2020 24 Hours of Le Mans
The race, held behind closed doors, was the seventh in the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship, having been postponed from June to September as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in France.
A Rebellion R13 driven by Gustavo Menezes, Norman Nato and Bruno Senna was the highest-placed non-hybrid LMP1 car in second and Conway, Kobayashi and López finished third.
The British marque also won the Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Amateur (LMGTE Am) class with the TF Sport team of Jonathan Adam, Charlie Eastwood and Salih Yoluç beating the Dempsey-Proton Racing squad of Matt Campbell, Riccardo Pera and Christian Ried by 49 seconds.
The result moved Buemi, Hartley and Nakajima to the lead of the LMP Drivers' Championship by seven points over Conway, Kobayashi and López whose third-place finish demoted them to second.
After winning the preceding 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Toyota's Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López led the LMP Drivers' Championship with 137 points, with their teammates Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Kazuki Nakajima in second.
[1] In the GTE Drivers' Championship, Marco Sørensen and Nicki Thiim led for Aston Martin with 127 points over Michael Christensen and Kévin Estre of Porsche in second, and AF Corse's James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi in third.
[9] Although there were plans to admit a limited number of ticket holders to Le Mans in ten social bubbles dubbed "fan villages" of 5,000 people each, it was held behind closed doors following discussions with the local Sarthe Prefecture because of an increase of COVID-19 cases in France in the preceding month.
[11] A larger, wider and thicker layer of asphalt was laid at both sides of the turn at the FIA's request to decrease the amount of disruption caused by a car going off.
[18] The team intended to field three physically impaired drivers in the first all-disabled line-up in Le Mans history but withdrew from the event in April 2020 because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving it without adequate preparation.
[27] The ACO cancelled it because of the compression of international motor racing calendar schedules, and did not want to strain participants by holding too many events, like the test day, close to each other.
A total of 7 kg (15 lb) of ballast was added to the Toyota TS050 Hybrid compared to 2019 to reduce its handling, while non-hybrid and turbocharged LMP1 privateers had no change in weight.
89 Project 1 Porsche caused a stoppage with 70 minutes left after beaching in the gravel trap at the entry to Indianapolis corner and required extraction to enable his return to the pit lane.
[33] Merriman sustained a back injury, and the FIA Medical Delegate deemed him unfit to drive, leading to Porsche's Patrick Pilet replacing him.
71 AF Corse Ferrari's of Davide Rigon and Pier Guidi and the Porsche 911 RSR-19 cars 91 and 92 of Bruni and Christensen progressed to Hyperpole in LMGTE Pro.
[52] Because the event was held in September, track temperatures were cooler and there would be more darkness hours,[3] influencing changes in vehicle behaviour and requiring drivers and teams to adapt to the new conditions.
Senna refocused on holding second place from Buemi as Bruni fell to fourth in LMGTE Pro when Calado, and Aston Martin's Lynn and Thiim overtook him.
8 car's earlier puncture allowed both to race each other for the overall lead in the second hour when Conway was overtaken by teammate Buemi into the opening section of the Porsche Curves.
[65] The lead of LMGTE Am became a battle between representatives of the Team Project 1, TF Sport, AF Corse and Aston Martin Racing with first place being exchanged multiple times with Emmanuel Collard's No.
83 Ferrari moving to the top of the category at the conclusion of the fourth hour by making a pit stop during a slow zone procedure for debris clearing.
56 Project 1 Porsche fell to seventh in LMGTE Am early in the fifth hour when the team incurred a one-minute stop-and-go penalty for speeding in a slow zone.
52 AF Corse Ferrari driving through the Porsche Curves and crashed into the outside barrier with the left-hand side of the vehicle and ended up facing in the opposite direction.
[73] Not long after, the rear wing on Spengler's ByKolles car failed in the centre of a corner, sending him into the gravel trap at the Dunlop Curves striking the tyre wall.
26 G-Drive Oreca bowed out of the lead battle in LMP2 when he entered the pit lane with starter motor problems in the 10th hour after having to restart the car several times on the circuit.
95 Aston Martin in the 11th hour when he picked up a right-rear puncture on the Mulsanne Straight and slowly got the car to the garage for an inspection and brake repairs.
[79] Soon after, Kobayashi began slowing due to a loss of power caused by a fracture in the right-hand side exhaust manifold traced to a build quality problem.
He relinquished the race lead to teammate Hartley when he entered the garage to allow mechanics to install a new right-hand side turbocharger and exhaust assembly.
[82] Félix da Costa's seat belts were accidentally undone while adjusting them for tightness through Tertre Rouge in a slow zone, requiring him to make an extra pit stop in Jota's No.
22 United Autosports car, made a swift pit stop for fuel in the final ten minutes, returning to the circuit six seconds ahead of Jota's No.
"[108] Tincknell won on his debut for Aston Martin and said he learnt greatly over the course of the opening two stints when both Ferraris overtook him, using this to pass Daniel Serra later on.
"[110] Vassleon said a lack of track grip caused by rainfall removing rubber and bringing oily substances to the surface the night before slowed the race.
