Audi Canada flew a small group of Canadian editors to France to experience the sights and sounds of the world's most grueling sports car race – the 90^th anniversary edition/81^st running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans – in the small French town of its namesake. We leave Toronto's Person airport at 5 P.M. on the eve before the race (Friday) and change planes in Montreal, arriving at Charles de Gaule airport just outside of Paris around 8 A.M. the next morning. After a two-hour train ride and short shuttle, we arrive at Audi's trackside hotel three hours before the start of the race.

This amazing temporary structure houses its many guests – hundreds of them – all under one big roof in very small but functional rooms that are more or less designed for napping rather than all-out relaxation and vacationing. I would liken it to a tiny trade show booth with thin plastic walls, a single light and no electrical outlet. There is a single bed, a small table and a lone chair that affirm its dorm-like atmosphere; and, some Audi schwag including a jacket, hat, bath robe, shaving kit, flip flops and more. We were told to pack light, and it's easy to see why.

Don't be mistaken, these are simply the best accommodations around as the big posh hotels and luxurious chateaus are all hours from the track, and the rest of the rooms in and around the small French town of 30,000 are at capacity. Even the Audi big-wigs stay here, save for the ultra-elite execs and board members. Why? Location, location, location! In fact, the track entrance and main straightaway is less than a kilometre away, and well within view (and earshot). But, before heading out there with a few of my colleagues, a refreshing shower in the communal bathroom is in order.

“This is glamping,” says Rod Cleaver of YorkTime.com, and I couldn't agree more. Many of the more than 350,000 spectators at this year's race are staying in one of the many on-site campgrounds. It's said that more than 120,000 Brits alone make the annual pilgrimage through the “Chunnel” to watch some of the best racing on the planet. The Danes come out in force too, proud of the fact one of their own is one of the favourites. If you're not staying near or at the track, you are playing the real-life version of Frogger as the town's population swells to close to a half million people during the big event, and traffic on the grounds gets very heavy through the evening hours.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is Audi's big ticket event of the year. It is the one that Audi invests the most time, money and resources into year each year. And why not? It has won the 11 out of its last 13 starts here at the 13.6-km Circuit de la Sarthe, and is the reigning LMP1 class champion. Just like its R18 e-tron quattro prototype race cars, Audi's hospitality is second to none with no fewer than eight hospitality suites its guests can access on foot or via countless A8L W12 sedans and VW Transporter shuttles

Upon arrival at the track, a few of us ascend a spiral staircase to access the Audi Racing Club where we'll watch the end of the opening ceremonies and race start. This two-level, indoor-outdoor suite sits high above the front straightaway and boasts world-class views of the pits, the Michelin ranking tower, the Dunlop Curve as well as the whole section from Maison Blanche through the Ford Chicane as well as the front straight. Of course, there are food and drink stations serving up an assortment of good eats and fine spirits. Bean bag chairs, contemporary sofas, high boys and dinner tables are available on a first-come first-serve basis – this is the perfect place to watch the start and finish of the race.

With the race underway, a colleague and I spent the next several hours wandering around the paddock and sticking our heads into various hospitality suites, including AF Corse and SRT Motorsports where I find team boss and brand CEO, Ralph Gilles, and Beth Paretta, SRT's director of motorsports, and Tommy Kendall, driver of the No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R. They're all in good spirits and just plain happy to be here at Le Mans in the Viper's return to the top-level of sports car racing.

After wishing them best of luck, we head back out and make our way down the paddock to Audi's lower Racing Club and hang out directly above the Audi pits. With the windows wide open, you can stick your head out the and look down on the pit box below and, if there's anything going on, enjoy one of the best up-close views in the house.

Here, I also sign up for a tour of the Audi pit at 9 A.M. the following morning. This is just one of several activities that Audi has for its guests to try at this year's race. Some of the others include a helicopter ride above the track, an Audi driving experience and a kart racing competition, for example.

Next, we head to the Audi Racing Arena for some food, drink and relaxation. Situated just before the Ford Chicane, the Arena boasts 24-hour food stations and drink service, an outdoor patio, DJ, entertainment stage, mini spa, poker table and monitors galore to keep track of everything and then some. This is as close to racing purgatory from a spectators standpoint as you can get as guests are waited on hand and foot and treated to some amazing dishes and hospitality.

There is a huge video screen located in the middle of the building directly across from a multi-tier viewing arena that looks like an avalanche of oversized bean bag chairs and weary travelers waiting to happen.

A collection of scale models of Audi's past and present Le Mans prototypes, race worn helmets and full-size replica of the R18 e-tron quattro are also on display in the Arena. There is even a two-screen setup where guests car drive the virtual R18 on the Circuit de la Sarthe thanks to Forza Motorsport 4 and Xbox 360.

It is still light out but the Ferris wheel is full of revelers enjoying what is arguably the best view at Le Mans as I make my way over to yet another Audi hospitality where I am to meet up with some contacts from Michelin who have promised a tour of the race tire compound and paddock at 8 P.M. Inside the compound, dozens of techs and tire engineers are busy unmounting, mounting, inflating, balancing new tires at multiple work stations for the various teams running on Michelin, one of two tire suppliers here at Le Mans. We'll have more on this in the Fall '13 issue of PRN Ignition. For now, check out this short video ( http://wheelsonedge.com/video/2072/Inside-the-Michelin-Tire-Compound-at-Le-Mans).

Next, we make our way over to the paddock where we're invited into the Corvette Racing pits by Michelin's Race Tire Engineer Lee Willard (a.k.a. “Mr. Corvette”). After a quick tour of the team's two garages, Jim Campbell, VP of Chevrolet Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, hands me a headset to listen in on the team's radio chatter – très cool! – just as the No. 74 car comes to a screeching halt in the pit box just steps away. Both driver and tires are exchanged for a fresh set, the latter having just been mounted over at the compound under the watchful eye of Bibendum's minions, before peeling away less than a minute later. Now, watch this video ( http://wheelsonedge.com/video/2073/No.-74-Corvette-Racing-Pit-Stop-at-Le-Mans) to see it all go down

Before heading back to the Arena, I manage to track down PRN Ignition's very own Jen Horsey in the SRT Motorsports pit. She and Ralph Gilles are found tweeting away on their smartphones next to the giant tire ovens that keep the Viper GTS-R's slicks, intermediates and rain tires at the proper temperatures ahead of the next pit stop.

Nighttime has settled in completely by the time I arrive back at the Arena where I spend the next couple hours on the patio enjoying watching the cars fly by all lit up with different-coloured LEDs, and the soundtrack of race cars going wide open then getting hard on the brakes before the chicane. The adaptive headlight technology is mesmerizing, the headlight beams turn the corners first, followed quickly by the race cars themselves. The low-pitch bellowing sound from the R18s is unlike any of the other race cars in the field, and assaults the darkness like the Black Hawk helicopters used in Operation Neptune Spear would have.

The Ferris wheel is in full swing now, with every carriage full of race fans taking in the sights and sounds of Le Mans. It's all so hypnotizing and, with exhaustion right on the cusp of full effect, it isn't long before I decide to head back to the hotel for a bit of sleep. Easier said than done. The 10-minute shuttle ride back to the hotel turns in to 20, 30 and then an hour with a sea of race fans and traffic slowing progress to a crawl.

Sleep comes easy once back in the room despite the constant drone roar of race cars not far off in the distance, though the sound of fireworks at 4 A.M. does prevent me from any kind of deep, meaningful sleep. Before I know it though, my wake-up call comes a knocking on my door a couple hours later and it's time to head back out. A few of us gather in the lobby with bags under our eyes and make our way to the arena for breakfast. 

It is a lot quieter at this hour of the morning. Pit crews and race teams are battling exhaustion, as evidenced on the monitors inside the Arena. Evidently, the small army of cameramen scattered throughout the compound are having a heyday capturing unsuspecting nappers on camera, much to the chagrin of this writer.

With our bellies full, we make the half-hour walk over to the Audi Racing Club above pit lane and queue up for our 20-minute tour. After being told to put away our cameras, our trio is led down the stairs into a garage so clean you could eat off the floor. There's a red line taped to the floor, and we're told to stay behind it and watch our step in stark contrast to the Corvette Racing pits. The atmosphere is professional and sterile. Were it not for a couple of pit stops that happened to coincide with the visit, there wasn't a whole lot (we were allowed) to see. That said, our guide showed us some of the parts that lay in waiting in case they need to be replaced. Upon being handed one the e-tron's spare carbon fibre side mirrors, one colleague remarks that it is no heavier than her cell phone.

After our tour, we head back out to the vendor's midway, much of which is still not yet open for the day, and snap some pictures. We head back through the paddock and nonchalantly make our way back to the Audi Racing Club and front straight grandstands to shoot some more photos. Eventually, we head back to the Arena to catch up with some others before arriving full circle back at the Racing Club for the final hour of the race. By this time it is clear that, barring any unfortunate incidents, the No. 2 Audi will win the race ahead of the rival No. 8 Toyota and Audi's No. 3 sister car.

Upon entering the Club for the final time, I'm met by a few familiar faces I wasn't expecting to see. Sitting at the rail watching the race are a few guys from Turn 10 Studios, makers of Forza Motorsport for the Microsoft Xbox 360, including Kim Wolfkill, Joe Brisebois and the man himself Dan Greenawalt. I am a Forza fan so I take the opportunity to share some of my feedback and experiences with the game with him. In return, Greenawalt tells me about some of the recent developments and progress they've made on Forza 5, which is due out later this year along with the new Xbox One. After 15 minutes of so I notice there's only 10 or minutes left in the race, so I kindly thank them and let them watch the finish in peace.

As expected, the No. Audi crosses the line first, followed by Toyota and Audi. But, instead of heading down to the winner's circle to watch the awards ceremony, our group heads out to the parking lot to board our bus bound for the train station. A couple hours after leaving Le Mans we arrive back at the airport where we check in to the Sheraton for the night. After boarding the flight around noon on Monday, I arrive back in Toronto at 5 P.M. All told, after roughly 24 hours of travel by trains, planes and automobiles, and following 27 hours at Le Mans, I arrive back home in Oakville where I have to pinch myself. No, the blur that was the last couple days wasn't a dream. It was a dream come true!