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Le Mans - The Drivers Parade

The main event this Friday is of course the drivers parade where nearly 150,000 fans crowd the route around the old city of Le Mans. Note that this year, schedules and routes have changed. The parade will start at 17:30 and finnish at 19:30 and it will start from the Place de la République where the scrutineering took place earlier in the week.

The drivers will be driven around in open top classic cars, throwing caps, postcards and posters to the the fans.  In addition there will be marching bands various other race cars such as Ford GT 40s.

This year, there will also be a celebration for the 40th anniversary of Matra's victory for Henri Pescarolo and Graham Hill.  Trophies will then be awarded to the pole winning drivers in all four categories.

Contact with the spectators and fans is very important for the drivers and there are two occasions during the week when there is this opportunity.  Tuesday, with the autograph session and Friday with the parade.  Some of the drivers gave us their thoughts on this important part of the event.

Lucas Ordonez, driver of the Nissan Z11SN Zytek Motorsport Greaves No.42 (LM P2): "I really appreciate the contact with the public.  They are there, they support us, it's fantastic.  Even when the weather is not good, the fans still come out like they did on Tuesday for the autograph session.  At the time of the parade, although it is close to the race we're focused, it allows us to forget about the race for a moment.  I went to the parade for the first time last year, it was just incredible."

Jonny Cocker, Driver JMW Motorsport Ferraro 450 Italia No.66 (GTE Pro): "That sort of contact with the audience is always something fun. They are always there, they support us, they applaud us and they cheer for us.  The parade is such a warm welcome.  Before I was a driver at Le Mans, I was a spectator, I was in the crowd so I know what it means to them.  They can be unforgettable moments!"

Pedro Lamy, driver of the Corvette ZR1 C6-Larbre Competition No.50 (GTE Am): "Being close to the people is really nice.  People have the opportunity to see the drivers and it's a good thing for the public.  Of course, this is something missing from Formula 1 even though their crowds are much larger, it's a great event!"