The organizers of Le Mans 24 Hours, The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and the Sarthe Prefecture, have announced that this year’s instalment of the race will be held on September 19-20 without spectators.
The event committee considered various solutions to welcome a limited numbers of fans to the 88th Le Mans 24 Hours, but after consulting public health and safety authorities and given the uncertainty surrounding the development of the situation, the ACO and Sarthe Prefecture decided unanimously that the event will run behind closed doors with a press statement saying that
A press statement read that protecting the health of competitors, partners and spectators is of paramount concern to the ACO and the FIA.
Fans will be able to follow the race from the safety of their own home and, thanks to a new digital platform, Le Mans fans can gain an exclusive insight into what goes on behind the scenes at the event.
Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, said, “The 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans will go down in the annals of history as, sadly, the world’s greatest endurance race will be run this year with no spectators trackside. Over the last few weeks, we have looked at many ways in which we could hold our event in September with fans present, albeit in limited numbers.
“However, given the constraints involved in organising a festival-scale event over several days in the current situation, we have opted with the local government authorities to hold the race behind closed doors. There were still too many question marks regarding health and safety.
“We know that our fans will be as disappointed as we are by this decision but, with public health in the balance, it really wasn’t a difficult call to make. You don’t compromise where safety is concerned.”
Ticket holders will be contacted by the organising ticket office regarding compensation.
The 88th Le Mans 24 Hours will be held on September 19-20, starting at 02:30pm.
