One of the key elements to the American Le Mans Series and endurance racing in general is the absolute requirement of applied teamwork. Most auto racing leagues require some level of teamwork but perhaps not to the degree incorporated in the ALMS and endurance racing. Certainly teams require communication and cooperation with sponsors and partners off the track but there’s also an even greater deal of teamwork portrayed when the track is hot.
Competitors are often referred to by team as opposed to individual driver or car and for very good reason. Though the individual car and driver do play vital roles, there are multiple other factors involved here. The most obvious example of team work might be the very sophisticated or even “art of a pit-stop.” In a typical 2 hour 45 minute race, teams will usually undergo two pit stops. In longer endurance races like the upcoming 12 Hours of Sebring, teams might pit as often as once an hour. There’s a pit supervisor, 4 mechanics, a fueler, a fire extinguisher operator (just in case!), and potentially other industry reps examining car equipment whom all have very specific functions to perform. Tires are changed and fuel is added in hopefully less than a minute! Should a car require modification, repair or additional service, pit stops take relatively longer which means less time on the race track.
In addition to the standard pit stop, another major element to endurance racing is the driver change. Teams will typically use two or even three different drivers throughout the course of a race. Drivers, though often well conditioned athletes displaying extremely impressive levels of concentration and perseverance are nonetheless still susceptible to the rigors of racing….especially in the longer endurance tests. The body becomes exhausted, dehydrated and eventually un-equilibrated. Reaction time is weakened and mistakes can be made leading to serious consequences. So, during pit stops, driver changes sometimes are also necessary. Drivers assist each other with the fastening of safety belts, helmet communication systems, telemetry, driver transponders and even helmet cams when entering and exiting the cockpit.
Finally, it’s not uncommon for teams to field more than one race car. In fact, many teams field multiple cars like the Flying Lizard Porsche 911s or Rahal Letterman BMW M3s. By fielding multiple cars, teams can work together on the track to achieve specific goals and strategies perhaps not as efficiently attainable with only one car. Drivers are in constant communication with a crew member(s) feeding them live info and coordinating on track efforts. There’s also the obvious increased chance of winning a race with more than one car racing for your team on the track. There’s also double the cost!
So not unlike the achievement of success in most areas of sports, and life for that matter, teamwork is of the utmost importance in Le Mans racing!
Jason Schiavone
Jay, a Maryland corporate attorney, is a long-time resident of the Baltimore area. Prior to undertaking his present role with BRD, Jay was the Associate General Counsel for Field Operations for U.S. Foodservice, Inc., the nation's second largest foodservice company, with approximately $20 Billion in annual sales revenues. In that role, Jay managed lawyers and other staff and focused on meeting the business legal needs of approximately 20,000 employees at 70 divisions across the United States. Prior to that, Jay worked for national law firms and spent a year working for Sponsor Direct, a sports marketing firm based in New York. Jay received his JD with Honors from George Washington University and is undergraduate degree in History from Princeton University where he played varsity football.
