Nicolas Minassian (IDEC Sport): "The 24 Hours of Le Mans is not just about the stopwatch."

IDEC Sport set the fastest time on the 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day with the #28 Oreca 07. Interview with Nicolas Minassian, the team principal.

The Test Day ended with the best time of the afternoon session. What lessons did you learn from this first day?

The lap time is obviously positive, but that's not our primary focus. The Test Day is first and foremost a working day. The objective is to get the whole team back into the Le Mans rhythm, validate our procedures, verify our technical choices, and gather as much data as possible.

What satisfies me most is the quality of the work done by the drivers, engineers, and mechanics. We completed the entire planned program, the car performed perfectly, and we leave with a solid foundation to work from for the rest of the week.

Starting today, the week of 24 Hours of Le Mans truly enters its active phase. How is the team approaching this meeting?

With a lot of focus but also a lot of enthusiasm. Le Mans remains a unique race. We think about it all year round. Every member of the team knows what they have to do, but we also know that nothing is ever guaranteed here.

The next few days will be crucial. We will continue to work on the setup, prepare for qualifying, manage the night runs, and refine our strategy. The objective remains the same: to arrive on Saturday with the best possible preparation for the 24-hour race.

Three associations that support children will be welcomed on Wednesday. What does this moment represent for you?

This is probably one of the most important moments of the week. We often talk about performance, results or technology, but we also have the opportunity to share this adventure with young people who might never have imagined getting involved in an event like the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Seeing their eyes light up when they discover the cars, the pits, or the drivers is always incredibly powerful. If this visit can spark a passion, a vocation, or simply create a lasting memory, then we will have already achieved something significant.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is often perceived as a technological competition. What role does the human element really play in the performance?

A central location. Technology is essential, of course. Cars are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and data plays a major role in performance. But ultimately, it's still women and men who make the decisions. 

A strategy, a pit stop, adapting to changing weather, or reacting to a racing incident all rely primarily on the skills and experience of the team. Endurance racing is probably one of the disciplines where the human element remains the most important.

What can a company learn from a team competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

Many things. The ability to prepare for a long-term objective, to work collectively under pressure, to make quick decisions while remaining clear-headed, to adapt to the unexpected, and to maintain a high level of standards over a long period.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a fantastic laboratory for management and collective performance. It brings together all the problems that companies can encounter, but condensed into an extremely intense environment.

Between qualifying, Hyperpole and the race, what do you think will be the key factor this week?

Mastery. It will be necessary to be able to go fast, of course, but above all to remain disciplined in all areas. Le Mans rarely rewards the most spectacular team. On the other hand, this race often rewards the one that makes the fewest mistakes and manages to maintain its level of performance for twenty-four hours. This is the balance we will be seeking throughout the week.

If you had to summarize in one sentence what this week represents for IDEC SPORT?

This is the culmination of a year of preparation, but also a fantastic human adventure that we are lucky enough to share with our drivers, our partners, our collaborators, our guests and all those who accompany us in this quest for performance.

Interview provided by IDEC Sport.