Like last year, scrutineering for the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours will take place on Sunday 16th and Monday 17th June on Place de la Rpublique in the centre of the town. All the teams, cars and drivers will go through administrative checks and scrutineering to receive the authorisation to compete in the greatest endurance race in the world.
Scrutineering (originally weigh-in in French) is a rather quaint word! It goes back to the dawn of motor racing when the verifs or the Anglo-Saxon word scrutineering had not yet even been invented!
Whatever! During the two days the ten or so scrutineers will do much more than just weigh the cars or take a close look at them. Its a long job combining patience and rigour to check that all those entered comply with the technical regulations.
The operations are spread over three stations. At the first the car is weighed on a horizontal platform equipped with lasers to measure its main dimensions (width, length, overhangs, wheelbase, wing height, sharks fin, dimensions of the holes cut in the wings). This platform is also mounted on a scales and weighs the cars.
When the car moves on to the next station it is placed on a hoist so that the scrutineers can check its underbody (dimensions of the front and rear diffusers, dimension and shape of the plank which guarantees a minimum ground clearance and better security, etc).
At the last station the bodywork is partially removed to inspect the safety equipment (extinguishers, belts, circuit breakers, hybrid system, etc) the fuel tank, the engine oil fumes venting tank. The positions of the stickers are also checked and the timekeepers ensure that the transponder and the lights indicating the cars position in its category are working. Finally, the data acquisition system in each car is scrupulously verified.
In total, scrutineering lasts around 50 minutes for each car. In the meantime, the drivers in their driving suits go through administrative checks in which their licences, driver suits, helmets and all their equipment, which must comply with the FIA standards, are verified. They are also weighed so that the figure can be deducted from the weight of the car during the checks carried out in qualifying. They then take part in various communications exercises (individual photos, photos of the teams with the cars, interviews with the press) and the eagerly-awaited autograph session with the general public.
For the crowd!
The ACO has provided a service in cooperation with Twitter. At the end of the checks each driver can photograph him/herself on a tablet specially provided (like a photo booth).
The photos will then be sent out from the ACOs Twitter account (@24heuresdumans and @24hoursoflemans) with a short text and the user names of the drivers. This never-before-seen operation at Le Mans wowed the fans at the last Oscar ceremony, the NBA All Star Game and this years Roland Garros Tennis Tournament. Get ready to tweet!
The scrutineering area on Place de la Rpublique has been revamped to provide spectators with improved viewing facilities. There will also be a mini-Exhibitors Village not far from the terraces of the cafes on the square making the place much more festive, helped by the fact that the sun is expected to shine at the weekend!
Like the previous two years scrutineering will take place on Sunday 16th June from 14h30 to 18h50, and will continue on Monday between 10h00 and 17h30.
On Sunday it will start with the two IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs nos 67 and 76. The big attractions on Sunday afternoon will be the OAK, Toyota, Alpine and Viper teams and of course, Patrick Dempsey, whose Porsche no. 77 will be presented at 17h30. The other entrants will be checked on Monday with the kick-off being given by the DKR Racing no. 39 Lola B11/40, and scrutineering will close with the two works Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs. The reigning champion, Audi, will be on the square at 15h50.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Special 90th anniversary!
Scrutineering, whose environment will be decorated in the colours of this anniversary, will also have its own share of the commemoration of the Le Mans 24-Hours 90th birthday.
Starting this Saturday at 22h00, a film retracing the greatest moments of the race since 1923 will be projected on the magnificent faade of the Chappelle de la Visitation. This operation as well as the exhibition on the site of scrutineering, which retraces the different places used since 1923, is being run in partnership with the town of Le Mans.
Practical informationThe 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours - 90th anniversary - 3rd round of the FIA World Endurance Championship
Dates: 22-23 June 2013
General enclosure tickets: 54 euros (ACO members), 71 Euros (non ACO members).
Free for young people born after 23rd June 1997 accompanied by an adult.
Scrutineering: Sunday 16th (from 14h30 to 18h30) and Monday 17th June (from 10h00 to 17h30).
Free practice and qualifying: Wednesday 19th (from 16h00 to 20h00 and 22h00 to midnight) and Thursday 20th June (from 19h00 to 21h00 and 22h00 to midnght).
Start of the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours: Saturday 22nd June at 15h00.
