Facing Soaring Fuel Costs, LeMans to Bring Back Historic LeMans Start for Opening 12 Hours
Officials confirm drivers will simply run for the whole first half of the race, dramatically reducing the need for fuel.
LE MANS—Facing soaring global fuel costs, no chance of the Strait of Hormuz actually being open, and what teams described as “a growing reluctance to keep paying for all of it,” race organizers have announced that this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans will feature a historic return to the LeMans start, but for the opening 12 hours, all 12 hours.
The decision, unveiled during a press conference that repeatedly used the phrase “forward-thinking,” is being positioned as a bold cost-saving measure that officials insist will have “minimal impact” on the race, aside from the fact that no cars will actually be driven for half of it.
“We were forced to go back to our roots,” said ACO President Pierre Fillon, gesturing toward a diagram that showed drivers sprinting across the Circuit de la Sarthe. “The LeMans start is one of the most iconic moments in motorsport history. We simply asked ourselves, ‘What if we kept doing that instead of canceling the race?’ From a fuel standpoint, we’re geniuses solving a global crisis.”
Under the revised format, drivers will line up on one side of the track while their cars sit untouched on the other. At the drop of the flag, competitors will sprint to their vehicles as usual, only now they are to return to the starting line and repeat the process continuously for the next 12 hours.
“It’s incredibly efficient,” said race director Eduardo Morales. “You have 62 cars sitting perfectly still, burning zero fuel, while 186 world-class athletes are doing all the work instead. You absolutely get actual real racing, just with none of the noise or excitement.”
Teams have reportedly been briefed on the changes, with many scrambling to adapt their strategies to a format that now prioritizes cardio over any of the things they’ve been preparing their whole lives for.
“We’ve had to make some adjustments,” said Marcos Santos, a driver for a leading Hypercar team. “I spent the entire offseason working on braking zones and tire management. Now I’m being told I need to eat a bunch of chicken alfredo and buy proper running shoes. I can’t remember the last time I ran.”