2023 Le Mans Discussion
- Thread starter C5Volzfan
- Start date
I think it was contact by other cars happened in front of them... just checked the car over IIRC.
Is the Porsche bridge before the 'Ford' chicane full time or just an event cross over??
Is the Porsche bridge before the 'Ford' chicane full time or just an event cross over??
Hello !
Just a few words about the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Contrary to what I may have read or heard here and there, the "Circuit des 24 Heures" is a non-permanent track where the "24 Hours of Le Mans" takes place every year, organized by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO).
Three-quarters of its route follow roads that are open to traffic the rest of the year. Thus, the Tertre Rouge, the Hunaudières straight line, Mulsanne, Indianapolis, Arnage, and other places use roads open to traffic outside the 24 Hours.
The permanent segment of the “Circuit des 24 heures” begins at the Chicane du Raccordement and ends at the Virage de la Chapelle (see map below). And that's it for the permanent section of the “24-hour circuit”. Note that this permanent section has been shared since 1966 by the Circuit Bugatti (which is a totally permanent circuit). The section specific to the Circuit Bugatti is drawn in dotted lines on the map. It thus appears as a sort of “infield” of the Circuit des 24 heures.
Credits for the map: Drawing by Willag, Wikipedia.fr, Creative Commons
Main source of information: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_des_24_Heures
The English version is available here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_de_la_Sarthe
Just a few words about the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Contrary to what I may have read or heard here and there, the "Circuit des 24 Heures" is a non-permanent track where the "24 Hours of Le Mans" takes place every year, organized by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO).
Three-quarters of its route follow roads that are open to traffic the rest of the year. Thus, the Tertre Rouge, the Hunaudières straight line, Mulsanne, Indianapolis, Arnage, and other places use roads open to traffic outside the 24 Hours.
The permanent segment of the “Circuit des 24 heures” begins at the Chicane du Raccordement and ends at the Virage de la Chapelle (see map below). And that's it for the permanent section of the “24-hour circuit”. Note that this permanent section has been shared since 1966 by the Circuit Bugatti (which is a totally permanent circuit). The section specific to the Circuit Bugatti is drawn in dotted lines on the map. It thus appears as a sort of “infield” of the Circuit des 24 heures.
Credits for the map: Drawing by Willag, Wikipedia.fr, Creative Commons
Main source of information: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_des_24_Heures
The English version is available here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_de_la_Sarthe
Attachments
At one of the chicanes, you can see the Leroy Merlin and the McDonald's, trapped on the inside of the circuit at Les Hunaudières.
I would have thought that the D338 signs with roundabouts on Route de Tours were a dead giveaway.
Many thanks to you Rollo75 for your comments.
I did indeed make a mistake by simplifying the routes taken by the « Circuit des 24 heures ». The roads closed to road traffic are more numerous.
So we have :
1 - permanent road: it starts at the Chicane du Raccordement and ends at the Virage de la Chapelle. It is permanent throughout the season since it is part of the Bugatti circuit which hosts other car and motorcycle events;
2 - road open to road traffic outside the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This concerns the circuit from the Virage de la Chapelle to the first of the Porsche curves;
3 - portions of roads closed to road traffic and unused outside the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (I am not able to list them all with certainty). But this is the case with the Porsche curves, "this rapid sequence begins where the track leaves the departmental road to reach a section which is closed all year round since it is not part of the Bugatti circuit, like the straight line from Maison Blanche that follows. In fact, this whole part, from the first Porsche curve to the Ford chicane is often called new portion in French.
The name Virages Porsche (Porsche curves in English) is in fact erroneous. Purists will talk about Virage Porsche, Virage du Pont and Virage du Karting. This whole part was refitted in 1972 thanks to a large-scale renovation plan ranging from the Virage d'Arnage to the stands. » (1) In other words,the only permanent track is the Bugatti circuit;
The Hunaudières straight takes the road to Tours. This straight line is cut by two chicanes “initially called the Nissan chicane for the first and Carte S for the second, they have adopted different names over time, to highlight partners. (...) If you want to be precise, talk about the Arche bend for the first chicane, then the Florandière bend for the second. Or else, keep saying "the two chicanes". » (2)
I'm not sure, but it may be that the two chicanes - which leave the route de Tour - are closed to traffic outside the 24-hour event.
One thing I am certain of is that the Targa Florio - a famous Italian race for sports-protos and GTs - used to take place on 72 km (45 mi) of Sicilian roads... completely closed during the event !
Enjoy!
(1) https://www.24h-lemans.com/fr/actua...es-du-grand-circuit-les-virages-porsche-20148
(2) https://endurancemag.fr/les-hunaudieres
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Targa_Florio
I did indeed make a mistake by simplifying the routes taken by the « Circuit des 24 heures ». The roads closed to road traffic are more numerous.
So we have :
1 - permanent road: it starts at the Chicane du Raccordement and ends at the Virage de la Chapelle. It is permanent throughout the season since it is part of the Bugatti circuit which hosts other car and motorcycle events;
2 - road open to road traffic outside the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This concerns the circuit from the Virage de la Chapelle to the first of the Porsche curves;
3 - portions of roads closed to road traffic and unused outside the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (I am not able to list them all with certainty). But this is the case with the Porsche curves, "this rapid sequence begins where the track leaves the departmental road to reach a section which is closed all year round since it is not part of the Bugatti circuit, like the straight line from Maison Blanche that follows. In fact, this whole part, from the first Porsche curve to the Ford chicane is often called new portion in French.
The name Virages Porsche (Porsche curves in English) is in fact erroneous. Purists will talk about Virage Porsche, Virage du Pont and Virage du Karting. This whole part was refitted in 1972 thanks to a large-scale renovation plan ranging from the Virage d'Arnage to the stands. » (1) In other words,the only permanent track is the Bugatti circuit;
The Hunaudières straight takes the road to Tours. This straight line is cut by two chicanes “initially called the Nissan chicane for the first and Carte S for the second, they have adopted different names over time, to highlight partners. (...) If you want to be precise, talk about the Arche bend for the first chicane, then the Florandière bend for the second. Or else, keep saying "the two chicanes". » (2)
I'm not sure, but it may be that the two chicanes - which leave the route de Tour - are closed to traffic outside the 24-hour event.
One thing I am certain of is that the Targa Florio - a famous Italian race for sports-protos and GTs - used to take place on 72 km (45 mi) of Sicilian roads... completely closed during the event !
Enjoy!
(1) https://www.24h-lemans.com/fr/actua...es-du-grand-circuit-les-virages-porsche-20148
(2) https://endurancemag.fr/les-hunaudieres
(
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Targa_Florio
Sorry, but I can't get rid of the second smiley !Many thanks to you Rollo75 for your comments.
I did indeed make a mistake by simplifying the routes taken by the « Circuit des 24 heures ». The roads closed to road traffic are more numerous.
So we have :
1 - permanent road: it starts at the Chicane du Raccordement and ends at the Virage de la Chapelle. It is permanent throughout the season since it is part of the Bugatti circuit which hosts other car and motorcycle events;
2 - road open to road traffic outside the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This concerns the circuit from the Virage de la Chapelle to the first of the Porsche curves;
3 - portions of roads closed to road traffic and unused outside the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (I am not able to list them all with certainty). But this is the case with the Porsche curves, "this rapid sequence begins where the track leaves the departmental road to reach a section which is closed all year round since it is not part of the Bugatti circuit, like the straight line from Maison Blanche that follows. In fact, this whole part, from the first Porsche curve to the Ford chicane is often called new portion in French.
The name Virages Porsche (Porsche curves in English) is in fact erroneous. Purists will talk about Virage Porsche, Virage du Pont and Virage du Karting. This whole part was refitted in 1972 thanks to a large-scale renovation plan ranging from the Virage d'Arnage to the stands. » (1) In other words,the only permanent track is the Bugatti circuit;
The Hunaudières straight takes the road to Tours. This straight line is cut by two chicanes “initially called the Nissan chicane for the first and Carte S for the second, they have adopted different names over time, to highlight partners. (...) If you want to be precise, talk about the Arche bend for the first chicane, then the Florandière bend for the second. Or else, keep saying "the two chicanes". » (2)
I'm not sure, but it may be that the two chicanes - which leave the route de Tour - are closed to traffic outside the 24-hour event.
One thing I am certain of is that the Targa Florio - a famous Italian race for sports-protos and GTs - used to take place on 72 km (45 mi) of Sicilian roads... completely closed during the event !
Enjoy!
(1) https://www.24h-lemans.com/fr/actua...es-du-grand-circuit-les-virages-porsche-20148
(2) https://endurancemag.fr/les-hunaudieres
The “24 Hour Circuit” is considered as a semi-permanent circuit. This means that it takes a track (or a road) which is permanently closed to road traffic, including a section which goes from the first of the Porsche curves to the Virage du Raccordement. But, it also takes roads usually open to
traffic outside the week when the 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place. I think I sometimes used the word “route”, sometimes the word “piste” which can be synonyms in French. Sorry (again) for the poor quality of my english.
Here's a link to a full race highlights of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Duration: 10 minutes.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg5-B90fHOI&t=12s
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