Race
Most events are 14.5 hours long, with sessions on Saturday and Sunday running from six to ten hours long. There is usually one full 24 hour endurance race each year.
Each race begins with all cars being released onto the track under a full course yellow flag for lap-timing transponder checks. No passing is permitted under yellow, so all cars operational before the start (over 150 have been known to start) will circulate around the track in single file for up to 20 minutes until the officials are satisfied that the timing and scoring system is working properly. The race officially begins with the green flag being waved at a randomly chosen car.
Standard racing flags are used by corner workers stationed around the track to communicate with drivers. The black flag is used liberally throughout the race to call drivers off of the track for issues with their driving or with their car. Driving infractions range from any contact with another vehicle or fixed barrier and overly aggressive driving to spinning or driving two wheels off of the track. Car problems that could result in black flags are generally safety issues, such as fluid leaks, parts hanging off the car, or inoperative lights. Drivers must report to the penalty box immediately after being shown a black flag.
Races that are split into two days will have a checkered flag at the end of the first day, signifying the end of the racing session. The race is restarted on the next day, normally with the top ten cars being permitted to line up in order with the first-place car getting the green flag.
Read more about this topic: 24 Hours Of Le Mons
Famous quotes containing the word race:
“Before we shall again behold
In his diurnal race the world’s great eye,
We may as silent be and cold
As are the shades where buried lovers lie.”
—Sir William Davenant (1606–1668)
“Many times man lives and dies
Betweeen his two eternities,
That of race and that of soul,
And ancient Ireland knew it all.
Whether man die in his bed
Or the rifle knocks him dead,”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“...wasting the energies of the race by neglecting to develop the intelligence of the members to whom its most precious resources must be entrusted, already seems a childish absurdity.”
—Anna Eugenia Morgan (1845–1909)