I've always considered the 24 hours of Le Mans as kind of the Olympics of auto racing. Car crazy and wide eyed lunatics from all over the world gather in a small town a couple hours outside of Paris and literally fight each other for 24 straight hour... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Good to visit Le Mans anytime of the year - couple of fine museums and you can drive on the track (which is, of course, mainly just local public roads). We usually stop over in Le Mans on the way to Cognac and the Circuit de Rampartes in Angouleme. There's a Best Western called La Foresterie - if you stay there you can hear cars and motor bikes driving on the race circuit at ridiculous and illegal speeds in the small hours of the morning. BTW - that's not a clever thing to do as the French police can fine you big bucks on the spot, confiscate your vehicle, put you in jail or do pretty much anything they like......
When I was stationed in Germany, there was a group of us that would take several days leave and go to Le Mans.
Le mans is an automotive experience like no other. I first went in 1967 when I was living in France to witness the GT40 Mk IVs demolish the might of Ferrari. Driving around the track to various viewpoints gives you a great spectator experience and the view of the cars racing at night from on top of the Ferris wheel is spectacular. My favorite eatery is the Restaurant Genissel des Hunaudieres, right on the kink and hump of the Mulsanne straight just where the faster cars go airborne. There are no more than a dozen feet separating you from the armco safety barriers and the track. The sounds of the cars screaming through the night is unforgettable.
Got through part one thus far and I can't wait to see the rest! I just started getting into racing like the 24 Hour of Le Mans a few years ago and it always excites me. Those early short Stroke 283's (and 265's) were the Boss Hoss.
You should it's a unique experience, trying to sleep, with the thunder of cars hurtling past, trying to stay awake to see as much as you can..... one of the best parts is 4 o'clock on Sunday with a cold beer and SILENCE, then you can start to remember what it was all about. I have been lucky enough to see the race 3 times and one classic. . .
Racing balls out for 24 hours straight is the ultimate test of a race car in my opinion and Le Mans is on my "bucket list". I'll never forget seeing this... Not to be outdone... Porsche at Road Atlanta
I got to watch a bit of it on TV Saturday before heading to the swap meet and after getting home. I got up plenty early enough Sunday to see the finish and forgot to turn on the tv. I think it is one of those things a guy needs to experience in person at least once.
For the locals the most important thing is the fun fair. If you're coming over from the USA and want to spend time with petrolheads rather than French Chavs, then post on the UK NSRA or Pistonheads and see if you can tag on to a group of those guys camping within the race track. I went a few years ago with a bunch of Caterham 7 owners - they had it all sorted with a kitchen and a support vehicle, toilets etc. We had a great time.
BTW - don't forget Le Mans Classic. Held in July every other year cars are run in the following age classes; 1.1923-1939 (pre-WWII) 2.1949-1956 3.1957-1961 4.1962-1965 5.1966-1971 6.1972-1979 Cars run on the full circuit and are raced without consideration for their age or value. Might be an even better bet for a US HAMBer coming over.
I drove the rental car on the Mulsanne straight and we checked out the Le Mans Museum at the track a few years back, unreal history. Beautiful country side and a must see if your in France. 60'
The 67 race that Weasel referred to is the only ALL-AMERICAN victory at Le Mans; American team drivers in an American car prepped and sponsored by an American company. Pscott
I no speaka de Franche so I go to the vintage races at Mosport here in Canada. I have also heard that Watkins Glen has a great vintage weekend also (hope to make it there this year myself..never been there yet). Look up the closest roadrace track and see what they have to offer.
I had the absolute pleasure to share table with Silk Cut Jaguar driver Win Percy at Goodwood festival of speed a few years ago. The stories he told with him getting airborne flat out on Mulsanne straight was amazing, and a true gentleman. I just googled this from the author Paul Paker When I interviewed Win and Tony Southgate for my Jaguar at Le Mans book some years ago Win told me that he only survived the Mulsanne crash (caused by a delaminating rear tyre) due to the immense strength of the Southgate designed tub (who confirmed that it could have been re-used after repairs to its corners). The cars carried tyre sensors concerning temperatures but these were no longer working properly because they had become covered in molten rubber and general detritus, as noted in Doc Knutsen's post. So Win had no warning until the tyre exploded at 200+mph although trackside marshals had seen sparks coming from the back of the XJR-8 (chassis 286) as it exited Tetre Rouge. Win recalled that he only had time to register that the car was becoming airborne from the rear and thinking 'you're going flying Win'. He let go of the steering wheel and assumed a tuck position and shut his eyes briefly. When he opened them all he could see was the night sky, then some tree tops! The first impact was massive, the second less so and the car then slid down the road on its side gradually shedding speed, wearing a hole in Win's helmet. 'I could feel my head getting hot with the friction' Win recalled in 2000. All that was left was the centre section, minus the driver's door. A footnote to this miraculous escape was the fact that the year before Jo Gartner had died when his Porsche hit the double layered Armco that in 1987 had become triple layered. Additionally it transpired that Tom Walkinsaw had told Win that he would be qualifying at Le Mans but probably not racing. This it turned out was because he had had a dream premonition that Win was going to die at Le Mans and when he returned unscathed to the pits TWR had a distinctly ghost like pallour. As to pictures I used one in the book showing the car with Lammers before the crash but I could find none of it post accident in situ. Otherwise I used the colour pic you've presumably seen of the tub at the factory afterwards.
For those who don't want to (or can't afford to) travel all the way across the pond, Daytona does one hell of a 24 hour race too....just sayin.... I watched the race this year and was floored when 4 of the 5 Peugeots blew their motors leaving Audi to stroll to the win again. I wonder what happened to the Pugs, since even the privateer entered car did the same this as the factory cars did..... The same cars run shorter, 6 hour events at Road Atlanta and Sebring, among others. The Watkins Glen historics are fantastic, also the historics event at Elkhart Lake if wonderful, both of those tracks are fantastic road courses out in the woods, with great viewing venues, lots of elevation changes and are really, really fast, long tracks. I've driven both in my OT MINI Cooper.... I have a friend who lives in Le Mans, and will enter his C type Jaguar in the historics this summer, I hope to make it there next year.....might have to hit the Lotto first tho.....
Hell, I will most likely never make it to Le mans, but I can always put in this dvd, crank the volume up, and dream--- Steve McQueen's Le Mans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zhDKFhfEgg
Lance had the car there this year, and John Fitch as well to commemorate the anniversary! The car was recently restored by another friend, Kevin Mackay, and it is truly awesome. What better way to celebrate than ship the car and Fitch over for some track fun? Awesome stuff. I know Bruce wanted Lance's car real bad, but his father, Chip, had been promised the car for a long time, and it means the world that it is in the Miller family history now!
To be honest, the only thing that bummed me out about this past weekend's running was that none of the American teams used the traditional American racing colors of white or silver and blue... I mean, team corvette was yellow and black... Come on fellas... Past that, I loved the race. In fact, I only missed a total of 6 hours. I was glued to the TV.
John Fitch is truly amazing.I've been doing a lot of research on him lately,so if you start running out of ideas,he would be a great subject.
I took leave from my Army duties and drove my then new 1300cc Alfa GT Junior to the race in 1970. I left in the AM and drove the little Alfa as fast as it would go for about 18 hours, only stopping for gas, full strength Coke and cookies. I camped next to a guy from Australia and two farm kids from England. We got SO drunk. We made the practice sessions each night and then listened to the Germans and Brits argue over the World Cup matches. Great fun. The race was rainy and we tied one of Uncle Sam's best OD ponchos to the fence to make a lean-to and sat on my Army air matterss to keep dry. We were just down hill of the Dunlop tire before the esses and the carnival and vendors were behind our backs. I had no idea McQueen would be there, but I'm sure glad he made that movie with me in the crowd someplace! Next time I go, I'll be in my hot rod. And have a softer / drier place to sleep. I have some Ektachromes from that weekend someplace... Gary
Le Mans is definitely one of my Bucket List destinations. I'm a bit loath to admit that I really never appreciated road racing until I played a Sega Dreamcast game called Test Drive: 24 Hours of Le Mans, back in the 90s. That's right a dog gone video game! It's hard enough to hit the apex just right in a video simulation, I can't imagine what it's like in real life. It takes a lot of talent and concentration to hit every corner just right for hours at at time. Add to it the fatigue and sensory overload and I find it amazing these guys can keep it on the track for any length of time. I'll be very happy to just be a spectator of this race some day. Thanks for the videos Ryan.
I've had the pleasure of talking to Mr. Fitch a few times over the years at Lime Rock. A true gentleman and hero (P51 Mustang jockey in WWII). In adddition to his racing career, he invented the water filled safety barriers you see on just about every major highway as well as produced his Fitch Phoenix Corvair-based sportscar that he still drives today. When he was well into his 80s, I watched the vintage racecar he was driving take an excursion onto the infield after the downhill onto Lime Rock's main straight. He quickly collected the car up and returned to racing ... a feat many racers half his age could never accomplish. Here's his bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fitch_(racing_driver)
Actually, the first time an all American team kicked butt at LeMans was 1921, when Jimmy Murphy's Duesenberg was completely dominant. It was a great story: the French spat on him and they tried to change the rules mid stream. If I remember correctly, Ettore Bugatti was so impressed he bought the car and copied the engine design, since he couldn't do better himself.
My son and I had the pleasure of meeting John Fitch a few years back in Lime Rock CT. Amazing history. Thanks Ryan. Slim
Whenever the terms "American Exceptionalism" or "The Greatest Generation" are mentioned,his name always comes to mind,right after my grandparents.BTW,both of my grandfathers were big road racing fans and I owe a big part of my Corgi collection(and my love of road racing,kustoms,and airplanes to them) As for Le Mans,I thought it was cool that the GT1 class was won by a 10 year old Saleen.
As a kid Le Mans was the race that inspired me to become an official at Watkins Glen. I was a corner captain in the boot for the first ever 24 hour race there. The Firestone Firehawk 24. Never got much sleep at Watkins not to mention that over the 16 years there I worked an average of 10 weekends a year. At the end of our officiating years my wife and I were FIA observers in Montreal for the F-1s. We saw an awful lot of good races and Le Mans was the one we missed. Thanks for the memories and all I have now are old Ford flatties and one Chevy pick up to play with. Dang, I do like this Journal.
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