid.

Track Facts

Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans
Race Distance: 24 Hours
Circuit Length: 13.629 km (8.469 miles)
Number of Turns: 21
2008 Pole Position: #8 Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (Stephane Sarrazin/Pedry Lamy/Alex Wurz)
2008 LMP1/Overall Winners - Allan McNish/Rinaldo Capello/Tom Kristensen (#2 Audi Sport North America Audi R10 TDI) - 381 Laps
2008 LMP2 Winners - Peter van Merksteijn/Jeroen Bleekemolen/Jos Verstappen (#34 Van Merksteijn Motorsport Porsche RS Spyder) - 354 Laps (10th Overall)
2008 GT1 Winners - David Brabham/Antonio Garcia/Darren Turner (#009 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin DBR9) - 344 Laps (13th Overall)
2008 GT2 Winners - Gianmaria Bruni/Mika Salo/Jaime Melo (Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT2) - 326 Laps (19th Overall)

On Patronise

Will we? Won't we? At the time of publishing this preview, there is still some debate as to whether we will attempt some form of Patty live report on the whole 24 hours. The minds are willing, but the bodies are soft and brusied. What seems likely is that Patty will be running live updates on the race, though perhaps not particularly frequent ones. Still, we'll give it a go, so come along and watch it all spectacularly go wrong from Saturday lunchtime onwards!