"Narrator:" "What happens to a body that's awake for 40 hours?" "Yellow zone!" "Four hours in one position, 90 degrees Fahrenheit." "[ heart beating ] 800 calories per hour..." "The body cries out:" "pain, pressure, forces, danger, heat..." "The only thing that exists is the next corner." "Le Mans is a car race like no other, it's an endurance test for drivers and cars that literally takes 24 hours to complete." "55 cars will start, but many fewer will reach the checkered flag." "With unprecedented access to six of the teams and the event itself, this is the story of a race that pushes technology to the limit but where the ghosts of the past are never far from the present." "Announcer 1:" "Well, good morning everybody." "Le Mans is coming to life down in the pits today as the teams prepare for the first real test:" "qualifying." "Just put it on the front." "Push it down." "Announcer 1:" "This is a chance for every garage to compete for pole position but maybe more importantly to test and refine different elements of their cars before they put them out there for 24 hours." "It's a technical racecar." "You always have challenges," "You have a long list with items you would like to change." "The closer it gets to the race the priorities get tighter." "Announcer 1:" "In the top LMP1 class we're expecting everyone to be pushed to the limit today." "Nissan and Porsche have joined Audi in bringing three cars today, a first for both of those teams." "The main reason why you do the third car is one more shot to go for the for the top, top step on the on the podium." "Because if you look in the history of Le Mans race you lose one car with an accident, you lose one car with a technical failure and one gets through." "The extra effort with putting a third car on the grid, that is huge." "Even in our brain somehow we can handle two cars and coordinate but the first time you go out with three cars, you realize the third car is not just 50% more it feels like 100 or 200% more." "Announcer 1:" "Now, this is going to be a heck of a race this year." "So if you're not already down at Le Mans, why not?" " Ho!" " Ho." "You know this, uh, here we are, we're coming down to Dover." "We're on the Le Mans trip." "Announcer 1:" "Pack the tent, hook the caravan on the car." "If you've got a bit of money spare, book yourself into a chateaux." "91.2 FM, this is mobile 1, Radio Le Mans, live around the track and around the world." "Radio Le Mans all started from enthusiasts." "from just an FM service at the track, from people who were already going to Le Mans as fans back in the mid-1980s." "Announcer:" "And the three Mercedes have lined themselves up." "Over the years we've grown and grown." "Nowadays we broadcast, not just to the track but around the world to something over seven and a half million fans during race week." "My first year this year." "Fantastic!" "Le Mans, it's the Cathedral, it's the big Church, it's where everybody comes to." "It's like a pop festival, except for cars." "It's not one income group." "It's not one nationality." "If you go around camp sites, you're just as likely to see somebody in a beaten up old van with half a dozen guys sitting, getting ready for the race and next door will be a million pound super car." "Announcer 1:" "For you fans already down here at the Circuit De La Sarthe plenty to see, teams are out in front of the garages fine tuning the art of their pit stops." "Now, in Formula One, you might see up to 20 mechanics on a pit stop." "Here at Le Mans, only two mechanics working on the wheel change." "Through the course of the race, each of the cars will take over 400 gallons of fuel but only 40 tires." "There'll be around 30 pit stops through the 24 hours, and vital seconds can be gained here and that's why teams practice repeatedly." "To optimize the wheel change time we have to try and make sure that the car is perfect." "If we can save 1 second or half a second every time, you're looking at 15-plus seconds which is critical." "I've seen races come down to much smaller gap than that after 24 hours of racing." "Announcer 1:" "Driver changes requires perfect execution." "It's not allowed for one driver now to attempt the entire race, so there's a team of three." "They share the car, they share the pain and hopefully they share the glory." "Chemistry between three drivers on one car it... it is important because you're only as good as the weakest link." "With car number 17, Timo Bernhard," "Brendon Hartley and then last but not least," "Mark Webber with all the experience he had from Formula One." "One of the best sports car lineups we have seen in history." "It's very, very important that the guys, they put their ego a bit behind." "I'm old, Brendon's young..." " I'm in the middle somewhere." " Yeah." "Bit closer to him maybe." "Unfortunately, I'm normally the butt of the jokes," "But that's, uh..." "But the young guy's gotta earn his stripes, huh?" "We always take the Michael out of the young guy." "Actually I'm very lucky to be an LMP1 driver and have two very, um, experienced teammates... we genuinely work as a team, which, you know, technical side, on track, you know it's," "it's a good little relationship." "Communication is key." "Obviously, sometimes we get a bit more time to talk to each other, when the two guys are out of the car we get about 5, 10 minutes to talk to each other." "but generally it's, uh, through the radio or, you know, we're really ships passing in the night." "So sometimes you, sometimes we don't see each other often, you know, if one's jumping in, one's jumping out," "Which is good, that means the race is going smooth." "Announcer 1:" "We've reached that moment when each team will really get to see their rivals in action for the first time." "The roads have been closed to public traffic through four hours today and two tomorrow." "Each car has the chance to test themselves on the track, and whoever puts in the fastest single lap will be in pole position on the starting grid." "Now, if you're you new to Le Mans, you might be asking," ""Why are the cars all different shapes?"" "Well, that's because Le Mans is not actually just one race, but four different races going on at the same time." "First of all you've got the GTs, or Grand Touring Cars." "That's your Aston Martins, Ferraris, Corvettes" "The GTs look like road cars but are highly developed." "And there are two main prizes on offer here:" "one for the professional drivers, and one for the amateurs." "Then the faster cars:" "the LMPs or Le Mans Prototypes." "These cars are built specifically to regulations written by the race organizers." "Again, they are divided into two classes:" "LMP2..." "And then the real space rockets of LMP1." "This is where you'll find the fastest cars and the ones battling it out for overall victory." "It's only professional drivers in these LMP1s, and this is the category the likes of" "Nissan, Porsche and Audi have entered." "Well, as we move on through qualifying, we'll see just what the impact of the winter's development has had on the speed of these cars." "I've heard people saying that the Audis and the Porsches are going to do 3 minute 13 laps." "There is no way on this earth that Audi have found 10 seconds over the winter, it's impossible." "Announcer 1:" "3:19.866 for the number 8 car." "That's the fastest Audi so far." "3:17.767 for Timo Bernhard in the car he shares with Mark Webber... 3:16.887 for Neel Jani and Porsche have blown the old record out of the water, they have destroyed it!" "We knew we would have a quick car." "With our hybrid system, we had some advantages definitely on one lap." "But at the same time we know it's a 24 hour race." "We know about the great experience Audi's having and that's something you always have in mind." "[ speaking German ]" "Announcer 2:" "Rain just makes its appearance when you least expect it." "For some of these drivers this qualifying session, rain will be most unwelcomed." "You have different weather conditions in different parts of the track." "Here it's been quite wet all day." "There's dry corners at the back end of the circuit, it's quite dry." "So for us to deal with that, you know, how heavy is it raining on the screen?" "Is it quite heavy?" "Is it quite light?" "Trying to deal with those different conditions." "This race is not always about pace, you must, must, must be there at the end." "Announcer 1:" "Porsche have Audi rattled here, all of the Audis are at least a second slower than the third-best Porsche." "Starting in the first place is not a very important thing." "The job is to get a good racecar." "Also the three of us have to get through a certain amount of driving to get your rhythm." "Le Mans, so many things can happen, you can be as well prepared and as you want." "Have the fastest car but human error, technical issue, something can always happen." "Announcer 2:" "Coming into the last hour there's trouble for Nissan, the rules of Le Mans state that before the end of qualifying, every car must record a lap time of no more than 110% of the class leader." "Well, at the moment none of the Nissans are anywhere near and that's got to be a disappointment for PlayStation gamer" "Jann Mardenborough in his first year in LMP1." "Announcer 1:" "As the checkered flag is out, it's Porsche who have locked out the front row... a record busting run." "Announcer 3:" "Porsche, they've got the bragging rights, John." "Announcer 1:" "Day before the race and it's absolutely tipping down here in the paddock." "Qualifying wrapped up last night." "Porsche firmly up front on pole position." "At the other end, well, I'm afraid it didn't go too well for Nissan." "Pretty bleak I'm afraid." "They didn't set a fast enough time to be up at the front with the other LMP1 hybrid manufacturers and they'll start the race tomorrow at the very back of the grid." "That is a bitter pill to swallow for Darren Cox and the rest of the team." "Darren Cox:" "I keep using war analogies and, uh, one of the best, uh, war quotes I've heard is," ""The plan changes as soon as you engage the enemy."" "The team are a bunch of racers, the drivers, the engineers, the mechanics, the guys in here, we're all racers and it's difficult for us not to be at the front." "Some of the other competitors have literally laughed behind their hands at what we're doing." "Well, that really is, I think, a terrible slight on these guys that have been working 18 hours a day to try and get this sporting program out the door, on track, and try and compete." "We're faster than we were last year, because we weren't here, and that's what motor sport and technology and innovation is all about, is progress." "And we're making progress every time." " Okay." " How thick it that piece?" "Like a centimeter?" "Or not that much?" "Yeah, it's probably one a half Centimeters." " Yeah." " I can probably..." "David and Goliath story is quite short, isn't it?" "He basically gets his stones out and whacks Goliath and that's the end of the story." "Well, in reality, you know, he's probably honed his, uh, catapult and stones over many, many years and you just don't see that in the story." "And we're honing our catapult, and we're honing our stones right now but we're doing it in public." "We've got a plan, we need to stick to it, we need to let those German guys go out and beat the crap out of each other and we'll see what happens." "The most optimistic thing, it rains non-stop from 3 o'clock Saturday until 3 o'clock Sunday and then anything could happen." "Worst case scenario, no, you don't even want to think about it." "A unique feature of Le Mans and the 24 hour race is that on Friday there's something very, very special." "The streets of the city of Le Mans are taken over by hundreds of thousands of fans, and the drivers are paraded in front of them." "And it's gone back all the way through to 1923 when the race started." "Announcer:" "That epic event:" "Les vingt quatre heure du mans." "It's an outpouring of respect for the, the challenge that the drivers are going to take." "Announcer:" "For small boys, it's all a delightful dream." "[ speaking German ]" "The driver's parade is a bit overwhelming sometimes." "I'm still the same person in the car park playing football with my mates and then here where everybody wants to sign stuff." "It's just really weird." "I think it was the age of two he discovered matchbox cars." "He used to go off to sleep with them and wake up in the morning and be imprinted in his face." "You've got to pinch yourself to a degree, for him to be doing what he's doing, after three and a half, four years racing is just mind-boggling." "In the early days when he first won the competition it was very difficult trying to explain to grandparents, for instance, that he's been playing this game in his bedroom on his computer, and now he's in a really live..." " Racing car!" " Racing car." "Kind of, uh, took took some explanation." "We do understand that there is a danger element with anything which has got an engine in it." "If you're gonna crash in a real racing car, you're going into the wall." "In a game you can just press restart and start again." "Lesley-Anne Mardenborough:" "We couldn't get a live stream of the race." "To read on twitter that your son was involved in an accident was quite alarming." "He had a big accident, not his fault, his car left the track, got airborne." "For a young guy, any young guy that is a horrendous experience." "It doesn't matter that he's a gamer, it just matters he's a young man that's been in a horrible accident that needs to be supported." "I think his character's very strong and at the moment he seems okay." "But you just never know." "You never know what impact it's had." "Lesley-Anne Mardenborough:" "It's kind of changed him a little bit I think." "Steve Mardenborough:" "He said, every time we leave the house, we've got to say I love you" "On a phone call, on a, on a message." "No matter where we are." "No matter where we are in the world, I love you." "Because he knew that he could've, could've gone." "I'm not talking about the Nürburgring." "Nah, don't want to do that." "Announcer 1:" "When it's the day of the world's greatest motor race, there's something more than a little frisson of excitement in the air." "There's something very special about getting up knowing that you're not going to bed for somewhere in the region of 40 hours." "Announcer 4:" "This place brings, it brings people back, no matter what they're doing they keep coming back, and they wanna watch the race, they want to be involved, they want to be part of it." "Announcer 1:" "Of course the Marshalls have been out since dawn closing off the roads to the public that these supercars will be racing down shortly." "There's 24 hours to go before the checkered flag is out." "Just how many of these cars will actually make it to the finish?" "Darren Cox:" "Every morning I wake up and think," ""What the hell are we doing?"" "No doubt about that." "But if you thought about the big picture, you'd stop." "Ben Bowlby:" "You have to be a bit of an adrenaline junky to do this kind of thing." "It's been 20 hours a day for nearly a year so it's, it's, it's completely ridiculous and, you know, every night we go "Do we try to give the guys enough sleep" "that they are not falling apart?"" "Jann Mardenborough:" "I feel pretty anxious." "There's a lot of expectation from Nissan so I'm just eager to get on the track." "Announcer 1:" "One thing we're almost guaranteed is some sort of history to be made this year." "Porsche are in search of a record breaking 17th win in the great race, of course and Audi have won it an incredible 13 times in the last 15 years." "Timo will start the race." "We have the guns we have." "If the guns are not big enough then we just have to keep on hanging in there." "We want to get to the morning obviously, see what's left and then we'll push on, push on from there." "Once I'm actually in the car, I know it's just like minutes away from starting the biggest race of the year." "We always say the bullshit stops and then we can finally go racing." "Announcer 1:" "Also, if we get a win from the much touted number 7 car, the Audi, then Lotterer, Treluyer and Fassler will become the most successful team ever." "To win is one thing but to keep winning is another one, so the pressure's more on Porsche." "They're so eager to win again but doesn't mean that we don't want it either." "Announcer 5:" "We're about to get underway, with impeccable timing from the race organizers and their seven minute warm up lap." "It'll be the 83rd running of the Le Mans 24 hours." "Announcer 1:" "Massive news from the pit lane." "Jann Mardenborough is stuck in the garage." "Nismo mechanics are trying to fix something on the car, but at this rate, I don't think he's going to make it to the start." "Announcer 1:" "Cars going left and right, zig zagging trying to keep the tires clean and perhaps a little warmth in the rubber as well." "Really important if you want to get off to a fast start." "Stand by for action as the LMP1s, the P2s and the GT cars come to the end of the warm up lap." "In a moment we're gonna unleash over 30,000 horsepower." "Announcer 6:" "The black and the red Porsches, 18 and 17 doing a decent job at just getting a bit of a breakaway." "The two Audi's matching them at the moment, there are the Toyotas in the background as well." "Announcer 1:" "Huge move by Timo Bernhard in the Porsche number 17!" "That's Mark Webber's car leading." "It was my plan to take the lead quite early." "The Audi's..." "I mean they were fighting, the three Audi's are all over." "Once I took the lead I said "Okay that's..." "I don't want to give it back!"" "Announcer 1:" "Timo Bernhard is the race leader." "on his way to the Mulsanne corner." "Boost one, boost one." "Copy boost one, copy boost one." "Announcer 1:" "So unusual to see them this close in the modern era." "Porsche still one, two, three as they come down towards the Porsche curves." "Now, this is where the Audi's are actually a little bit quicker." "They might pick up some paces but can they get by?" "Announcer 6:" "Just to make the point, everyone else has completed the first lap successfully, so the only car not to have completed the first lap is that number 23 Nissan." "I couldn't stay on the grid." "To be that far back is just painful for me." "Announcer 1:" "Oh, big trouble, big trouble for one of the factory GT Porsches at the 1st chicane." "Fire!" "You are on fire." "Get out of the car, get out of the car, get out of the car, get out of the car." "Announcer 1:" "And now Andre Lotterer goes up the inside up into second position." "He's right there."