A Porsche 911 RSR driver shifts 27,000 times during the 24 Hours of Le Mans!

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is run by teams of three drivers, who alternate every few hours. However, the car is not changed and has to work for the full 24 hours. “Our Porsche 911 RSR was designed for that,” says Porsche's Alexander Stehlig of endurance racing. "In theory a 24-hour race should not be a problem. But in practice it is sometimes different."

Gearbox Porsche 911 RSR shifts 27,000 times

The gearbox of a Porsche 911 RSR shifts an average of 20,000 times during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. "And that's not all," says Porsche's Romain Gineste. "The same transmission is also in the car during free practice and qualifying, where there are 7,000 shifts on average."

Until 2018, teams were allowed to replace the entire powertrain for the race. That is no longer allowed. The Porsche 911 RSR uses a six-speed sequential racing transmission, which changes gears in just 15 milliseconds. And that's 27,000 times in total.

Spark plugs fire 28 million times

During the free practice sessions, qualifying and the race, the 4.2-litre six-cylinder boxer engine of the 911 RSR also has to work hard. According to Gineste, the spark plugs of the power source fire an average of 28 million times during the 24-hour race alone.

Driver steps on the brake pedal 4000 times

Other figures: on the Circuit de la Sarthe, braking is required in 13 places. And that means that the driver steps on the brake pedal about 4000 times in 24 hours, each time heating the brake pads and steel brake discs to more than 400 degrees Celsius. Porsche usually only changes the front brakes once during the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Shock absorbers have a hard time

Furthermore, of course, the shock absorbers have a hard time on the track. They are pressed down to their bump stops 20 times each lap (7,000 times per race), especially if the driver crosses the kerbstones hunts. Not to mention the many thousands of vibrations on the uneven asphalt ...