The 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans was originally scheduled to take place this weekend, from June 13-14, but the world’s most famous, glamorous, and important sports-car race is just one of countless events delayed due to the global pandemic. And while the French endurance classic won’t complete its 88th running for real until September 19-20, there’s a great substitute at hand: This weekend, some of the world’s best-known pro drivers will still wage battle on the 8.469-mile Circuit de la Sarthe, along with elite sim racers, in the Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans. And you can watch all of the action here, uninterrupted from flag-to-flag.
The Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans livestream begins at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, June 13, with the race beginning at 9 a.m. Coverage concludes at 9:15 a.m. on Sunday, June 14; in between, you’ll get pre-race analysis, every lap of competition, and full post-race coverage after the checkered flag waves.
Thankfully and unlike other sports, racing has, during the past few months, been able to deliver live action that approximates the real thing and features its real-life stars. NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, and sports car drivers, engineers, and other team members have all been in on the action—some of which has gotten incredibly serious, with real-world consequences. Audiences have eaten it up, with sim races producing millions of views around the world, and the Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans promises to deliver some of the best battles yet.
Consider the driver list, which covers 50 entries between the true-to-life LMP and GTE classes, in dedicated ORECA prototypes and production-based models from Porsche, Ferrari, Corvette, and Aston Martin. Prominent real-world drivers on the grid for the Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans include:
- Fernando Alonso
- Max Verstappen
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Jenson Button
- Jordan Taylor
- Ricky Taylor
- Tony Kanaan
- Katherine Legge
Along with a large number of other recognizable names—and teamed with some of the world’s best esports sim racers—they’ll all compete using the advanced rFactor 2 simulation platform featuring dynamic weather, day/night lighting effects, pit stops for fuel and tires, damage, and realistic strategies. Combined with a full-on realistic broadcast production complete with commentators, special guests, pit reporters, real race officials and race rules, and stunning graphics, the Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans might cause you to quickly forget you’re not watching the real deal.