Rolling start

World Endurance Championship races use rolling starts: the field forms up behind a leading car through a formation lap and takes the green flag at speed, in grid order, with the classes usually grouped together. There is no standing start of the Formula 1 kind.

The choice is practical. Multi-class fields with large closing speeds and full fuel loads are safest released in formation, and the format echoes Le Mans tradition, where the race has started on the move for decades, ever since the famous run-across-the-track start was abandoned for safety.