Speaking to ERR at the parade ahead of the great race  at France Circuit de la Sarthe , which starts Saturday afternoon, ending exactly 24 hours later, Rump said: "It certainly makes a lot of noise. You also have to keep energy reserves so that there is still something left on race day. But it will be confusing."

Rump will be driving for the German team Proton Competition, and as noted is competing for his second time in Le Mans.

"As I said before, this should be blazing the trail for others. The next generations, and why not over the next few years as well," he said. 

"There could be more Estonian drivers to follow, and the grassroots could also see that this is a viable career path to follow."

For the meantime, Friday's parade was a more fun affair, with drivers being passengers for once, doling out goodies, signing autographs, appearing in selfies and so on.

"This is awesome and will go down in the history books as one of the most awesome Le Mans parades ever," he added, noting that attendance was around 300,000 people – or equivalent to nearly one quarter of the Estonian population.

Immortalized in the movie of the same name and, more recently, "Ford v. Ferrari", the formats and categories of racers have changed down the years, but the underlying principle is prototype sports cars, which can be either with closed or open cockpits.

Rump and Proton are racing a Porsche 911 RSR-19, while one of his two co-drivers is more famous in the wider world – Irish actor Michael Fassbender.

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