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:
“Surely, then, the gods who are most interested in the human race preside over the Tavern, where especially men congregate.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“What is all wisdom save a collection of platitudes? Take fifty of our current proverbial sayings—they are so trite, so threadbare, that we can hardly bring our lips to utter them. None the less they embody the concentrated experience of the race and the man who orders his life according to their teaching cannot go far wrong.”
—Norman Douglas (1868–1952)
“The complaint ... about modern steel furniture, modern glass houses, modern red bars and modern streamlined trains and cars is that all these objets modernes, while adequate and amusing in themselves, tend to make the people who use them look dated. It is an honest criticism. The human race has done nothing much about changing its own appearance to conform to the form and texture of its appurtenances.”
—E.B. (Elwyn Brooks)