24 Hours of Great Racing

The desire to claim superiority over others is one of the fundamental instincts rooted in human nature. In most cases, this instinct has led to both destruction and creation, and when taken to extremes, its impact can be beyond imagination, which is why humanity, at some point, placed limits on it. We have allowed the expression of this instinct only within well-structured rules — that is, through sports. Even when civilization advanced and new modes of transportation emerged, this approach remained effective. Considering that the automobile, powered by an internal combustion engine, was first created 140 years ago and that it didn't take long before motor racing became an official sport, it's clear that competition is an irrepressible part of human nature.

Around that time, there were two main ideals that people sought in automobiles: first, speed, and second, durability. With such clear demands, the form of competition quickly took shape. The 1894 Paris-Rouen Trial, recorded as the first motorsport event, evaluated both of these aspects simultaneously, but motorsports soon split into speed competitions and endurance competitions. In today's terms, these are known as Sprint Races and Endurance Races.

From the car's perspective, a sprint race is a competition to see who can complete a set distance (usually a certain number of laps around a track) the fastest, as in F1 or Formula E. Of course, endurance has become increasingly important even in this type of racing nowadays, but the main criterion of competition still lies in delivering peak performance and completing the given number of laps as quickly as possible.

In contrast, an endurance race like the World Endurance Championship is a competition to see who can go the furthest (i.e. who can complete the most laps) within a set amount of time, which is why the number of laps completed is the most important factor in the results of the race. While high performance is certainly essential for endurance race cars, what matters even more is their ability to race for a long time without breaking down. This is because endurance races run non-stop for at least 6 hours, most commonly 8 to 12 hours, and in some cases, even up to 24 hours.

In that sense, sprint races can be compared to the 100-meter dash, while endurance races are comparable to marathons. Marathons and endurance races are also alike in that they are both "battles against oneself." Marathons can largely be divided into two types of events: Olympic marathons, and international marathons named after cities, such as the Boston Marathon. The main differences between the two lie in the number of participants and the qualification standards. While Olympic marathons feature a limited number of athletes per country and strict entry requirements, international marathons have relatively looser restrictions, allowing a much larger number of participants. A similar distinction exists in endurance racing as well.

When people think of endurance racing, the 24 Hours of Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) is usually the first race that comes to mind. Participation is limited to 62 cars, and entry generally requires an invitation based on results from other races, making it a high-barrier event. There are only three classes: Hypercar, LMP2, and LMGT3. In contrast, the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring (hereafter referred to as the 24h Nürburgring), one of the two major pillars of endurance racing, is much more open. It typically has at least 130 entrants, and on several occasions, the number of participating cars has exceeded 200.

The course and the weather aren't the only problems. Even for a circuit of this extreme length, having at least 130 cars racing at the same time can make it feel (to exaggerate slightly) as if there isn't enough oxygen to go around. Like in any race, the most accidents happen just after the start, so the 24h Nürburgring staggers the start by grouping cars into three performance-based classes that set off in sequence. However, this safety measure doesn't last long. After about an hour, the groups inevitably mix together. In most races, drivers can usually expect a so-called clean lap — a lap free of interruptions — later in the race. But in the 24h Nürburgring, you have to dodge cars from other classes all the way to the final lap.

The bigger issue is that accidents can happen anywhere, at any time. Because the track is narrow, if an accident occurs, it forces that section to slow down — and if you're chasing down a competitor and suddenly hit a slow zone, the gap can widen regardless of your performance. Sometimes, you may even find yourself off the track, through no fault of your own. Especially in the latter stages of the race, as fatigue sets in, mistakes become inevitable. You might be holding strong, only for someone else's lapse in concentration to completely ruin your race. Of course, with accidents happening continuously over 24 hours, it feels fair to say that (disregarding luck) everyone competes under equally unpredictable conditions.

But what makes this race truly grueling is, as mentioned earlier, the fact that it's ultimately a battle with yourself. More precisely, it's a battle of the entire team. Whether you're overtaking or being overtaken, weaving around 130 race cars and tackling 170 corners every lap while maintaining tire grip and traction will, inevitably, wear you down. Though it's called a marathon, most drivers approach it like a sprint. However, as time passes, mental focus begins to slip. (Human adaptability can be astonishing at times.) And that's exactly when danger creeps in. Around this point, with the steering wheel in their hands, most drivers start thinking about their families, their homes, or just getting some rest. One driver even admitted to suddenly worrying about whether they had left the electric heater on back at their hotel. That's when the real battle with yourself begins.

But what about the car? If the car could think and act for itself, it would probably eject the driver and run away. In a typical sprint race, a car goes through around 2,000 to 3,000 gear shifts — so how many would that be over a 24-hour endurance race? How many tens of thousands of times does the suspension move up and down, and how many millions of strokes do the engine pistons make? If the race isn't interrupted by unfavorable weather conditions, like it was last year, the top-performing cars in the 24h Nürburgring cover more than 4,000 km. Equivalent to an ordinary person running tens of thousands of kilometers in a day, it's brutally punishing. That's why it's a blessing that cars don't have consciousness.

Of course, not every race car can keep going for the full 24 hours. Even if the car has been perfectly serviced and fitted with brand-new parts right before the race, there's no such thing as 100% certainty. No one can predict when, where, or what kind of problem will strike the team or driver. The correct approach is to assume that failures and damage are inevitable and prepare thoroughly for them. This is where another key competitive advantage in endurance racing that can make the difference not only in finishing the race but in winning it lies: the ability to perform precise and swift repairs.

This ability begins to shine from the moment a team starts preparing for a race. For example, if a headlamp fails, trying to replace just the lamp in the pit would waste far too much time. That's why most race cars are designed so that removing the bonnet and bumper allows the headlamps to come out in one go. In a mass-produced vehicle, this might be considered wasteful due to the cost of parts, but for a race car, it's actually a rational solution. This kind of design comes purely from experience. And that's why, even in the 24h Nürburgring, where variables are everywhere, there's always a team with seasoned expertise that rises to the top.