Motul Superfan at LM24: Best 24-hours of my life

The Superfan series tries to give a fan the best seat in the house at one of our partnered events so that they can share they experience with us. This weekend we sent Geoffrey to the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe for the 24 hours of Le Mans.

 

 

 

Geoff, what a weekend! How was it for you?

 

It was fantastic. It was great to see everything up close, meet the team and drivers and to actually be on the grid was amazing!

 

Is this your first 24 hours of Le Mans?

 

No my second time. I was here four years ago when the Audi won for the last time. That was a great race too. But I’ve been following motorsport since I was a little kid. I live in Le Castellet, so right next to the Paul Ricard race track where I’ll be for the F1 race next weekend.

 

 

 

Speaking of Formula One, There are almost enough F1 drivers here to fill an entire startgrid. What’s so attractive about endurance racing compared with F1?

 

Yes, it’s incredible. I met Bruno Senna and André Lotterer who are obviously racing in the Rebellion, so I spent a little time with them. That was very cool, they’re great guys. I think the biggest difference between FIA WEC and F1, from a racer’s perspective, is the amount of driving you do. In F1 the amount of time you actually spend behind the wheel is pretty limited, whereas during a 24h race you’re doing 4 two-hour stints so you’re spending the equivalent of a full working day behind the wheel. In F1, you spend at most two hours in the car on race day.

 

You had the chance to see the Rebellion up close. What do you think it’s like spending 3 hours in the cockpit?

 

I even got to have a seat myself… I’m a pretty tall guy so it was a bit of a squeeze and three hours of racing would be tough. But even if you’re shorter, I think it would get pretty intense in there.

 

 

 

Did you get any sleep during the 24 hours or did you just stay up all night?

 

I did! We took it easy and rented an Airbnb in the neighbourhood, so I left at 10pm and was back at 9am. But there were so many livestreams that I really didn’t miss much of the action.

 

What was your favourite experience this weekend?

 

Watching the start from the helicopter was unreal. I’d never been in a helicopter before, so that was amazing in its own right, but watching the race from the sky was really awesome.