Behind the scenes of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race management

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest granted FanF1 access to a highly restricted area: a building next to the pits that houses the office of the race director of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and numerous staff members.

When the engines roar at Le Mans, all eyes are fixed on the blistering speeds reached on the Mulsanne Straight. But behind the scenes, a more discreet orange army transforms this 24-hour marathon into a safely choreographed ballet. In a modest room overlooking the pit straight, Alexandre Leffray, head of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest marshals, supervises the race. Inside this “sports module,” around 40 people make split-second decisions to ensure the smooth running of the event, whether it's deploying the safety car, opening a slow zone, or signaling a yellow flag across the entire circuit. On the far left is Eduardo Freitas, the race director, flanked by the ACO's chief medical officer and a group of senior marshals. Their collective mission? To make all safety decisions concerning cars, motorcycles, and trucks. Communication is a multi-level network. Three dedicated radio frequencies connect the control room to approximately 75 marshal posts spread across the circuit, ensuring that messages from the front line reach decision-makers without distortion. When a barrier is knocked down, a fire extinguisher is almost empty, or even portable toilets need attention, marshals send a text message from a tablet. This alert goes directly to the sports module, where a log records each call and all accompanying images for later review. If a car stalls or sustains damage, the module dispatches one of six tow trucks positioned around the circuit. The vehicle is lifted, removed from the race line, and taken back to the parc fermé for inspection. All this happens while a wall of 47 high-definition cameras, each capable of 100× zoom, scans the circuit. The feed allows debris no larger than an inch to be spotted, providing instant visual data to the team that decides whether a warning is necessary.

During our visit, practice sessions were taking place on the Bugatti circuit, but the four giant screens in the control room immediately switched to live images of the race as soon as the competition began. These same screens switch to surveillance angles as soon as an incident is reported, allowing race directors to give the green light for a restart with confidence. The human element is just as essential as the technology. Maxime, who has been a marshal for five years, describes his position as a quiet intercom center. “We communicate using a button, without having to shout,” he explains, pointing to the sleek device on his desk. Across the table, Paul, a newcomer who arrived after volunteering at the medical center, explains why he stays. “I love motorsports. Working here, on one of the most beautiful circuits in the world, is like being part of the race itself. No formal training is required; we learn from each other on the job.”

Around 2,000 volunteers dressed in bright orange, the color chosen by sports federations for its visibility, populate the circuit. Each position has a manager who plans shifts, grants breaks, and informs the team of flag protocols and car driving instructions, especially for the hybrid machines that dominate the starting grid today. Training begins in January for car and motorcycle race marshals, followed by an intensive course in March for ACO volunteers. New recruits cut their teeth at smaller events, such as the Fun Cup, before moving on to Le Mans in June. Leffray sums up this philosophy in a single sentence: “You have to come for the fun of it, there's no room for stress.” For the marshals, racing is less a source of pressure than a shared passion, a family that creates bonds across ages and roles. Their quiet dedication may never make the headlines, but without their coordinated efforts, the legend of the 24 Hours would be nothing more than a dangerous sprint.