IMSA: Drivers prepare for Le Mans experience

A large contingent of IMSA drivers, teams and manufacturers are set to compete at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 18-19, an event that is very different from those they are accustomed to in North America.

At nearly 8.5 miles in length, the Circuit de la Sarthe is more than twice as long as the four-mile Road America circuit, the longest racetrack currently on the WeatherTech Championship schedule.

In last Sunday's official pre-event test at Le Mans, the No. 63 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R (known in the WeatherTech Championship as the No. 3 machine) posted a best lap time of 3m55.122s to lead the GTE Pro class. The same car will do roughly 4 1/2 laps around Lime Rock Park in the same amount of time at the WeatherTech Championship Northeast Grand Prix next month.

"Le Mans is a very long track with very long straights," said two-time defending WeatherTech Championship titlist Joao Barbosa, who will return with Tracy Krohn and Nic Jonsson in a Nissan Ligier JS P2 for his ninth Le Mans. "Physically, it's not as demanding as Daytona or Sebring, because you can rest a little bit and gather your thoughts on the long straights."

"Le Mans is unique," added Nick Tandy, the overall winner at Le Mans in 2015 and a regular for Porsche North America in the GTLM class of the WeatherTech Championship. "What fascinates me is not just the immense challenge, but also the special atmosphere. When you drive through the gate to the paddock in the morning, it's always a very emotional moment, and not just for me as the title defender."

The race week schedule is another unique feature at Le Mans. Official activities (not including last weekend's test day) get underway Sunday with two full days of scrutineering at Place de la République in the town center of Le Mans. Scrutineering includes technical inspection and administrative checks, as well as individual photo opportunities with each of the 60 cars on the entry list.

"Tech inspection is a tricky process at Le Mans and I was happy to see our car got through it last Friday," said car owner Mike Shank. "Also, we don't know their process very well. Fortunately, we have a great relationship with Onroak Automotive and Oak Racing, and they've helped us navigate the waters there, making sure we don't make any mistakes in the ACO's eyes."

After scrutineering is complete, along with the official driver photo and autograph session on Tuesday, cars finally get on track for practice on Wednesday. Most IMSA fans would be at least a few hours early for practice (and in plenty of time for the pit walk from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), as we're accustomed to practice starting in the morning in North America.

In Le Mans, practice starts on Wednesday at 4 p.m. and runs for four hours. Then, there's a two-hour break before qualifying starts. That's right, one four-hour practice session precedes the first of two qualifying sessions and it runs from 10 p.m. to midnight. On Thursday, on-track activity for cars racing in the 24 Hours consist of a pair ofqualifying sessions, one from 7 to 9 p.m. and the other from 10 p.m. to midnight.

There is no on-track action for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars on Friday, but the highlight of the day – and a highlight of the week for many – is the drivers' parade through downtown Le Mans starting at 5:30 p.m. local time. The parade route is jammed with spectators as drivers ride in antique cars.

"The Le Mans driver parade is a great tradition," said Cooper MacNeil, who will be joined at Le Mans by regular WeatherTech Championship co-drivers Leh Keen and Marc Miller. "The streets of downtown are filled with race fans from all over the world. They are all looking for hero cards and anything else they can get their hands on. Some also bring large fishing nets to catch the loot. It is a great way to connect us with the fans the night before the race."

Things get serious on Saturday, which begins with a 45-minute warmup session beginning at 9 a.m. This year's Saturday schedule includes a Ferrari Challenge race and a "Road to Le Mans" race featuring LM P3 prototypes and race cars from the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup.

Following those two events, pre-race ceremonies get underway along with the grid walk for those with the appropriate wristband. The pre-event grid is a sight to behold as a sea of humanity washes over the grid while thousands of race fans fill the grandstands on the front stretch for the start of the race.

Teams have various ways of entertaining fans during pre-race, including Corvette Racing, which brings what seems like the world's loudest air horn onto the grid and "honks" it several times to the delight of the fans.

"A few of our guys thought it would be pretty cool to bring a train horn to Le Mans, and we would use it to announce the lunch hour," said Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing program manager. "We did it that year and it quickly became a tradition. I was a little nervous because it was really loud and thought the organizers might get angry about it. But when we had our traditional dinner with the ACO officials at the track, and they talked about how great it was that we were blowing the horn. They loved that we started the tradition. Since then, we've taken it to scrutineering, to the grid and have blown it at the end of the race. It's one of those unique things that make Le Mans Le Mans."

Finally, at 3 p.m. local time, the French flag is waved from the flag stand and the race is on! Four classes and 60 cars – including 15 with strong ties to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – engage in a twice-around-the-clock battle with the hope of standing on the post-race podium shortly after the checkered flag is displayed at 3 p.m. Sunday.

As soon as the cars return to their garages, the gates are opened, allowing thousands of fans onto the racetrack and pit lane to join the celebration. And for a winning driver, the podium experience at Le Mans is unforgettable.

"It's still hard to put into words what I feel about the whole thing," said Jordan Taylor, who joined Corvette Racing teammates Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin in winning the GTE Pro class in 2015. "I still find myself looking at pictures from the weekend and not believing that we actually won the race. Le Mans was always the goal. Just to race there was special, but to win it was the icing on the cake. I think for me, personally, it's a big confidence-booster heading into the rest of our championship."