iRacing First look at Le Mans

[Daunt]

Drooooool

 

[Daunt]

Seems they've pretty much all but officially confirmed the release of Le Mans for next season when discussing the upcoming endurance race planned in a few months... iRacing employee Kevin Bobbitt said:

Things are progressing nicely with the track so we are tentatively scheduling this special event for the weekend of October 29-30.

Cars will be:

LMP2 - HPD
GT1 - Aston & Corvette
GT2 - Ford GT

We plan to use Le Mans in many schedules the week prior so you can get plenty of practice. May even do GT3 lead up event if there is interest.

Kevin

Anyone interested in this 24h race??

 

[Daunt]

Anyone else want to run the Aston for this??

 

[little P]

Oh you're killing me!

Aston Martin at the 24h Le Mans? nnnnnnnnng...... I would love to take part in this. And it'll be cooler then too. Does this mean they are adding in a day/night cycle then? What format are you thinking of running? Like how long for each stint etc. or is that decided later on depending on number of drivers etc.

That video with Frank Biela was fantastic btw

 

[Daunt]

Yeah that video is great. A lot of fun insight.

You should join back up and get practicing! As for day/night cycles, no not yet. I'll be honest and not give you any ridiculous expectations, I don't see it coming until at least Spring next year. They've already said it's not coming in time for Le Mans (this race)

As for format, stints and stint length depend on the car and its fuel load. Some cars can do almost 2 hour stints while some go from full tank to empty in 45 minutes. This track is going to be intensive on fuel so there's that. I don't know offhand how much the GT1s carry as far as fuel, nor how fast they burn through it but my guess is around an hour. So likely it would be 24-25 stints. Usually we prefer to run two drivers in pairs for four or five hours, alternating each stint. I find that strategy works best.

 

[little P]

Ah ok. Man that's a shame that there's no day/night. That's kind of weird :/

Also, there's no way in hell I would be able to sit for four/five hours and drive. No way in hell would I be able to concentrate and not screw it up for the team or hold my bladder for that long. I could do a one or two hour stint definitely but not four or five. If it was a bigger team with shorter stints then I would definitely join in but can't do it that way. Shame really as this was the first thing in a while to get me really excited about iRacing again. Maybe next year.

 

[Daunt]

Yeah a lot of people are moaning about it but it is still a blast.

And no you'd not be driving for four hours straight. You'd drive for an hour, then spot for an hour. Then drive and then spot again. Spotting is a light job though and you're free to get up, stretch, eat etc. More often than not there's multiple others on watching and spotting as well.

Usually the max we do is two hours straight, and only if the driver is comfortable. Sometimes you get into a groove and it's just better.

 

[little P]

Ah I see that makes complete sense. Thanks for clarifying. I'll cheer you guys on as usual