Pierre Fillon: “We can’t imagine repeating the 24 Hours of Le Mans behind closed doors”

Given the turn of events, are you satisfied with having postponed the 24 Hours of Le Mans in August ?

Let's say that I think we made the right decision to postpone them until the end of August (August 21-22, Editor's note), because we already know that it would have been impossible for us to have a significant gauge in the month of June (12-13. Editor’s note). And we can't imagine repeating the 24 Hours of Le Mans behind closed doors or with very few people in attendance. I think all the teams were very responsive and anticipated this well.

Do you know more about possible public reception?

With the vaccination schedule moving forward, we are giving ourselves every chance for the month of August. We now know that from May 19, we will be allowed 1000 people for outdoor events, 5000 from June 3 and, after June 30, depending on the state of the epidemic in the region and with different conditions, there might be no gauges left.

So you are optimistic?

We have been working from the start on being able to test the entire public with a laboratory and an application, but perhaps the implementation of the health passport will make our lives easier. We remain relatively optimistic about the chance of receiving between 30 or 50 people. It remains to be seen whether this will be done through the establishment of villages or not.

When will you make the decision?

Early June. This limit of June 3, which will see the first change in gauge capacity for outdoor events, will allow us to make a decision.