Le Mans 24 Hours is merely a contest for survival of the fittest, McLaren F1 team chief Ron Dennis blasts.
On the weekend of the race widely referred to as being 'the toughest in the world', leading Formula 1 figures have belittled both the challenge and the appeal of the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours, describing it variously as 'no race' and 'a kind of different sport'.
The 2008 edition of the legendary French round-the-clock endurance classic may be a fraught Audi vs Peugeot affair, but despite no fewer than 30 former F1 aces amongst the 165 drivers entered, current members of the uppermost echelon seem to have little affection for La Sarthe.
"No comparison," bluntly stated McLaren team principal Ron Dennis - whose Woking-based concern developed the car that went on to win the 1995 race - in an interview with the International Herald Tribune. "You have to have phenomenal reliability, but also the drivers play such a key role, primarily in not falling off.
"It's rarely a race that's raced from beginning to end. You don't race for 24 hours; you compete for 24 hours, and it requires a different strategy.
"There's no race. They all suddenly realise that survival is the important thing. It is counter to the spirit of Formula 1; you very rarely slow down in Formula 1."
The 61-year-old's sentiments were echoed elsewhere in the grand prix paddock, with both Honda counterpart Ross Brawn and BMW-Sauber star - and new world championship leader - Robert Kubica backing up Dennis' views.
Brawn was heavily involved in the Le Mans success of Jaguar back in 1990, but he admitted it had not been an experience he entirely relished.
"It was not the sort of challenge that I like," the former Ferrari tactical genius reflected. "It's a very structured race over 24 hours; you're pacing yourself. It's quite a different event."
"Speed is secondary," agreed Kubica, a self-proclaimed rallying fan but a man who revealed he had never even watched the Le Mans 24 Hours on TV. "I'm the kind of person who likes to push. At Le Mans, you have to push less. It's a kind of different sport."
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Just one other point on this - Robert Kubica is now a hit in F1, and also agrees that Le Mans is nor racing, even though he admits he has never even watched a race... !! He has also just told the team he is racing in F1 with (BMW Sauber) that he "wants a better car..." So is his real point in agreeing with Ron Dennis a message that says, "If I can't win the F1 championship with BMW, maybe I can with MacLaren..." ??
Comparing F1 to Le Mans is like comparing a 100 meter sprint to a 26.2 mile marathon. To say one is not like the other is perfectly true and accurate, but to say that one is better than the other really depends on where you are coming from. Doubtless Audi, Peugot, Aston Martin and Corvette fans would say that F1 isn't racing either. Or could it all be politicking by Ron Dennis? After all, the Le Mans govening body (the ACO) has some ties to the FIA (read Max Mosley)... If that's so, then Ron is not going to win many friends or influence them...
right here is my view. I have alot of respect for Ron BUT, GET A LIFE! It is the BEST race in the world and this year all the categories didnt fail to please (and I watched all 24 hours) (sad I know) Yes it was Audi and Peugeot but it was nail biting to the end. F1 i find quite boring and only watch it t see Lewis achieve his potential. In F1 there is no close racing, no challenge its like wrestling almost choriographed. At least we saw cars on their ragged limit, and a on the whole decent comentary with SHORT breaks unlike F1.
I cant wait till next year for some more amazing racing!
Also just want to say thankyou to all the drivers for putting on an excellant race, and eurosport EVENTHOUGH i had to keep on changing chanels every 5 minutes!
Sour grapes from Ron you expect nowadays..but my opinion of Brawn and Kubica has nose-dived.RK has never even watched it yet alone been to the Noisiest Bar B Q in the world.These fools don't know what they are missing..it's like 18 Grand Prix on end..with real cars, real speed and real fans..do they know the cars have passed 250m.p.h since 1972 and regularly go at 220mph at night..a bit better than an F1 crawl..come on boyz FEEL THE NOIZE..roll on Le Mans 2009
I've been to a couple of F1 race days, the second time only because someone had a couple of tickets for free. I found both events boring. I've been to Le Mans several times, and loved every minute of it, even when it was pissing with rain. F1 is a race, Le Mans is an experience. Anyone reading this who has never been, but is thinking about it, should go. There is much more than a race there .... good food, good entertainment, and great people.
Maybe some of those commenting should focus on what Ron said and not the inflammatory comments from the person that wrote the article. All that Ron (and Ross and Robert) said was that F1 is flat out all the way and Le Mans racing is not. Kinda obvious I'd have thought. But because some author tweaks fairly banal comments into an attack on Le Mans and all its fans, people start getting their knickers in a twist.
The fact that Ron has entered cars in both events and one makes Ron's comments all the more laughable.
I do not believe any one at Le Mans has been given a two lap lead, when this occurs it is usually down to driving skill, pit stop skills, and engineering skills just like F1 with the difference that most but by no means all of the passing happens on the track.
Ron, Ross and Robert are just right, after all, not like u guys, Ron participated in both events. Try giving the f1 leader 2 laps lead over other racers, and you would see Le Mans.
Let me get this straight..... What Ron is saying is that 20 cars blasting away from a standing start, racing for just one lap, then simply following each other around for another 60' odd laps and the drivers having to wait for their pit crew to possibly get them in front of the car they are following..... Is a race...!!! Oh I see now.
Dont get me wrong i have always loved F1. but is it racing anymore. compare it touring cars... thats racing. GP2... thats racing Formular renault...... thats racing. As soon as 80% of the drivers step in a F1 car they cant overtake anymore...why?
Ron should stop being a snob. So what if its not a sprint and requires the use different tactics. Try telling runners who compete in the Olympic marathon they are not in a race.
Motorsport is a diverse sport. Top Fuel drag racing is possibly the most full on sprint you can imagine. I bet Ron does not like that either. Each to their own, every branch of motorsport has its merits and its loyal fans.
Ron dennis dont know the meaning of racing, he could not last 24 hours, and as for mrec's well they have trouble lasting for 1hour 30 and as for there Le-Mans visits in the past, they did better at FLYING then winning..
by definition, all those of us commenting on ron dennis' witterings are going to be endurance race fans. however, i have to agree with ralph. formula 1 is not a sport, its the bernie ecclestone fund raising extravaganza. its raison d'etre is to make as few people as possible as rich as possible, excluding ordinary mortals from its gates by virtue of not being able to afford it! this is not elite, its elitism. whether one has to survive 2 hours or 24, someone has to win, and by definition, that means a race, its the point of competition ron, perhaps we should introduce you.
You have to laugh at Ron who takes part in 'sprint' events where the ticket price is more than an average weeks wages having a go at an 'endurance' event where ticket price is an average days wages.
Frankly when I spend my money I prefer a weeks entertainment at La Sarthe more than a weekend at any F1 event.
After Le Mans I feel I have been entertained after an F1 weekend I feel I have been fleeced.
Vive La Sarthe !
:-)
I cannot disagree more with Mr. Ron Dennis' opinion on LeMans racing.
I'm a long-term race fan and have been to a lot of F1 races over the years.
It has been great fun to watch F1 in the older days when guys like Ayrton Senna,
Gilles Villeneuve, Nikki Lauda ( to name a few) were racing.
I also have watched more than a few LeMans races at La Sarthe and I can make this
conclusion only : after every F1 race I've been lately, I'm more dissapointed and after
every LeMans race I have watched I like it more.
Job Heezen, the Netherlands.
Everything in life is a race - the manufacturers and drivers would not do it if it was easy - personally I find F1 boring in the extreme and rarely watch anything to do with it, preferring WTCC if I watch any motor sport.
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