Le Mans 24 Hours 2016: What does it take to challenge for the greatest race in the world?

Jack de Menezes joined the JOTA Sport/G-Drive Racing team for their assault on the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours, and quickly learnt that this was a challenge like no other

The No 26 JOTA Sport/G-Drive Racing Oreca of Rene Rast, Roman Rusinov and Will Stevens (G-Drive Racing)

What does it take to win the Le Mans 24 Hours? Luck, above all, but also a well drilled and experienced team, a talented driver line-up, a strategist capable of predicting the future and a car that’s as unbreakable as it is fast.

JOTA Sport know how to win at Le Mans – they did so in the LMP2 class in 2014 despite falling to the back of the field early on. Having linked up with G-Drive Racing for the 2016 World Endurance Championship, JOTA were able to boast two cars in the LMP2 field for last weekend’s dramatic 24 hour race.

Not only did The Independent travel to Le Mans to see what it takes to compete in the greatest race in the world, we joined the JOTA Sport/G-Drive Racing team for the full 24 hours to get a first-hand look at one of the biggest challenges in motorsport.

While we arrived on Friday afternoon in time for the driver parade through the town and the final check on the No 26 Oreca and No 38 Gibson, the team had already been hard at work for the best part of a fortnight. After testing for Le Mans, the team went through scrutineering – again held in the heart of the town – before completing practice and qualifying where Rene Rast put the No 26 on pole position in the LMP2 class.

By the time we joined up with the team, the two sets of mechanics had already completed two full engine changes for testing and qualifying, and a 4am finish the day before had left the crew a little bit on the tired side. The sympathy was short lived though, once the full effect of the 24 hour slog became apparent.

As each car went through its final set-up, the lack of any real problems didn’t mean it would be an early night for the mechanics. The shutters finally came down at 1am, though they weren’t the only ones as a glance down the empty pit lane revealed a number of bright lights shining from inside the garages.

The race began behind the safety car due to torrential rain (G-Drive Racing)

Friday’s start time meant a 7am transport back to the track, with just enough time to wolf down breakfast before the cars were prepared for morning warm-up. It’s here that the mood was noticeably different. While the atmosphere on Friday was relaxed and jovial with music booming out of the JOTA Sport/G-Drive Racing garage, there was a sense of tension, nerves and focus on the way to the Circuit de la Sarthe – broken only by the timely outburst of the Eye of the Tiger, a pre-race gee-up song that suddenly lifted spirits once again.

This was helped by team manager Gary Holland, who, in-between ensuring that everything was running smoothly and getting to grips with the car himself, was never slow to joke at his team-mates’ – or guest journalist’ – expense to keep the humour ticking over.

Rast, Stevens and Rusinov battled back from dropping down the field to challenge for the lead (G-Drive Racing)

It quickly dawned that this wasn’t your normal by-the-by team, but rather a close-knit family which were willing to go to war for each other.

After the lengthy build-up to the race and an unfortunate soaking for those stood on the grid as the heavy rain predicted for Saturday afternoon arrived on time, the action got underway – albeit behind the safety car.

This brought about an unusual lull. With the pace slow, cars choosing not to pit early and everyone waiting to see how the weather would affect proceedings, a state if uncertainty descended on the pits. That immediately lifted when the green flag dropped, and relentless feedback from Rast inside the cockpit updated the crew of track conditions, tyre choices and when the right time would be to pit.

Rast’s co-drivers, Roman Rusinov and former Marussia Formula 1 driver Will Stevens, joined us in the garage before they would jump into the car themselves and complete their respective shifts, sometimes a triple or quadruple stint that can stretch to over three hours in one go.

The No 26 emerged on Sunday morning in second place in LMP2 (G-Drive Racing)

The mood was completely different now. The jokes were gone, team manager Gary had gone from the jovial character keeping spirits up to the headmaster figure, ensuring every man knew his job when Rast, Rusinov or Stevens came to pit lane and required something different each time. Strategist David, who would spend the entire 24 hours on the pit wall bar the odd toilet break, would make the call – tyres, no tyres, driver change, oil top-up, brake duct clean, the list goes on – but it’s immediately clear that he’s the brains behind the team.

Into the night we go and it’s here where Adam, the man responsible for not just the well-being of the three drivers but also the team of mechanics, becomes crucial to keeping you awake throughout the 24 hours through a combination of smoothies, snacks and an apple and cinnamon concoction that was a particular highlight.

The No 38 Gibson was shared by Simon Dolan, Jake Dennis and Geido van der Garde (G-Drive Racing ) (G-Drive Racing)

As the sun rises and the eyelids become increasingly heavier, you finally see the finish line about midday on Sunday. It momentarily slips your mind that the race, up until this point, has been a 19-hour marathon that has claimed a number of victims. Unfortunately, one of those proved to be the No 38, which was shunted off the track at the Ford Chicane and into the barrier by one of the Aston Martins – coincidentally the same one that came together with the JOTA Sport/G-Drive Racing team in Spa last month.

Despite the No 38 crew springing into life to immediately identify, remove and repair the damage – combined with the No 26 boys who showed no hesitancy in lending a hand across the garage – come day break the shutters on the No 38 were brought down and the race was done.

The No 38 Gibson was punted out of the race after a collision with an Aston Martin (G-Drive Racing)

The No 26 was still going strong though, yet each time it hit the front, something would happen to quickly drop it back down the order. A drive-through penalty when Stevens fired up the engine during refuelling was a stonewall sanction, but the minute stop/go penalty that followed some hours later felt slightly harsher – enough so that Rast was still fuming about the decision when he returned to the car some seven hours later.

Then there’s the slow zones, sections of track that are neutralised to 80kph in order to clean up an accident without deploying a safety car. The No 26 appeared to lose a lot more time that their nearest opponents when it came to the deployment of these caution areas, and the effect they had was not lost on the drivers. However, given that the No 26 was the best part of four minutes faster in the pits than the No 36 Signatech Alpine they were battling with throughout the 24 hours, you did wonder where the time was being lost.

The LMP2 battle went right down to the final lap, but despite the best efforts of the team, the No 36 Alpine prevailed by just 2 minutes and 40 seconds. After 24 hours, a 160-second gap felt like a lifetime, and while the team celebrated not just finishing what proved to be an enthralling race but finishing second and securing a third straight podium finish, they displayed the clear belief that it was an opportunity missed.


 Rast, Rusinov and Stevens celebrate on the podium after taking second in LMP2 
 (G-Drive Racing)

Just minutes after though, the fun was back, the adrenaline kicked back in and everyone united to celebrate the podium finish. “It’s the 36-hour chaser”, says Oscar, the No 3 mechanic on the No 26 car. He’s right, as there’s something special that drags you through the race and long into the night, before you’re left to reflect on the toughest 24 hours of your life.