Get to know the ELMS

• How the qualification sessions work?

In European Le Mans Series the qualifications sessions are made by class: LMGTE first, then LMP3 and finally LMP2. Each class has 10 minutes to qualify and only the best times of each cars in each class is taken into account. The first LMP2 car will start on pole position of the race, then the first LMP3 will start on pole of its class and the same for the LMGTE class. The team chooses one driver from the line up to compete in qualifying, there is no restriction on the driver rating allowed.

• How do we run a start in ELMS?

In ELMS, unlike Formula 1 for example, we have “rolling starts”. Before the gridwalk, all the cars go out of the pits, do one lap and then go to their grid position. The pits stay open for about 5 minutes in case any car need to go back. Once the pits are closed all cars should be on the grid. Once the gridwalk is done and all the fans and team members are evacuated the cars start their engines and the formation lap can begin.

During this formation lap, the drivers take the opportunity to keep their tyres warm for the start by weaving side-to-side, but they need to stay in grid position. Once the start line is getting closer the race directors ask to the drivers to fill in the gaps between all the cars in order to have a perfect line of cars for the start. Once the lights are green and the cars have passed the starting line, the 4 hours race begins, and the drivers can start passing each other.

We're underway at @circuitspa, Round 5 of the #ELMS is GO. Race hard, race safe #ELMS drivers! #ELMS | #4HSPA pic.twitter.com/PIkGF0bg0X

— European Le Mans Series  (@EuropeanLMS) September 22, 2019

• Where did the champagne tradition on the podium comes from?

It’s now well-known that in Motorsport, either in Endurance, Formula 1 or Moto GP we spray champagne on the podium. This tradition of spraying champagne by the drivers standing on the podium and also on the fans and team members at the bottom, started in Le Mans in 1967.

That year, Dan Gurney, with his team mate A.J Foyt, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the wheel of a Ford GT40. They made history by offering to Ford its second overall win in a row at Le Mans. During the podium, Gurney took his bottle of champagne and decided to open it and spray it all over the podium but also on Henry Ford II (CEO of the Ford Motor Company), Carol Shelby (Team Owner) and their wives that were at the bottom of the podium. The fans and everybody around loved it and it became a tradition that is now followed in all the Motorsport industry.

These two definitely got that #FridayFeeling! #ELMS @AlbuquerqueFil @PhilHansonRace @UnitedAutosport pic.twitter.com/ozew7Z0F6k

— European Le Mans Series  (@EuropeanLMS) September 27, 2019

• Can teams choose their car numbers?

Teams can choose their cars’ number according to some rules. First, the car numbers are granted according to the category. Each category has some numbers reserved:

• LMP1 (for WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans): from 1 to 10, or more if necessary
• LMP3: from 1 to 19, as LMP3 cannot race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans they can use the same group numbers as the LMP1 as they will never race together
• LMP2: From 20 to 49
• LMGTE: From 50 to 99

There is a coordination between the ELMS and the ACO in order to make sure, as much as possible, that the ELMS teams that are invited at the 24 Hours of Le Mans can keep the same number as the one they use to race in ELMS.

At the beginning of every season, when they are completing their entry form, the teams can choose their numbers. The priority is given to the teams that were already in the championship the previous year. If the number they want is already taken, the organiser proposes a list of available numbers from which the team can choose.

• Where the name “pole position” comes from?

In Motorsport, the car in pole position is the first placed car at the start of a race, or the first placed car of its class after the qualifying sessions. However, this term does not come from the motorsport industry but from the horseracing world. In horseracing, for a race with a mass start, the number 1 horse, which means that he is in first position for the start, is placed inside the track, next to the inside pole. And this is how the term “Pole Position” was born.  

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