Both races were postponed, of course. The Nürburgring 24-hours should have taken place over the weekend of 23rd / 24th May, a good three weeks before Le Mans, which was originally scheduled for 13th / 14th June. Having the two races on successive weekends is nothing new, but having both races in September, and ‘behind closed doors’ certainly was. Strictly speaking, spectators were admitted to the Nürburgring, but by ticket only into the main grandstand on the start-finish straight. The magic of the Nürburgring is the camping places around the Nordschleife, and to see the public enclosures and car parks empty while the cars were circulating was sobering indeed. So too were the pictures from Le Mans. I have said before, but it bears repeating: an event of this magnitude loses an awful lot of its lustre when it is played out in front of empty grandstands. Neither Le Mans nor the Nürburgring could possibly deliver drama when there was no public to bear witness to it.
Then there is the fact that I wasn’t at either event. I am not sure if I wish I had been. Even if I had had the opportunity to attend, I would not have been able to – my physical health was not good enough to allow me to travel so I was spared any decision-making anyway. In fact, no-one from Radio Show Limited’s broadcast teams was present at either of the races. In my view, this had an impact on the commentary as well.
That said, I can make no further mention of the commentary without saying how delighted I was to be able to participate in the races at both Le Mans and Nürburgring. I suspect there is a pretty strong overlap between the readers of this blog and the listeners to Radio Le Mans (or RadioLeMans.com) and I have to thank all of you who contributed to social media or sent me private messages containing encouragement and wishing me well. I may not be operating on all cylinders, but the positive messages that reached me from all corners of the globe were extremely welcome and even though I did not reply to each of you individually, then please be assured that each message meant a lot, and taken as a whole, they were massively uplifting. I am grateful to John and Eve for having me on as well, of course – ultimately it is their decision who they decide to include in the coverage, and they have been unfailing in their support throughout.
I will continue over the next month with more intensive treatment. I have already had stem cells harvested from my bloodstream and these are due to be transplanted back into me in the middle of October. The recovery from this procedure will likely take some time, and I am preparing myself for a slow recuperation. Indeed, I am due to still be in hospital when the next big 24-hour race comes around.
First though, a question: while Le Mans undoubtedly stands at the top of the tree of all 24-hour races, is Nürburgring second? What about Daytona? Dubai? Spa? Now Daytona is free of its dalliance with the somewhat arcane and insular Grand-Am series, I have to say that the Florida 24-hour race is back, right up there, just as it was in theh 1980’s. But from the historical perspective, the first time that Daytona ran to a 24-hour length was in 1966. The Spa 24 hours (first held: 1924, just one year after the first Le Mans) takes the laurels using that measure. When I first became aware of racing – and lest there be any doubt about it, that was closer to 1966 than 1924 – the Spa 24-hour race was targeted at touring cars, rather than the GT category that it currently attracts. But let’s face it, the preponderance of 24-hour races these days are all targeted at Grand Tourers: specifically the GT3 class – either under the pure balance of performance specified by the Stephane Ratel Organisation (SRO) or a modified version thereof, as prescribed by the ADAC or Creventic.
Whatever makes Spa so special in the current era - and I will leave that up for debate - it is remarkable that it can still attract more than 50 cars of virtually identical performance, even in these pandemic-constrained times. Last year, 72 cars took the start. Although it is a multi-class race, the classes are dictated by the experience of the drivers that comprise the crews. The cars all run to the same regulation. It may not mean as much overtaking as you get at Le Mans, but it does enable the good drivers to demonstrate their skills – as well as exposing the weaker ones.
This year’s Spa 24 hours has not been immune to the disruption that affected Le Mans and Nürburgring either. Originally scheduled for July 25th / 26th, it will now take place on the weekend of October 24th / 25th. And spectators, we now have it confirmed, will not be admitted. Although the argument could be made that the Nürburgring is such an iconic circuit that to race on it for 24 hours is a challenge enough for drivers that the absence of a crowd in the forests doesn’t matter so much, to apply the same argument to the current version of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit would be specious: it is after all a Formula 1 venue. That’s not to imply the Spa at night is not challenging – it most certainly is, and magical and spectacular to boot. However, it is clear to me that the prime motivation in holding the race during the pandemic is, just as at Le Mans, the commercial one of satisfying the business partners and ‘putting on the show’.
I find it rather amusing how there was a suggestion that the race should be a 25-hour affair. I’ll admit that some of what follows is speculation, but my readers should know that I regard the truth as important: although a lot of the evidence is circumstantial, I believe it is a fair reflection of the truth. It was obvious in mid-April that it would be impossible to hold the Spa 24 hours on its originally scheduled date, and the end of October date was duly announced at the end of April. No mention was made (by SRO) for at least six weeks thereafter that the new date coincided with the end of European Daylight-Saving Time.
Now some may know that there is a precedent for the clocks changing during a major 24-hour race, and I will come on to that. However, the reaction from SRO, when they realised the ‘problem’, was to do as all progressively-thinking business entrepreneurs do and treat it as an ‘opportunity’. “Let’s make it a 25-hour race,” said Stéphane Ratel. It has to be said that not much consultation took place; rather it was a decision made in the “Make it so” spirit. Meanwhile, team engineers and their race simulation experts went skulking off to their spreadsheets shaking their heads. In the end, sanity prevailed, and the “Total 24 hours of Spa” will do what it says on the tin and last for 24 hours, finishing at 14:30 on Sunday October 25th, having started at 15:30 the day before.
Part of the nonsense of adding an hour’s competition to the race is that Spa already has a perfectly good 25-hour race – at least it does when there aren’t global health pandemics to deal with. The VW FunCup holds its blue riband event over 25 hours every year and has done for more than 20 years. It is a perfectly good thing and I am saddened that it will not be taking place over its full distance this year. In its place are the “Belgian Autumn Races”, to be held on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday after Ratel and his Organisation has left. If you were thinking of attending the Spa 24 hours and find yourself with a ferry ticket that you cannot redeem, you might consider going to this as an alternative. A bit of resourcefulness, planning and research will be required, but you’ll be rewarded with 12½ hours of VW FunCup racing, 14 hours of Citroen C1 / 2CV racing action and a five-hour race for the Belgian Gentlemen Drivers Club. It’s worth a thought.
I am afraid I know little of the Thunderhill 25-hour race, but it is building itself a reputation as a serious endurance race and it does have a certain history, having been run annually since 2003. Sadly though, it too has become a victim of Covid-19 and has been cancelled for this year.
Some UK readers may recall (hands up if you do!) the 1989 edition of the Willhire at Snetterton. The ‘Willhire 24-hours’ was held initially in 1980 for a mixed bag of production sports and saloon cars, with many entrants running the race as a relay – you were allowed to change cars as well as drivers during the race. From 1985 it was for saloon cars only, and for a while it became the centrepiece event in the British Production Saloon Car Championship. In 1989 the sponsor Willhire celebrated its 25th anniversary, and Peter Williams – charismatic owner of the car and van rental company which had sponsored the event from the outset – had the notion to celebrate by adding an hour to the duration of the race. It wasn’t a universally popular idea (I was there, I heard the grumblings), but the celebrity of holding what was then the longest race in the World was certainly worth the trouble and expense of an extra tank of fuel (for some).
I mentioned a precedent in the clocks changing during a 24-hour race. Yes, it has happened, but I can only find one such occurrence. Surprisingly, it was probably one of the most significant 24-hour races that ever took place – namely the first running of the Le Mans 24 hours in 1923. The race started at 4pm on Saturday, 26th May, the clocks went forward by an hour at 11pm that night and so the race didn’t finish until 5pm on Sunday. I wonder whether anyone thought “Oh, hang it, let’s not worry about the full 24 hours, let’s just finish it at 4pm and go for a lie down!”?
Ah, but that wouldn’t have been proper, would it? And it is important to do things properly.
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