What happens at the Le Mans Test weekend
On Saturday 17th June 2017 the French tricolour flag will be waved for the start of the world’s biggest sports car race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
On Saturday 17thJune the French tricolour flag will be waved for the start of the world’s biggest sports car race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This weekend (2-4 June), in preparation for the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the 60 entries take to the 13.62 km track for the one and only official test day.
But what happens during the test weekend, and who can take part?
As a large part of the Circuit de la Sarthe is made up of public roads, this is a rare opportunity for everyone to test cars, drivers and systems ahead of the main event in two weeks. All 60 entries will be on track, together with majority of the 180 drivers who will compete on 17/18th June.
Newcomers to Le Mans in 2017
This year the test day is obligatory for all entrants, and most particularly for drivers who have never raced before in the 24 Hours of Le Mans or who are not on the official List of Exempted Drivers since 2012.
These drivers, of which there are 50 on the entry list for 2017, must complete at least 10 laps minimum during Sunday's track sessions. This is in addition to the simulator training they have had to do prior to the test day.
What happens and when?
The public roads are closed to traffic very early on Sunday morning 4th June and will re-open around 19h30.
Scrutineering checks for the cars will take place on Friday 2nd June (09h00-17h00) and for drivers on Saturday 3rd June (08h30-16h00) inside the circuit. There will also be pit walks for fans on both Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday at 16h00 the official group photo of cars will take place on the front straight with all teams providing at least one car.
Two Free Practice sessions will take place on Sunday 4th June between 09h00-13h00 and 14h00-18h00.
Timetable for administrative and scrutineering checks can be found HERE
List of entrants for the official Test Day HERE
We're definitely in this #LeMans24 mood already!
— FIA WEC (@FIAWEC) June 1, 2017
How about you? #WEC pic.twitter.com/Zkj9g42nWF