Trip to Le Mans 2013 - Updated 27.6.13. 19.12hrs

[drybeer]

Hi all.

Just got back home today after a great trip to Le Mans where we stayed at the Pistonheads / 1st tickets campsite. I had my car given a light paint correction detail before going, and it really looked good. However from the posts on Pistonheads I suddenly thought the car might look a bit "bare", and decided at almost last minute to get some stickers to liven it up a bit.

I wanted to fly the flag for RS246.com as much as I could as I never see the "official" sticker through the privacy glass on the rear window, so a big thanks to PhilT for allowing me to get larger stickers made up!

In the end I was actually quite restrained and I think the stickers were enough without being too much:

Detail and stickers photos:

http://s138.photobucket.com/user/drybee ... 0Le%20Mans

My cousin Euan and I set off on Wed 19th evening at around 7.30pm from Dumfries, and got to Folkstone at about 1.30am. Boy, oh boy, were we ready for a sleep. The next morning we took the Eurotunnel. It's not that long a journey to Le Mans however the road works currently on in Rouen really caught us out and in addition the roads surrounding the circuit from Le Mans Z.I. Sud to the actual circuit were totally jammed. Luckily we found a way out of the jam to Arnage and then back towards the Bleu Nord campsites, and got the tent pitched by about 8pm. A quick BBQ and beers later we took some photos and got to the track to watch some night time qualifying near Maison Blanche. The sound and volume of the cars at night is amazing:

Some Thurs night photos:

http://s138.photobucket.com/user/drybee ... qualifying

On Friday we go a good chance to look around the other cars on the campsite. Wow there is some rare and some expensive metal here:

Campsite pics:

http://s138.photobucket.com/user/drybee ... 20campsite


Also on Friday we had a chance to look around the entire circuit, including the start / finish grid and the pit lane. But far more interesting was the display of cars on the track from the pit lane exit up through the Dunlop curves. In commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the first 24hrs du Mans there was a classic "Le Mans Legend" from each of the 9 decades the race has been run.

And the trophy!...

Pics:

http://s138.photobucket.com/user/drybee ... %20Legends


Not really RS246 related, but the Jeep Wrangler unlimiteds being used by the Rebellion team with a very cool look, built by American Expedition Vehicles, were super cool... I quite want one. Sorry for the rubbish pic!

http://s138.photobucket.com/user/drybee ... ion%20Jeep

Oh - and I almost forgot... Do you remember the mad looking "Deltawing" from last year? Well, Nissan launched a VERY similar looking machine stating it will be in the 2014 race. Now I'm not a real Nissan fan, but I'm sure you'll agree the Nissan ZEOD is a bit of a looker in the styling dept.!

Pics:

http://s138.photobucket.com/user/drybee ... san%20ZEOD

This takes us to Saturday, and the build up to race day.

We were at the circuit in grandstand seats more or less opposite the Audi pits. Pretty good! We sat for the parade laps, and then the Le Mans Legends race! These guys were in period Cobras with hardtops, the later Cobra Coupes, a Ferrari 250GTO owned by Chris Evans, MGs, Jags, Aston Martins, an old Lancia Aurelia, a Lotus 21, a Lotus Elite, and even a Bizzarini Strada 5300 which got spun and went backwards into the barrier at Mulsanne! They were properly hooning it!

Finally 3pm and the main race time was approaching. So after a judicious trip back to the campsite to collect radios, earphones, ear defenders (to listen to radio le mans properly) and of course enough beer, we headed back to the track.

First we went on the ferris wheel when no-one else was on it. Got some good shots - I had a new 300 zoom lense for my SLR, so I could even spot the car parked back up in the campsite!:

http://s138.photobucket.com/user/drybee ... is%20wheel

After this we rushed back to the grandstand for the race. It was obviously marred by the accident involving Simonsen, and when his car arrived back at the scrutineering compound (directly opposite our grandstand) on a flat bed, the tarp blew off it. I mentioned I had a really good new zoom lense? Well I got some pretty revealing shots of the state of that car. Simonsen's condition or death wasn't reported at the track until much later, and as Pistonheads blog already alluded, the circuit customer wi-fi was defunct for most of the afternoon, so we couldn't check twitter etc. easily. Although I've got shots of the car, I'm not going to post the shots. Would be in bad taste.

We sat there until about 7pm, when we decided to go for dinner. And more beer. We were absolutely knackered at about 11pm, and although I might be ridiculed for it, we caught up on the british eurosport coverage at the campsite, and went to bed to try to get some shut-eye (difficult with 50-something race cars pelting around the track and fireworks / PHers playing loud music etc. But it was worth it to try to get some rest and head back to the track after a good full english the next morning.

Sunday had some changeable weather and great racing. Here's some random shots from throughout the race on both the Sat and Sun:

I was rooting for the Audi Sport Team Joest in LMP1, Rebellion Racing in LMP2, the Manthey racing 911 in GTE pro, and the DempseyDelPiero 911 in GTE am. So apologies if the photos mostly cover that battle!

http://s138.photobucket.com/user/drybee ... ans%20race

The result was obviously good for an Audi brand stalwart - although Toyota were definitely up there with the performance and reliability this time, and with Porsche's return in 2014 it will be VERY interesting.

We had time for a racetrack walk about after the race finish - and a visit to the excellent museum at the circuit. Some famous cars here you'll recognise. Including the 1923 winner!

http://s138.photobucket.com/user/drybee ... s%20Museum

The obvious thing to do was to celebrate Audi's victory - so - a quick BBQ and some vino was had. And beer. Before leaving the next day, and making the long journey home. Absolutely by coincidence the car turned exactly 100,000 miles as I turned into my home street - quite a milestone!

Can't wait to go again next year!

[PhilT]

Nice work Sir. Thanks again for supporting us