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Why 'scandalous' Le Mans start must be addressed

The 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours ended in spectacular fashion. The way it started was a farce - and that has to be addressed by the organisers

Gary Watkins Jun 21, 2016, 9:12 AM

The enduring image of the 84th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours has to be Kazuki Nakajima stopping his race-leading Toyota almost underneath the famous clock at the Circuit de la Sarthe as it ticked towards three o'clock on Sunday afternoon. It wasn't the end anyone wanted to a super-competitive thriller of a race, but then we didn't get the start we wanted either.

I'm not complaining about the race starting behind the safety car, even if it was a first for this event. The shower shortly before the off was heavy and the track conditions not exactly great. My objection is that the safety car stayed out for so long.

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Author Gary Watkins

Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.