{"id":32873,"date":"2024-06-24T08:47:17","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T12:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=32873"},"modified":"2024-06-24T08:47:17","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T12:47:17","slug":"24-hours-of-detroit-motor-city-racing-brands-take-on-le-mans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/24-hours-of-detroit-motor-city-racing-brands-take-on-le-mans","title":{"rendered":"24 Hours of Detroit: Motor City racing brands take on Le Mans"},"content":{"rendered":"

France has a decidedly Detroit accent this week.<\/p>\n

In a rare confluence, the Motor City\u2019s most celebrated racing brands \u2013 Penske, Cadillac, Corvette and Ford \u2014 will all be vying for glory Saturday and Sunday at the world\u2019s most prestigious sportscar race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.<\/p>\n

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A Ford Mustang LMGT3, alternately driven by Christian Ried, Ben Tuck and Christopher Mies. runs practice laps at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Wednesday. It’s among the Detroit Three models that will be racing there Saturday and Sunday. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If the Indianapolis 500 is the planet\u2019s most demanding driver\u2019s race, then Le Mans is where sports car legends are made. For 87-year old Roger Penske, partnered with Porsche, it is an opportunity to win the one major race that has eluded his trophy case. For Ford, whose GT-40 made Le Mans a household name in Hollywood\u2019s “Ford v Ferrari,” 2024 opens a new era with its Mustang GT3 race car. For Cadillac, Le Mans is an opportunity to showcase battery-powered performance as the brand enters the European market. And for Corvette, the race is an opportunity to match America\u2019s mid-engine supercar against European peers like Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren.<\/p>\n

Gagne dimanche et vend lundi.<\/em>\u00a0Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.<\/p>\n

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The Whelen Cadillac V-Series car soars down the Le Mans track during practice laps Wednesday. It’s being driven alternately by Luis Felipe Derani, Jack Aitken and Felipe Drugovich in this weekend’s 24-hour marathon. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cLe Mans is the oldest and most celebrated endurance race in the world,\u201d said ex-General Motors Co. vice chairman and product guru Bob Lutz, whose 47-year automotive career spanned both sides of the Atlantic pond. \u201cThe fame of Le Mans is now considerable in the U.S. \u2014 a French event so extreme that, like the cycling Tour de France, it has gained international recognition.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Le Mans’ epic, 8.5-mile track sprawls across a combination of public and private roads that are dedicated to racing each June. Racers routinely hit speeds in excess of 200 mph on its famed Mulsanne Straight with three classes going wheel-to-wheel, rain-or-shine for 24 hours through daylight and the black of night.<\/p>\n

Multi-driver teams swap out multi-hour stints in a grueling test of man and machine. The world\u2019s greatest drivers have made their names there \u2014 Bell, Ickx, McLaren \u2014 as have the world\u2019s most revered sportscars: Porsche 917, Ford GT40, Audi R8, Ferrari 250, Jaguar D-Type.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn view of its extreme length, with drivers alternating every few hours, night and day, Le Mans demands not only driving skill, but also a considerable amount of tactical thinking,\u201d Lutz said. \u201cIt is a driving force in validating new technology, be it in hybrid systems, engines, tires, brakes, even lighting. After all, it is a full night and a full day of maximum performance, straining every component of the car.\u201d<\/p>\n

No wonder, then, that a historic partnership between global race sanctioning bodies \u2014 North America\u2019s IMSA and Europe\u2019s WEC \u2014 allowing manufacturers to race the same cars across multiple continents has attracted a who\u2019s who of auto’s elite for the 2024 race.<\/p>\n