“The medical cars are Audi RS6 estates with an output of some 580 bhp. We also have three safety cars: a latest-generation Audi R8 V10 plus and two 600 bhp Audi RS7s with an eight-speed gearbox and carbon brakes. Fantastic cars!” said Stéphane Dréan, 46, a suspension system and tyre development engineer at PSA.

Safety car drivers have two main jobs during practice, qualifying and the race itself. “The safety car is the one that most people are familiar with, because they are often seen out on the track. We intervene to make the circuit safe and allow the marshals to step in. The second part of the job is driving the medical cars that need to go as fast as possible when an accident happens.”

How do you know when you need to go out? How do the various people involved communicate with each other? “Once inside the car, we get information directly from race control. The person sat in the passenger seat has a link to race control and gives us the orders. We can then focus on driving. It is made a little more complicated on a track like Le Mans because we have three safety cars that can be called out at the same time. We have to drive at the same speed to keep the same distances apart [the drivers are instructed to not exceed a maximum speed of 120 kph, and to slow down to 60 kph in the incident zone]. We have a GPS which is used by our superiors to monitor our position in real time, and our speed, and correct it if necessary. The procedure is different for the medical car. We can go out on to the track even if the race hasn’t been stopped. We have to get to the crash scene as quickly as possible.”

A schedule is drawn up to manage the roster of around thirty drivers.  “I do four-hour shifts during the race – I’m down to do two this year – and I’m also taking care of the support races, particularly the Ferrari Challenge.” Dréan is an experienced hand now as he has been doing the job since 2003.  “I remember the first time I took the safety car out. I think I drove for almost 45 minutes – it was great. It was 1.00 on the Sunday afternoon, the grandstands along the Pit Straight were full. If it had gone on for a few more laps, I’d have run out of fuel!”

From a personal point of view, doing this job involves making a few sacrifices. “I take three days’ holiday but I love it! For a few days, I’m like a kid at Christmas. It’s always really exciting to have the chance to drive these cars again. My wife and daughter keep in touch by watching the race to see if they can spot me.” 

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Photo: Stéphane Dréan with one of the safety cars, the Audi R8 V10 plus.