24 Hours of LeMons

24 Hours of LeMons

Category	Endurance racing
Country	United States, Australia, New Zealand
Inaugural season	[[:Category:2006 (2006) in motorsport|2006 (2006)]]
Drivers	Amateur racers

LeMons Racing at Altamont, July 7–8, 2007

The 24 Hours of LeMons is a series of endurance races held on paved road race courses across the United States and, since 2016, Australia and New Zealand. The series holds the Guinness World Record for the "Most participants in one race" (216 cars).^[1]

The title is a portmanteau of the long running annual 24 Hours of Le Mans race, and lemon cars. Teams of at least four drivers compete for up to 24 hours in race-prepared cars with a price limit, much like folkracing, of no more than US$500 for cars in the US series or NZD$999 in New Zealand. These races set themselves apart from the typical road race by the unusual penalties and punishments meted out by judges, as well as a blatant disregard for traditional motorsport politicking. The series is similar to the ChumpCar World Series which developed out of it, but retains a more carnival-like atmosphere.

Event overview[]

The event is billed as a 24-hour endurance race. The event covers a weekend, and participants endure "scrutiny" and a number of qualifiers along with the main endurance race of varying total hours, depending on the venue (including resource consent/s and Licences). The organizers state that they will attempt to run at least one true 24-hour race (continuous) every year.^[2]

History[]

The 24 Hours of LeMons, founded by author/editor Jay Lamm (self appointed "Chief Perp"), began in 2006 as a progression of an earlier San Francisco, California event, the Double 500, which was a 500-kilometer road rally for US$500 vehicles.^[3] After several yearly Double 500s, the organizers deemed the event too easy, so the 24 Hours of LeMons endurance race was born.

The earliest LeMons races were held at Altamont Motorsports Park and other tracks in California. The series expanded in 2008 to include events in the eastern United States, with races held in Connecticut, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas in addition to the races in California and Nevada.^[4]

In May 2008, a LeMons race held at Altamont Motorsports Park was struck by tragedy when the driver of one of the cars died during the race. Court Summerfield, 47, suffered a heart attack or stroke during the race and crashed into a wall. Investigations revealed that there were no malfunctions with the car and that the driver was already dead upon impact.^[5]

In September 2016, New Zealand hosted its inaugural LeMons event at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park in Waikato. Race Director Dr. Jacob Simonsen (the "Chief Lemon squeezer") established 24 Hours of LeMons as a Nationwide series with 3 events per year and the inclusion of a unique 24 hour "day/night" race. In 2018, 24 Hours of LeMons became New Zealand's largest participation motorsport series, with 295 drivers in one event, which was also the country's first ever continuous 24 hour motorsport race.

There were no races in 2020.

Preparation and rules[]

A typical LeMons racer being refueled; in this case, a Fiat 131.

To enter the event, participants must find a car where purchasing and prepping the car will not exceed US$500,^[6][7] AUD$999 and NZD$999 respectively.

The name of the race alludes to the relatively low value of entrants' cars, as such vehicles might be considered "lemons". The event organizers set a complete set of safety rules that typically are on par with other road racing sanctioning bodies, including the Sports Car Club of America, National Auto Sport Association (US), Australian Auto-sport Alliance, and Motorsport New Zealand. Additions to the rules (both serious and humorous, plus rules to discourage cheating) include:

• Dollar limit to prep car. This includes the purchase price of the car, any modifications made to it, and other assorted expenses (such as labor and sponsorships) are figured into the cost. Approved safety equipment (see below) plus brakes, wheels, and tires are not included in the vehicle purchase figure.
• Items sold off a car can be deducted from the total spent, so it is possible to buy a more expensive car and sell off parts, or sell parts and buy better equipment. (i.e. selling off parts from a BMW or other similar luxury car to circumvent/comply with the purchase 'cap' rule.)
  • If the event organizers feel the car has exceeded its financial limit, they assign what is called a BSF (Bullshit Factor), where every $10 the car exceeds over the purchase price is docked one lap (BS penalties may vary in each territory).
• Car must have four wheels and have been legal for highway use at its time of manufacture.
• Event organizers have full rights to buy the car for the "purchase price limit" at the end of the race.

Required safety equipment includes:

• A six-point roll cage (US), minimum half-cage with side intrusion (for New Zealand)
• Full-face Snell SA2015 helmet or better
• Fire extinguisher and/or fire suppression system (mandatory as of 2019 season)
• Five or six point racing harness
• SFI 3.2A/1 Nomex-style fire suit, fire resistant/retardant gloves, shoes and with fire retardant underwear
• SFI 38.1-rated or FIA 8858-rated head and neck support.
• Drivers seat must reach the middle of the helmet or higher. SFI or FIA approved seat recommended
• New Zealand rules differ slightly but are based on AASA regulations

Race[]

In the US, most events are 14.5 hours long, with sessions on Saturday and Sunday running from six to ten hours long. There is usually one full 24 hour endurance race each year. In Australia and New Zealand, events average 20 hours over the 2 – 3 days.

Each race begins with all cars being released onto the track under a full course yellow flag for lap-timing transponder checks. No passing is permitted under yellow, so all cars operational before the start (over 150 have been known to start) will circulate around the track in single file for up to 20 minutes until the officials are satisfied that the timing and scoring system is working properly. The race officially begins with the green flag being waved at a randomly chosen car.^[8]

Standard racing flags are used by corner workers stationed around the track to communicate with drivers. The black flag is used liberally throughout the race to mandate an immediate pit stop for concerns with the driving or with the car. Driving infractions range from any contact with another vehicle or fixed barrier and overly aggressive driving to spinning or driving two wheels off of the track. Car problems that typically result in black flags are, most frequently, obvious safety problems such as any fluid leak, parts hanging off the car, or inoperative lights. Drivers must report to the penalty box immediately after being shown a black flag.

Races that are split into two days will have a checkered flag at the end of the first day, signifying the end of the racing session. The race is restarted on the next day, normally with the top ten cars being permitted to line up in order with the first-place car getting the green flag.

Penalties[]

Wheel of Misfortune - Buttonwillow, CA August 15��16, 2009

LeMons officials have an idiosyncratic penalty and punishment system^[9] where penalties for some infractions are meted out by a device called The Wheel of Misfortune.^[7] Various devices may be put onto the car in order to affect car performance; one device used is metal silhouettes of various farm animals welded to the roof by the "Arc Angel" to reduce aerodynamic efficiency. Also, any car that flips in the process of the race is slapped with the "Why Am I Upside-Down?" penalty: not only is that team disqualified for the current race, but the driver who flipped the car is barred from all other races for the rest of the season. Likewise, drivers and teams might also be forced to undertake physical acts in order to satisfy punishment conditions, such as the Marcel Marceau Memorial "Mime Your Crime" penalty, where a driver must put on white face paint and a beret and mime what they did wrong. In addition, penalties are often tailored to address current events or figures where the race is run. Examples of this include the "Max Mosley S&M Penalty", the "Sheriff Joe Arpaio Penalty" in Arizona (where drivers must don pink underwear, sit in a hot tent and eat stale bologna sandwiches, all punishments the Maricopa County sheriff has inflicted at his prisons), and the "Mark Sanford 'Cry For Me, Argentina' Memorial Penalty" at a race in South Carolina, in which a driver must write a lengthy love letter to his Argentine mistress on his car, à la the former governor of that state. All penalties are designed to waste a driver's time, while less aggressive and better drivers continue to race.

Awards[]

Car being destroyed at Altamont, 7–8 July '07

There are four main awards with one given midway through the race. Note that, in the US, all prize money is typically awarded entirely in nickels (five-cent coins).^[2][7]

The midway award was aptly named People's Curse. One car was voted People's Curse, for being driven by the biggest jerks of the day as judged by the attending crowd. The offending car was crushed or otherwise destroyed typically by heavy equipment, but when none could be found, an angry mob with wire cutters and wrenches had been used. If there were not enough votes to destroy a car, it may have instead received nasty but non-fatal damage, or it may have been sent to the Penalty Box with a black flag. For 2013 the Curse was removed from the series.

The counterpoint to the People's Curse, Organizers Choice (originally People's Choice) is awarded to the team that best represents the friendly spirit of the race. A trophy and $500 prize is given.

The car that completes the most laps net of pre-race "BS" penalties is awarded the Win on Laps, and the team receives a trophy. Through 2011, the winner on laps also received a $1500 cash prize, typically in the form of nickels.

The grand prize (and considered by some to be the "true" winner) is the Index of Effluency award, presented to a car considered unlikely to finish the race at all, let alone finish with a respectable number of laps completed. The team that wins the Index of Effluency is given a larger trophy and a cash prize. The prize was $1501 through 2011, and was reduced to $501 beginning in 2012; in each case, the prize is $1 more than the team could win by winning the race or their class. Prizes, trophies and awards vary depending on the territory.

In the US, prior to a race, every entry is assigned into a class, A, B, C, or X. The car in each class that completes the most laps net of pre-race "BS" penalties (with the exception of the winner on laps, which was previously recognized) is awarded the class win, and the team receives a trophy. Beginning in 2012, the winners of classes A, B, and C each also receive a $500 cash prize, typically in nickels.

Several other trophies are given, typically: Most Heroic Fix,^[10] I Got Screwed,^[11] Grassroots Motorsports Magazine's Most from the Least, Least (or Most) Horrible Yank Tank, and trophies to the fastest cars of the three classes.

Occasionally, Judges' Choice or Dangerous Homemade Technology awards are given.

At the end of each season, the organizers also recognize a group of Legends of LeMons for especially noteworthy themes, fabrication work, or other contributions to the series. Forty-one teams earned such recognition in 2009,^[12] the first year teams were so honored. In 2010, the number of teams earning "Legend" status increased to 58, but this time, four were singled out for the exceptional honor of a Unununium Medal,^[13] the next twenty were awarded a Ununquadium Medal,^[14] while the remaining 34 received a Ununhexium Medal.^[15] In 2011, the list of awards was pared down from previous seasons, as nine racers and teams were awarded a Gluon Medal^[16] for their feats.

References[]

External links[]

• 24 Hours of LeMons USA - official USA site