The 24 Hours of Le Mans, the most famous endurance race in the world, is this weekend in France. The same drivers will be at Circuit of the Americas in September. (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images)
The Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of the Americas is still about three months away, but Central Texas race fans can get a great idea what the motorsports series is all about by watching its signature race this weekend, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.
Fox Sports will provide enhanced coverage of Le Mans on Saturday and Sunday.
There are some interesting new developments at Le Mans:
- An expanded 60-car grid, the largest since the 1950s, on the famed La Sarthe circuit.
- A stronger American presence. The four-car Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT team in GTE Pro will be a factor. Corvette remains involved. In addition, Tequila Patron ESM, Krohn Racing and Michael Shank Racing are in LMP2, with Risi Competizione joining Ford and Corvette in GTE-Pro and Scuderia Corsa represented in GTE-Am. In all, there 23 American drivers taking part in the race, according to Fox Sports.
- GTE-Pro offers a battle royale between Ford, Ferrari, Corvette, Aston Martin and Porsche. Corvette Racing topped the time charts on test day but has been hit with a power reduction for the race.
Lone Star Le Mans, COTA’s twist on the world’s greatest endurance race, will take place from Thursday, Sept. 15 to Saturday, Sept. 17. The three-day event will culminate with almost nine hours of racing and entertainment, including its only race to finish at night. A fireworks show will follow.
The event offers fans the opportunity to experience two premier sports car series for the only joint event on each of their schedules: the global FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the North American-based IMSA SportsCar Championship.
The Ford GTs, returning to the series this year, will be out en force.
The weekend also will include support races.
Circuit of the Americas also is running a promotion this weekend where fans will receive a 24 Hours of Le Mans poster for every two multi-turn tickets they purchase for the Lone Star Le Mans. They’ll also have a chance to win VIP passes and a poster autographed by all the winning drivers at Le Mans.
24 HOURS OF LE MANS TV SCHEDULE
Saturday/Sunday (all times CST)
FOX Sports 1: 7:30 AM – 1:00 PM (5.5 hours)
FOX Sports 2: 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM (2.5 hours)
FOX Sports Go: 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM (1.5 hours)
FOX Sports 2: 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM (.5 hours)
FOX Sports Go: 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM (.5 hours)
FOX Sports 2: 6:00 PM – 6:30 PM (.5 hours)
FOX Sports Go: 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM (3 hours)
FOX Sports 2: 9:30 PM – 1:30 AM (4 hours)
FOX Sports 1: 1:30 AM – 8:30 AM (7 hours)
