Fernando Alonso passes 24 Hours of Le Mans simulator test with flying colours

All drivers making their debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso of Toyota Gazoo Racing included, must spend a day in the AOTEch simulator in Paris to familiarize himself or herself with the features of the 14km Le Mans circuit and to learn the safety procedures in place for the legendary race.

The goal?
To learn the track and its pitfalls, get to know the marshal posts, become comfortable managing traffic, understand the "slow zone" procedures and safety car deployment, both during the day and at night, and even deal with "surprise" elements like a sudden change of grip on part of the track.

What happens during the day?
Thomas Laurent, winner in LMP2 and second overall at the 2017 edition for his first participation: "The exercises get more and more complicated as the day goes on. You start by learning the track as a single car, then in traffic that you have to manage, and lastly all the safety procedures are reviewed. At the end of the day, you have to pass a test, successfully of course!"

A tool tailored to each class
Indeed, the traffic is adapted to the class in which the driver will compete since the race is a mix of professional, amateur, prototype and GT drivers. The faster competitors learn to overtake the slower ones as safely as possible while the latter get used to maintaining their line every time a faster car does fly by to avoid any issues.

With thanks to the ACO