Welcome to this year's 86th edition of the most famous endurance race in the world - the 2018 24hrs of Le Mans!

I'll use a brief summary of the 3 qualifying sessions to introduce you to most of the main and secondary actors in all classes and go through it in four parts, analogue to the 3 qualifying sessions and this first introductory one. Also the timetable and spotter guide will be provided.

Timetable

Wednesday, June 13th - 16:00 CET: Free Practice

Wednesday, June 13th - 21:45-00:10 CET: Qualifying 1

Thursday, June 14th - 18:45-21:00 CET: Qualifying 2 (this session was suspended 30 minutes early due to red flag / track repair)

Thursday, June 14th - 22:00-00:10 CET: Qualifying 3 (this session was started 30 minutes early at 21:30 and concluded around midnight providing 2:30 hours to compensate for Q2)

Saturday, June 16th - 09:00 CET: Warmup

Saturday, June 16th - 16:00 CET: Race Start

Prelude - Qualifying 1 (Daytime)

Before the start of Q1 the FIA always makes enough time for the cameras to capture some impressive shots and create mouth watering anticipation so here are some of these impressions:

The Toyota team will be on the edge this year even without any direct competition in its class as it is the last remaining 'LMP1 HY' hybrid category team after Audi left in 2016 and Porsche having had its final year last year. This year Toyota is getting competition from slower and disadvantaged Privateer LMP1 non-hybrid teams but as the Japanese Marquee has struggled to win this race for over 20 years the Privateers are praying to the Le Mans Gods for their favor.

The amazing rear light on Ford's GT GTE car which competes in the 'GTE PRO' category. The rear light ring actually encapsulates an air duct which runs from the side in front of the rear wheel to the rear and exits 'through' the rear light for aerodynamic purposes generating more downforce.

Porsche manufacturer teams are present this year but only in the 'GTE PRO' category following the legend's exit from the top 'LMP1 HY' category last year crowning their project with a final overall win. That said, the 2017 Porsche 911 RSR which is actually a mid-engine 911 generating one of the most notable and exciting exhaust notes of all time, has established itself as a reliable and nimble force to be reckoned with and seems to be miles ahead of the competition judging by the qualifying times. Porsche has hauled 4 'works' cars to Le Mans with another 6 cars being run by Privateers in the 'GTE AM' category.

Two of the works Porsche GT Team RSRs are painted in a retro color scheme commemorating past Porsche Le Mans liveries such as the famous 'pink pig'.

Here the Keating Motorsport Ferrari 488GTE courtesy of RISI Competizione - an American endurance racing outfit with a long history of big wins. The car will be piloted by Ben Keating, Olivier Beretta and Luca Stolz and compete in the 'GTE AM' class.

Another glorious shot of the pink pig in front of Porsche's retro outfitted garage.

Beautiful display of the quasi-works effort of Ferrari at Le Mans in the form of the AF Corse team from Italy utilizing a slightly enhanced 'EVO' version of last year's 488 GTE. You can see the car's pilots in the image on the bottomside. The team competes in the 'GTE PRO' class which is fiercely competitive this year counting Aston Martin, Porsche, BMW, Corvette and Ford among its contenders.

Some of the LMP1 and LMP2 contenders packed up, ready to launch onto the track seconds before the first qualifying session of Le Mans 2018 opens. A glorious sight!

Spotter Guide

To be able to better recognize the 60 entries of this year's race here is a link to the most famous, accurate and passionately put together spotter guide - the 2018 Weathertech Le Mans Spotter Guide:

http://www.spotterguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/18_LM24_V3.pdf

Join me for the next blog detailing the Qualis with more exciting images and background info to prep you for tomorrow's race of the year.

Steem on!