24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual

The 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual was a sim racing esports event held over 13–14 June 2020. It was held as a placeholder for the postponed 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was hosted on rFactor 2.[1]

Circuit de la Sarthe track

Background

Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in France, the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans was postponed from its' usual date in mid-June to the 19th and 20th of September.[2] In its' place, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, FIA World Endurance Championship and Motorsport Games chose to host a simulated race on the original dates using the rFactor 2 service.[3] The ACO allocated a maximum of 50 entries, 30 Le Mans Prototypes and 20 LM GTE cars. Each entry consisted of 4 drivers, two of which were required to be FIA-licensed drivers.[4]

Results

Race classification

Pos	Class	No.	Team	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time/Retired
1	LMP	1	Rebellion Williams eSport[5]	Louis Delétraz Raffaele Marciello Nikodem Wisniewski Kuba Brzezinski	Oreca 07	371	24:00:30.007
2	LMP	4	ByKolles – Burst Esport	Tom Dillmann Esteban Guerrieri Jernej Simončič Jesper Pedersen	Oreca 07	371	+17.781
3	LMP	13	Rebellion Williams Esport	Agustín Canapino Jack Aitken Marc Gassner Michael Romanidis	Oreca 07	371	+22.984
4	LMP	33	2 Seas Motorsport	Isa Bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa Oliver Rowland Rory MacDuff Devin Braune	Oreca 07	370	+1 Lap
5	LMP	24	Veloce Esports 1	Jean-Éric Vergne Pierre Gasly Jarno Opmeer Isaac Gillissen	Oreca 07	370	+1 Lap
6	LMP	3	Rebellion Williams Esport	Yi-Fei Ye Arthur Rougier Isaac Price Jack Keithley	Oreca 07	370	+1 Lap
7	LMP	30	E-Team WRT	Dries Vanthoor Kelvin van der Linde Fabrice Cornelis Arne Schoonvliet	Oreca 07	369	+2 Laps
8	LMP	46	TDS E Racing Motul	Larry ten Voorde Giedo van der Garde Alex Siebel Dennis Jordan	Oreca 07	369	+2 Laps
9	LMP	23	Team Rocket Zansho	Jenson Button Alex Buncombe Jan von der Heyde Matt Richards	Oreca 07	369	+2 Laps
10	LMP	17	IDEC Sport Racing	Paul-Loup Chatin Richard Bradley Franco Colapinto Michi Hoyer	Oreca 07	369	+2 Laps
11	LMP	8	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Sébastien Buemi Brendon Hartley Kenta Yamashita Yuri Kasadorp	Oreca 07	368	+3 Laps
12	LMP	31	Panis Racing Triple A	Tristan Vautier Nico Jamin Hany Alsabti Thibault Cazaubon	Oreca 07	368	+3 Laps
13	LMP	16	Veloce Esports 2	Norman Nato Stoffel Vandoorne Eamonn Murphy Tomek Poradzisz	Oreca 07	368	+3 Laps
14	LMP	7	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi José María López Maxime Brient	Oreca 07	367	+4 Laps
15	LMP	38	Jota Team Redline	António Félix da Costa Felix Rosenqvist Rudy van Buren Kevin Siggy	Oreca 07	366	+5 Laps
16	LMP	37	Jota Team Redline	Will Stevens Gabriel Aubry Aleksi Uusi-Jaakkola Dominik Farber	Oreca 07	366	+5 Laps
17	LMP	14	FA/RB Allinsports	Fernando Alonso Rubens Barrichello Olli Pahkala Jarl Teien	Oreca 07	363	+8 Laps
18	LMP	2	Rebellion Williams Esport	Gustavo Menezes Bruno Senna Petar Brljak Dawid Mroczek	Oreca 07	363	+8 Laps
19	LMP	50	Richard Mille Racing Team	Katherine Legge Tatiana Calderón Sophia Flörsch Emily Jones	Oreca 07	361	+10 Laps
20	LMP	12	MPI-Zansho	Max Papis Pietro Fittipaldi Tony Kanaan Sido Weijer	Oreca 07	361	+10 Laps
21	LMP	42	Cool Racing	Nicolas Lapierre Antonin Borga Erwan Barbier Maxime Scalabrini	Oreca 07	359	+12 Laps
22	LMP	9	Panis Racing Triple A	Olivier Panis Aurélien Panis Adam Pinczes Nuno Pinto	Oreca 07	358	+13 Laps
23	LMP	15	Multimatic Zansho	Andy Priaulx Sebastian Priaulx Mike Epps Olivier Fortin	Oreca 07	357	+14 Laps
24	LMP	22	United Autosports	Filipe Albuquerque Alex Brundle Job van Uitert Tom Gamble	Oreca 07	355	+16 Laps
25	LMP	20	Team Redline	Max Verstappen Lando Norris Atze Kerkhof Greger Huttu	Oreca 07	354	+17 Laps
26	LMP	36	Signatech Alpine Elf	Thomas Laurent André Negrão Pierre Ragues Nicolas Longuet	Oreca 07	353	+18 Laps
27	LMP	6	Team Penske	Juan Pablo Montoya Simon Pagenaud Dane Cameron Ricky Taylor	Oreca 07	352	+19 Laps
28	LMP	21	Axle Motorsport	Alex Yoong Alister Yoong Muhammad Naquib Mika Hakimi	Oreca 07	350	+21 Laps
29	GTE	93	Porsche Esports Team[6]	Nick Tandy Ayhancan Güven Joshua Rogers Tommy Østgaard	Porsche 911 RSR	339	+32 Laps
30	GTE	95	Aston Martin Racing	Nicki Thiim Richard Westbrook Lasse Sørensen Manuel Biancolilla	Aston Martin Vantage GTE	338	+33 Laps
31	GTE	80	R8G Esports Team	Daniel Juncadella Mathias Beche Erhan Jajovski Risto Kappet	Chevrolet Corvette C7.R	337	+34 Laps
32	GTE	64	Corvette Racing	Tommy Milner Jan Magnussen Dennis Lind Alan Terzic	Chevrolet Corvette C7.R	337	+34 Laps
33	GTE	88	Dempsey-Proton Racing	Riccardo Pera Loek Hartog Michael Francesconi Kevin van Dooren	Porsche 911 RSR	337	+34 Laps
34	GTE	63	Corvette Racing	Jordan Taylor Nick Catsburg Alex Voss Laurin Heinrich	Chevrolet Corvette C7.R	335	+36 Laps
35	GTE	71	AF Corse	Miguel Molina Federico Leo Amos Laurito Jordy Zwiers	Ferrari 488 GTE	335	+36 Laps
36	GTE	54	Strong Together	Francesco Castellacci Giancarlo Fisichella Felipe Massa Tony Mella	Ferrari 488 GTE	335	+36 Laps
37	GTE	57	Project 1 Motorsport	Dylan Pereira Dennis Olsen Tim Neuendorf Zbigniew Siara	Porsche 911 RSR	335	+36 Laps
38	GTE	98	Aston Martin Racing	Darren Turner Ross Gunn Jonathan Adam Giuseppe di Fuoco	Aston Martin Vantage GTE	334	+37 Laps
39	GTE	92	Porsche Esports Team	Jaxon Evans Matt Campbell Mack Bakkum Jeremy Bouteloup	Porsche 911 RSR	333	+38 Laps
40	GTE	91	Porsche Esports Team	André Lotterer Neel Jani Mitchell DeJong Martti Pietilä	Porsche 911 RSR	333	+38 Laps
41	GTE	99	Feed Racing	Simon Pilate Théo Pourchaire Axel Petit Alexandre Vromant	Chevrolet Corvette C7.R	332	+39 Laps
42	GTE	97	Aston Martin Racing	Alex Lynn Charlie Eastwood Harry Tincknell Tiziano Brioni	Aston Martin Vantage GTE	330	+41 Laps
43	GTE	51	AF Corse	Nicklas Nielsen David Perel Kasper Stoltze Matteo Caruso	Ferrari 488 GTE	328	+43 Laps
44	GTE	56	Project 1 Motorsport	Laurents Hörr David Kolkmann Dany Giusa Lukas Müller	Porsche 911 RSR	325	+46 Laps
45	GTE	67	Mahle Racing Team	Ferdinand Habsburg Robert Wickens Jimmy Broadbent Kevin Rotting	Aston Martin Vantage GTE	325	+46 Laps
46	GTE	52	AF Corse	Charles Leclerc Antonio Giovinazzi Enzo Bonito David Tonizza	Ferrari 488 GTE	324	+47 Laps
47	GTE	86	Gulf Racing	Ben Barker Andrew Watson Adam Maguire Eros Masciulli	Porsche 911 RSR	324	+47 Laps
NC	LMP	18	Veloce Esports 3	Sacha Fenestraz Ryan Tveter James Baldwin Tom Lartilleux	Oreca 07	297	Not Classified
NC	LMP	10	Toyota Gazoo Racing Argentina	Nelson Piquet, Jr. Julian Santero Fabrizio Gobbi Moreno Sirica	Oreca 07	188	Not Classified
NC	GTE	94	Porsche Esports Team	Patrick Pilet Simona de Silvestro Martin Krönke David Williams	Porsche 911 RSR	166	Not Classified
Sources:[7][8]

Reception

The event was generally considered a success.[9] The ACO, FIA WEC and Motorsport Games were praised for the quality of event organisation and the number of big-name drivers attracted to the event, leading Charles Leclerc to state his intention to enter the real race in the future.[10] Conversely, the rFactor software was criticised for its connection issues and ultimately led to two red-flag periods due to server crashes.[11]

References

1. "Ultimate Guide to Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans". Sportscar365. 12 June 2020.
2. "THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS POSTPONED TO 19–20 SEPTEMBER 2020". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 18 March 2020.
3. "A WORLD PREMIERE: 24 HOURS OF LE MANS VIRTUAL ON 13/14TH JUNE". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 15 May 2020.
4. "24 HOURS OF LE MANS VIRTUAL: THE SPORTING REGULATIONS ARE OUT!". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 20 May 2020.
5. "WILLIAMS WINS VIRTUAL LE MANS 24 HOURS WITH REBELLION". The Race. 14 June 2020.
6. "Porsche wins GTE class at the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans". Porsche. 14 June 2020.
7. "24H Le Mans virtual provisional team entry list" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 11 June 2020.
8. "Bsimracing Race Hour 24" (PDF). Bsimracing. 14 June 2020.
9. "24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual: The biggest sim race ever?". Motorsport.com. 16 June 2020.
10. "Leclerc says he wants to 'do the real Le Mans' after racing in Le Mans 24 Virtual event". Formula 1. 14 June 2020.
11. "Le Mans 24 Hours Virtual, Did It Work?". Daily Sportscar. 14 June 2020.

External links

• Official website