gucom
06-23-2007, 06:07 PM
OK guys, here's my story from the Le Mans 24 hours of 2007
[for all pics, click on them for the link, then on top of the image you can change to full-size. The link to the entire photo collection:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/sets/72157600452568741/ ]
I've been to "les vingt-quatre heured du Mans" two times before (2005 and 2006), both with my dad. Had an awesome time both years, in the blazing heat, so i couldnt wait to go again. It was the same "team" this year, only my mom's bday was on the 15th (with the race starting saturday the 16th) so no going early this time...
We got on the Train de Grande Vitesse (Thalys service, in this case) in Rotterdam at 0755 Saturday morning, it was pretty nice (i'd never been on one before), you don't notice the speed that much but when you drive past an Autoroute the cars seem pretty slow :P
After a couple of hours we arrived in Paris, and had to go on the subway there to get to the station from which the train to Le Mans would leave. We had 55 minutes: getting tickets for the subway cost us 25, the subway another 20 (for some reason it just stopped for a couple of minutes, twice!) and ran through this HUGE station (paris-montparnasse/port de Orleans) in the remaining 5 minutes, JUST in time to catch the train.
The rest of the journey was pretty smooth though, and we arrived by the touring bus that would bring us back an hour or so before the race. It was parked on the "Parking Vert" which is usually for special guests, like the trailers bringing the Le Mans Classic cars, but somehow this bus company always manages to park there.
10m from the bus was a Pagani Zonda but i forgot to take pictures of it :oops: and also later i saw a McMerc but didnt take pics either.
On our way to the racetrack i saw this little group of cars though:
a Ford GT + 3 gallardos, 1 of which was a Superleggera i believe :)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1428/601615579_5f0736d96d_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601615579/in/set-72157600452568741/)
So, on to the race which is what it's all about :)
We found a spot at the Esses just in time (even though it was in a fenced-off place where we weren't supposed to come :P ), it started raining a bit but that didnt stop the race from starting (no pussy Indycars here :twisted: )
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1258/601902720_fdd3f6dbf2_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601902720/in/set-72157600452568741/)http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1313/601903744_c144401aca_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601903744/in/set-72157600452568741/)http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1138/601904720_dc2e2a6baf_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601904720/in/set-72157600452568741/)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1440/601905630_e07c8e0b85_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601905630/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Quickly after the start, it started raining harder and the nr 3 Audi spun at Tertre Rouge, requiring a safety car period. We had a bite, and went to the Porsche Curves. On the infield of the circuit, theres a Karting track which has pit boxes. From the top of those, you have a great view of the exit of the Porsche curves :D I won’t link to all the pics I took there (they aren’t that great either) but here are some:
Audi R8 on display at (one of the (too) many) audi areas
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1272/601619433_82297f008b_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601619433/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Porsche 997 GT3 RS + Ferrari 360CS (I saw the same CS in the same spot last year, only parked next to a 996 GT3… owner must’ve had a good year :P )
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1231/601620405_f5f06f3366_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601620405/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Pug leading the Audi 8) too bad this wouldn’t last too long…
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1351/601624209_c9c0c2d07c_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601624209/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Flying Lizards crazy-cool livery… In my opinion this was 1 of the best looking cars out there, retired way too early…
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1226/601630507_26254bc3a6_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601630507/in/set-72157600452568741/)
The concrete is close here… and the racing even closer!
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1114/601916034_a4893cdc99_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601916034/in/set-72157600452568741/)
AER Lola (with among others, Andy Wallace) driving to the pits over the grass, after “some” contact with the walls… both front and back pretty damaged, they got it driving again though, but it retired somewhere during the night
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1311/601919126_f4f94cc3f2_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601919126/in/set-72157600452568741/)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1021/601919982_1e53bd871d_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601919982/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Aston Martin driving off from the Porsche Curves, towards the Ford Chicanes
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1150/601630937_14692d0626_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601630937/in/set-72157600452568741/)
The Karting track I talked about… im afraid the front driver is going to get overtaken this way :P
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1434/601626251_bea3e0f1a7_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601626251/in/set-72157600452568741/)
At 20:00 I had agreed to meet fellow JW’er Goodduck at the village, by the rather disappointing Audi pillar. Thankfully Xander himself didn’t disappoint, he’s a really great guy, it was nice to be able to show him some stuff on Le Mans and give him some advice, hope to see him back there some day…
Here he is, the Man with the Messy Hairdo, seen from the new Tertre Rouge spectator banking, with a view over the Esses all the way to the Dunlop Bridge (too bad there aren’t any cars in the picture, that would’ve made it even better :P )
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1149/601923350_f99626489d_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601923350/in/set-72157600452568741/)
After standing there for awhile, we tried to find a way to get to the Hunaudieres straight, but the Gendarmes were guarding the road that went directly to it, and trying to find another way in, we were about to get lost so we put on out "sensible trousers" as JC would say and turned back.
We then went to the outfield and had a look at the esses up close where I taught goodduck the incredibly naughty trick of climbing over the barrier to walk right up to the fence, so you can take pictures without the fence on it, as demonstrated by me (picture by goodduck):
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1418/569289811_e8590e6ec0_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/goodduck/569289811/)
(To see goodduck's great topic (hes a much better narrator than i am), here's the link:
http://www.motorworld.net/forum/showthread.php?t=50871&highlight=mans There’s also a link to his photo collection, which is much much better than mine… my camera’s fastest shutter speed just isn’t fast enough for moving cars. PS Goodduck, I see your pic of the red LMP car that spun at Arnage In the night, I was there too! Only 100m further back… )
So, we were at the Esses right up to the fence:
Porsche vs Ferrari battle in GT2 :D about as classic as they come
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1069/601926562_c7f14b439e_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601926562/in/set-72157600452568741/)
After splitting up with goodduck i went back to my dad, we decided to take the bus to Arnage… waiting in line (for quite a while!), a bus finally came, but the driver apparently didn’t feel like taking us anymore, some lame-ass excuse about his shift being over… so who to I see, giving hell to this lazy disgrace for all busdrivers? Our friend goodduck! :D Nah really, he was very polite…
After waiting some more, another bus came, goodduck just managed to get on it, I was just too late. Thankfully, a 3rd bus came by quickly taking me and my dad, but it was a constant traffic jam to Arnage, because of course everyone wants to see the classic glowing red disk brakes…
When I finally got there, I didn’t see goodduck, but man the sensation of speed is even bigger at night than it is by day… I tried to sneak into a place where you can see the cars coming at Indianapolis (the most fearsomely fast corner out there) but some track marshals prevented that…
The only more-or-less good pic I managed there (I was too far from the spotlight, and as previously mentioned, the shutter speed’s too low):
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1341/601641457_9db9bcc3a5_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601641457/in/set-72157600452568741/)
After having seen enough of Arnage, we decided to go back, but since the bus didn’t come (later turned out to come after an hour), we walked back which was a good 3 or 4 kilometres (in shoes that I normally don’t walk on, the blisters were some of the biggest I ever had). Around 4:30 we arrived at the circuit again, right on time for dawn:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1295/601929552_8abb7a75ae_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601929552/in/set-72157600452568741/)
And 2 minutes later, it was already much lighter:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1045/601643107_856ba0e821_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601643107/in/set-72157600452568741/)http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1318/601643943_b912e85c46_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601643943/in/set-72157600452568741/)
These are the proper die-hard fans, still standing after 13,5 hours of racing, but it’s worth it: watching the circuit wake up is the most wonderful experience, so humbling to realise just how massive this race is, how massive the effort by the teams and drivers… also, I don’t know about you guys but I rarely see the sun come up in summer
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1286/601644929_d2cf98418f_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601644929/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Just past the Dunlop bridge, seeing the sun come up, looking at the cars driving into the Esses, and seeing the French countryside in the distance... I just had to put up a bigger link for this picture :D
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1107/601933610_ef80e7b4a0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=601933610&context=set-72157600452568741&size=l)
Some more early-morning Esses material:
2 Astons
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1114/601940262_76e2b7aa81_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601940262/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Another beautiful rising-sun-effect
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1269/601649933_e81bcd672e_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601649933/in/set-72157600452568741/)
And looking towards the Dunlop bridge from the Esses, an Aston chasing a Vette
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1332/601655805_ec97775332_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601655805/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Yours truly enjoying the view at the Esses in relative comfort
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1167/601657733_61a39cf72b_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601657733/in/set-72157600452568741/)
From here I watched the cars go through the corner, while having a view of 1 of the big screens on the opposite side of the track. From here I could see Dindo Capello’s pretty big crash at Indianapolis, leaving only 1 Audi to defend the German honour.
After I managed to get up we went back to our tour bus, on the carpark I saw the 2 new Audi coupes parked right by each other: A5 and R8
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1378/601946568_4264cce819_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601946568/in/set-72157600452568741/)
And then for the reason we went to the bus: PIT PASSES!!!! The tour operator bought these passes for € 460 a piece, and “rented” them to the participants at € 10 per hour. 24 hours * € 10 = a loss of € 220 per ticket in the unlikely case they managed to rent them in every single hour. Ticket + Travel = awesome :D (yeah that was advertising, but cmon they deserve it don’t they??).
Being right there, 2m from the action, seeing the work from that close, the exhausted people, drivers with blank looks in their eyes, the pit crew still delivering smooth stops after 19 hours of racing... an amazing insight in the Le Mans 24hours, i'll never forget it :D
So here’re the pics I took while having the most awesome Le Mans hour ever:
PSI Corvette pitstop (check out all the tape holding the front together, that’s Le Mans :D):
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1279/601947468_316e8b439a_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601947468/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Racing for Holland, Jeroen Bleekemolen behind the wheel
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1426/601953094_aff0d62326_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601953094/in/set-72157600452568741/)
New nose ready to be put on the X-markets Rollcenter Pescarolo. This car would end up in an incredible 4th place, behind an Audi, a Pug and a works Pescarolo. The nose didn’t end up on the car though, from what I could understand the old nose didn’t come off :P
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1345/601954126_d00ddab414_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601954126/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Tinkering with the enigine, Kruse Motorsport. Sadly a blurry picture
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1078/601667973_71cec2928a_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601667973/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Some pics from the tribunes directly above the pits:
Main straight
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1205/601950964_fd03ea7d41_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601950964/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Peugeot 908 leaving the pits
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1204/601663701_d107ab3053_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601663701/in/set-72157600452568741/)
In the final couple of hours it started raining, at one point even enough to bring the safety car out. Just to make sure the race didn’t have to finish under the safety car, they gave the green flag 10 minutes before the race ended.
Here’s the PSI Corvette C6.R that spun at the Esses in the rain
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1217/601958164_9685e1c1f0_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601958164/in/set-72157600452568741/)
I didn’t go the main straight in the end, so I don’t have any pics of that (goodduck does, though). With some trouble (bus losing oil) we arrived in Holland on Monday morning, ready for a week of exams 8) :D :P
Le Mans 2007 was a real endurance race, with many cars not finishing (except in GT1). In the end, the only remaining Audi R10 won, followed by the remaining Peugeot (the other one apparently had electrical problems because the car wasn’t waterproof enough) and the remaining Pescarolo. The first GT1 car came in 5th, finally giving Aston Martin a win :D in LMP2 only 2 cars were remaining, in GT2 Porsche beat Ferrari. It was a great race, cant wait till the next one.
[for all pics, click on them for the link, then on top of the image you can change to full-size. The link to the entire photo collection:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/sets/72157600452568741/ ]
I've been to "les vingt-quatre heured du Mans" two times before (2005 and 2006), both with my dad. Had an awesome time both years, in the blazing heat, so i couldnt wait to go again. It was the same "team" this year, only my mom's bday was on the 15th (with the race starting saturday the 16th) so no going early this time...
We got on the Train de Grande Vitesse (Thalys service, in this case) in Rotterdam at 0755 Saturday morning, it was pretty nice (i'd never been on one before), you don't notice the speed that much but when you drive past an Autoroute the cars seem pretty slow :P
After a couple of hours we arrived in Paris, and had to go on the subway there to get to the station from which the train to Le Mans would leave. We had 55 minutes: getting tickets for the subway cost us 25, the subway another 20 (for some reason it just stopped for a couple of minutes, twice!) and ran through this HUGE station (paris-montparnasse/port de Orleans) in the remaining 5 minutes, JUST in time to catch the train.
The rest of the journey was pretty smooth though, and we arrived by the touring bus that would bring us back an hour or so before the race. It was parked on the "Parking Vert" which is usually for special guests, like the trailers bringing the Le Mans Classic cars, but somehow this bus company always manages to park there.
10m from the bus was a Pagani Zonda but i forgot to take pictures of it :oops: and also later i saw a McMerc but didnt take pics either.
On our way to the racetrack i saw this little group of cars though:
a Ford GT + 3 gallardos, 1 of which was a Superleggera i believe :)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1428/601615579_5f0736d96d_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601615579/in/set-72157600452568741/)
So, on to the race which is what it's all about :)
We found a spot at the Esses just in time (even though it was in a fenced-off place where we weren't supposed to come :P ), it started raining a bit but that didnt stop the race from starting (no pussy Indycars here :twisted: )
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1258/601902720_fdd3f6dbf2_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601902720/in/set-72157600452568741/)http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1313/601903744_c144401aca_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601903744/in/set-72157600452568741/)http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1138/601904720_dc2e2a6baf_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601904720/in/set-72157600452568741/)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1440/601905630_e07c8e0b85_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601905630/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Quickly after the start, it started raining harder and the nr 3 Audi spun at Tertre Rouge, requiring a safety car period. We had a bite, and went to the Porsche Curves. On the infield of the circuit, theres a Karting track which has pit boxes. From the top of those, you have a great view of the exit of the Porsche curves :D I won’t link to all the pics I took there (they aren’t that great either) but here are some:
Audi R8 on display at (one of the (too) many) audi areas
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1272/601619433_82297f008b_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601619433/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Porsche 997 GT3 RS + Ferrari 360CS (I saw the same CS in the same spot last year, only parked next to a 996 GT3… owner must’ve had a good year :P )
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1231/601620405_f5f06f3366_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601620405/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Pug leading the Audi 8) too bad this wouldn’t last too long…
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1351/601624209_c9c0c2d07c_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601624209/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Flying Lizards crazy-cool livery… In my opinion this was 1 of the best looking cars out there, retired way too early…
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1226/601630507_26254bc3a6_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601630507/in/set-72157600452568741/)
The concrete is close here… and the racing even closer!
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1114/601916034_a4893cdc99_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601916034/in/set-72157600452568741/)
AER Lola (with among others, Andy Wallace) driving to the pits over the grass, after “some” contact with the walls… both front and back pretty damaged, they got it driving again though, but it retired somewhere during the night
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1311/601919126_f4f94cc3f2_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601919126/in/set-72157600452568741/)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1021/601919982_1e53bd871d_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601919982/in/set-72157600452568741/)
Aston Martin driving off from the Porsche Curves, towards the Ford Chicanes
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1150/601630937_14692d0626_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601630937/in/set-72157600452568741/)
The Karting track I talked about… im afraid the front driver is going to get overtaken this way :P
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1434/601626251_bea3e0f1a7_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601626251/in/set-72157600452568741/)
At 20:00 I had agreed to meet fellow JW’er Goodduck at the village, by the rather disappointing Audi pillar. Thankfully Xander himself didn’t disappoint, he’s a really great guy, it was nice to be able to show him some stuff on Le Mans and give him some advice, hope to see him back there some day…
Here he is, the Man with the Messy Hairdo, seen from the new Tertre Rouge spectator banking, with a view over the Esses all the way to the Dunlop Bridge (too bad there aren’t any cars in the picture, that would’ve made it even better :P )
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1149/601923350_f99626489d_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601923350/in/set-72157600452568741/)
After standing there for awhile, we tried to find a way to get to the Hunaudieres straight, but the Gendarmes were guarding the road that went directly to it, and trying to find another way in, we were about to get lost so we put on out "sensible trousers" as JC would say and turned back.
We then went to the outfield and had a look at the esses up close where I taught goodduck the incredibly naughty trick of climbing over the barrier to walk right up to the fence, so you can take pictures without the fence on it, as demonstrated by me (picture by goodduck):
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1418/569289811_e8590e6ec0_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/goodduck/569289811/)
(To see goodduck's great topic (hes a much better narrator than i am), here's the link:
http://www.motorworld.net/forum/showthread.php?t=50871&highlight=mans There’s also a link to his photo collection, which is much much better than mine… my camera’s fastest shutter speed just isn’t fast enough for moving cars. PS Goodduck, I see your pic of the red LMP car that spun at Arnage In the night, I was there too! Only 100m further back… )
So, we were at the Esses right up to the fence:
Porsche vs Ferrari battle in GT2 :D about as classic as they come
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1069/601926562_c7f14b439e_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601926562/in/set-72157600452568741/)
After splitting up with goodduck i went back to my dad, we decided to take the bus to Arnage… waiting in line (for quite a while!), a bus finally came, but the driver apparently didn’t feel like taking us anymore, some lame-ass excuse about his shift being over… so who to I see, giving hell to this lazy disgrace for all busdrivers? Our friend goodduck! :D Nah really, he was very polite…
After waiting some more, another bus came, goodduck just managed to get on it, I was just too late. Thankfully, a 3rd bus came by quickly taking me and my dad, but it was a constant traffic jam to Arnage, because of course everyone wants to see the classic glowing red disk brakes…
When I finally got there, I didn’t see goodduck, but man the sensation of speed is even bigger at night than it is by day… I tried to sneak into a place where you can see the cars coming at Indianapolis (the most fearsomely fast corner out there) but some track marshals prevented that…
The only more-or-less good pic I managed there (I was too far from the spotlight, and as previously mentioned, the shutter speed’s too low):
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1341/601641457_9db9bcc3a5_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9230767@N03/601641457/in/set-72157600452568741/)
After having seen enough of Arnage, we decided to go back, but since the bus didn’t come (later turned out to come after an hour), we walked back which was a good 3 or 4 kilometres (in shoes that I normally don’t walk on, the blisters were some of the biggest I ever had). Around 4:30 we arrived at the circuit again, right on time for dawn:
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And 2 minutes later, it was already much lighter:
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These are the proper die-hard fans, still standing after 13,5 hours of racing, but it’s worth it: watching the circuit wake up is the most wonderful experience, so humbling to realise just how massive this race is, how massive the effort by the teams and drivers… also, I don’t know about you guys but I rarely see the sun come up in summer
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Just past the Dunlop bridge, seeing the sun come up, looking at the cars driving into the Esses, and seeing the French countryside in the distance... I just had to put up a bigger link for this picture :D
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Some more early-morning Esses material:
2 Astons
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Another beautiful rising-sun-effect
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And looking towards the Dunlop bridge from the Esses, an Aston chasing a Vette
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Yours truly enjoying the view at the Esses in relative comfort
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From here I watched the cars go through the corner, while having a view of 1 of the big screens on the opposite side of the track. From here I could see Dindo Capello’s pretty big crash at Indianapolis, leaving only 1 Audi to defend the German honour.
After I managed to get up we went back to our tour bus, on the carpark I saw the 2 new Audi coupes parked right by each other: A5 and R8
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And then for the reason we went to the bus: PIT PASSES!!!! The tour operator bought these passes for € 460 a piece, and “rented” them to the participants at € 10 per hour. 24 hours * € 10 = a loss of € 220 per ticket in the unlikely case they managed to rent them in every single hour. Ticket + Travel = awesome :D (yeah that was advertising, but cmon they deserve it don’t they??).
Being right there, 2m from the action, seeing the work from that close, the exhausted people, drivers with blank looks in their eyes, the pit crew still delivering smooth stops after 19 hours of racing... an amazing insight in the Le Mans 24hours, i'll never forget it :D
So here’re the pics I took while having the most awesome Le Mans hour ever:
PSI Corvette pitstop (check out all the tape holding the front together, that’s Le Mans :D):
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Racing for Holland, Jeroen Bleekemolen behind the wheel
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New nose ready to be put on the X-markets Rollcenter Pescarolo. This car would end up in an incredible 4th place, behind an Audi, a Pug and a works Pescarolo. The nose didn’t end up on the car though, from what I could understand the old nose didn’t come off :P
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Tinkering with the enigine, Kruse Motorsport. Sadly a blurry picture
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Some pics from the tribunes directly above the pits:
Main straight
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Peugeot 908 leaving the pits
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In the final couple of hours it started raining, at one point even enough to bring the safety car out. Just to make sure the race didn’t have to finish under the safety car, they gave the green flag 10 minutes before the race ended.
Here’s the PSI Corvette C6.R that spun at the Esses in the rain
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I didn’t go the main straight in the end, so I don’t have any pics of that (goodduck does, though). With some trouble (bus losing oil) we arrived in Holland on Monday morning, ready for a week of exams 8) :D :P
Le Mans 2007 was a real endurance race, with many cars not finishing (except in GT1). In the end, the only remaining Audi R10 won, followed by the remaining Peugeot (the other one apparently had electrical problems because the car wasn’t waterproof enough) and the remaining Pescarolo. The first GT1 car came in 5th, finally giving Aston Martin a win :D in LMP2 only 2 cars were remaining, in GT2 Porsche beat Ferrari. It was a great race, cant wait till the next one.