Audi and Porsche both dominate the landscape from a branding perspective, with signage – and facilities – distributed liberally around the property. Where at other race venues I’ve attended, the big players might have an impressive tent to wine and dine guests, Audi played host in no fewer than four spaces that are more than a few levels of luxury beyond some mere tent! Multi-levels with entertainment, food, drink, and a constant stream of live updates and in-car telemetry from the race keep these places lively and interesting.
Into the evening, makeshift nightclubs play music with thumping beats that can’t compete with the sounds of the racecars still doing their laps. Long after the sun has finally set, the crowds thin out considerably. Some of the smaller vendors button up shop for a few hours, and the walkways and stands no longer cause you to forego personal space for forward mobility.
And this whole time – now ten hours – the crews in the paddock and on pit lane, and the drivers going wheel-to-wheel, have not relented in their furious quest to gather more laps. There’s a fresh excitement to it at this late hour – like I am among a special group who hid when the gates were locked up for the evening, and now a more private event is on. And the cars continue to scream past, again and again, with signature LED lighting giving away the faces of some of the machines seconds before their markings can be seen as they zip by.
It truly is an awesome sight and a fearsome thought to imagine driving at 300 km/h or more down the darkest parts of the track. For hours I walk around, stopping periodically to see if I’ve finally found the perfect vantage point to snap some award-winning photo, before moving on to the next. Walking through the paddock, it’s possible to peer into the cave-like garages containing some crews working furiously on repairs, while others fight off sleep waiting for their driver to return and give them something to do. Sill other garages are closed up tight, their team’s Le Mans dream being shelved for another year due to some unforeseen mishap earlier in the race.
Just then, in the pits, I see one of the Ferraris ignite before being quickly extinguished by an alarmed crew, but not before creating a literal (and massive) smokescreen. This is why it’s so late and yet I’m not in my bed – every time you think it might slow down or get boring, something new happens.