This weekend is just one month short of what would have been the original 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours race weekend (initially scheduled for 13-14 June). As the United Kingdom approaches 8 weeks in lockdown as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, we thought that we would dig into our archives and bring you something from last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
The 2019 Le Mans was one of the most hotly contested in years in the GTE classes with a total of 17 cars in the Pro class and 16 cars in the Am class. Of these 33 cars (out of a total field of 62 cars), there were ten 911 RSRs in both classes, these being made up as follows: four factory cars in the Pro Class (#91, #92, #93 and #94) and six in the Am class: #77 and #88 Dempsey-Proton, #86 Gulf Racing, #78 Proton Competition and #99 Krohn Racing, and the #56 Team Project 1.
In recognition of the significant role that the Brumos team played in Porsche’s successes in the USA, two of the factory cars were liveried in the Brumos theme. The other two were done in corporate colours but with a gold band, celebrating the fact that Porsche had already secured victory in the GTE-Pro class of the World Endurance Championship at Spa, the penultimate race of the 2018/2019 season. Incidently, the top four finishers in this class all crossed the finishing line on the same lap, and that was after 24 hours of intense racing!
The retro-themed cars were a great hit with the spectators as those cars are more easily identifiable, and they make a pleasant change from the usual ‘school uniform’ style of the corporate colours. In 2019, Ford themed all four of their Ford GTs in the Pro class with a different retro livery on each car.
In closing, we would like to wish all our readers and their families good health and patience during this difficult time – stay safe!
Written by: Glen Smale
Image by: Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale
Are these big events now a thing of the past?
Time will tell, but I really hope that this lot is soon all behind us. To be honest, I can’t see all the manufacturers and private race teams just rolling over and going on holiday indefinitely.