Weather forecast for the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2014 this weekend shows no sign of rain at the start. A high of 26 degrees on Saturday should give moderate track temperatures, so tyre wear will be interesting. Overnight temperatures of 11 degrees will be a relief for drivers after the heat of the day.

Sunday is forecasted to be warm and slightly overcast. Rising humidity could be a risk, as rain threatens towards the finish. Cars in tight competition running close behind another for hours on end and pushing reliability might face engine and brake temperature issues in muggy weather. No doubt it will be a real test for the drivers to manage their cars to the finish. Tom Kristensen puts it into perspective:

“Le Mans takes the best out of everyone: it’s such a big and great event in motorsport. You do more kilometres in that one race than Formula One does in a season, and probably a higher average speed. We average about 220km/h including pit stops, and cover nearly 5,000 kilometres.”

I think F1 may cover more distance this year, but F1 teams strip and rebuild the cars after every two hour race. Le Mans is a tough event.

TV Coverage of Le Mans 24 Hours 2014

Eurosport will be showing the full race live. Not sure if this is HD: I doubt it. You can follow the 24 Hours of Le Mans live online with the Michelin-sponsored Le Mans live website. The ACO website will have a full data feed available, so my viewing will be commentary by Radio Le Mans, pics by Eurosport and timing from the organisers. I’ll blog a bit during the race for sure and you can follow the Ferdinand: Cult of Porsche Twitter feed to keep up with Porsche progress.

Porsche Le Mans Track Schedule

Porsche has a busy Le Mans schedule this week (see below). Are you in Le Mans? Share your experiences on the Ferdinand Facebook page or email us at mail@ferdinandmagazine.com.

Tuesday, June 10:
2:00-2:30 pm Porsche team photo (LMP1) at start/finish line
2:30-3:00 pm Meet the team (LMP1), team and media hospitality
5:00-6:30 pm Autograph session, pit lane

Wednesday, June 11:
2:30-3:00 pm Meet the team (LMP1), team and media hospitality
4:00-8:00 pm Free practice
10:00 pm-midnight Qualifying

Thursday, June 12:
3:30-4:00 pm Meet the team (LMP1), team and media hospitality
7:00-9:00 pm Qualifying
10:00 pm-midnight Qualifying

Friday, June 13:
10:00 am – 8:00 pm Pit walk
1:00-2:00 pm Porsche press conference in the large guest hospitality area
5:30-7:30 pm Driver parade in the downtown area

Saturday, June 14:
09:00-09:45 Warm-up
2:22 pm Beginning of race start ceremony
3:00 pm Start of race