Le Mans track/pits construction work for 2007 race and beyond.......

[Suze]

Originally Posted by Flat12-Aircool

I can't see all this work being finished in time for June as seems to be the plan.

The track will be finished no problem but some of the other paddock related stuff won't be ready IMO.

Track's the main thing at the end of the day. Maybe some paddock stuff won't be ready, but then it'll just be a bit like last year.

[Steve Tarrant]

As a wheelchair user, I have to say the flattening of the ground behind the pits is most welcome (the slope from the Village was okay on the way down but murder to climb back up again)!

I would also expect the majority of the trackwork to be completely pretty soon, given the FIA & FIM events scheduled to race at LM.

[Happy Snapper]

Originally Posted by Steve Tarrant

As a wheelchair user, I have to say the flattening of the ground behind the pits is most welcome (the slope from the Village was okay on the way down but murder to climb back up again)!

I would also expect the majority of the trackwork to be completely pretty soon, given the FIA & FIM events scheduled to race at LM.

I'm out there for the Moto 24 so will report back

[Bentley03]

There's an update on Endurance-Info. The new pedestrian tunnel at Tertre Rouge is now covered and the new profile of the corner is clearly visible. And the new paddock area is all but finished.

[Happy Snapper]

Yes had spotted that, from the pictures it looks as if the new tunnel into the paddock is finished too, I'll have a good look around next month and post some images when I get back.

[The Badger]

Hard to tell exactly what they have done with Tetre Rouge . It might be quicker but I find tha hard to believe with the currant trend for slowing corners down ?

[kdr]

Originally Posted by The Badger

Hard to tell exactly what they have done with Tetre Rouge . It might be quicker but I find tha hard to believe with the currant trend for slowing corners down ?

i've had a look at my pictures from there over the years and although they're a little "arty" it does appear that theres perhaps an extra 5-10 yards of gravel trap on the outside, and the apex of the corner on the inside looks like it has definitely been pulled back, elongated and softened a bit, so i'd say yes it does look like this corner will be a little faster.

[Justin Moran]

I'm doing a whirlwind weekend in May, so I'll get a look at the changes however briefley, I'll try to get some snaps to show with a month to go to the event.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by kdr

.....so i'd say yes it does look like this corner will be a little faster.

I guess we have to regard that as a welcome surprise amongst all this largely unnecessary change.......

[kdr]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

I guess we have to regard that as a welcome surprise amongst all this largely unnecessary change.......

ah but you've been away so long ayse you'll not have heard about the tertre rouge chicane?










just joking.

[Aysedasi]

I may have been away a while Ker, but I have tried to keep my wits about me....... Any more chicanes and they might as well run the darned thing on the Bugatti.......

[Bentley03]

Update with photos on Endurance-Info.com........

[Bentley03]

And 22 more photos on LeMans.org.....

The 9 new garages appear to be close to completion and the 'new' Tertre Rouge is really beginning to take shape.

I'm a little bit suspicious about the tall poles in this picture. Is Tertre Rouge going to be floodlit (I wonder)?

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Bentley03

And 22 more photos on LeMans.org.....

The 9 new garages appear to be close to completion and the 'new' Tertre Rouge is really beginning to take shape.

I'm a little bit suspicious about the tall poles in this picture. Is Tertre Rouge going to be floodlit (I wonder)?

Or are they the supports for the extra-high, totally opaque debris fencing.......


There still seems to be a lot of work to do in not very much time......

[AllonFS]

...but of course Ayse, the ACO always have a rush on to finish their works! I'm sure one year that Loeb's rally skills will be really useful when the track is half dirt.

[Pilgrimage]

Floodlighting there would be awfull- please no. May as well run the race during the day on an oval if they're not carefull. Soon there will be but memories left of the nostalgia!

[bernard b]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Or are they the supports for the extra-high, totally opaque debris fencing.......

first I found this funny
then I thought they really coud do such bad things ...

what annoys me more, is this picture : seems to me the team's welcome area will be closed for us, ordinary (paying) spectators

[Aysedasi]

I've only occasionally got into the paddock itself. What do you make of this then? Seems to be alongside the pavement of the road running down behind the paddock? I just can't work out the purpose of that.......

[Pilgrimage]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

I've only occasionally got into the paddock itself. What do you make of this then? Seems to be alongside the pavement of the road running down behind the paddock? I just can't work out the purpose of that.......

Perhaps to make it easier for traffic to move there? It usually is carnage with cars, bikes, quads with tyre trailers and hundreds of people around that little bar there.

[Aysedasi]

Could be - simply to keep pedestrians on the pavement instead of wandering all over the road (as usual)?

[djb]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Could be - simply to keep pedestrians on the pavement instead of wandering all over the road (as usual)?

that makes the most sense I'd say

[djb]

Originally Posted by AllonFS

...but of course Ayse, the ACO always have a rush on to finish their works! I'm sure one year that Loeb's rally skills will be really useful when the track is half dirt.

[bernard b]

more tertre rouge pictures on this page
no more trees and high fence .... appears very sad
only good point: a rather good view of all the track,maybe a bit more of the Mulsanne straight

[Aysedasi]

Somehow it looks quite narrow and - even bumpy? Must be my eyes..... I suppose there's some good reason for it all. Makes me sad though.

I sometimes have this thought of sitting in HG Wells time machine (remember the 1960 movie with Rod Taylor) where George goes forward in time at speed and everything around him collapses and is rebuilt..... I just wonder how far that journey would need to be at Le Mans to find something completely unrecognisable to us today.......?

[djb]

Ayse, your comment makes me think of last summer, I went to a race track where I had raced motorcycles over 20 yrs ago. I expected big changes (I knew they had extended the track alot) but was very surprised to find that the original bit I raced on was still the same, it was simply a smaller loop now, as they have designed the track to have multi layouts (like most tracks I guess) and when I was there, there was a BMW club doing a initiation track day and driving on the same loop as I remembered. It was rather odd standing there watching them on track and reliving racing memories--a nice surprise as I really had been expecting the HG Wells effect!

I may be being naive, but given the recent changes to LM (meaning, the drastic stuff going back 15 years), I would hope that even in 20 years it won't be that different--start up another thread in 2027 and we can compare notes...

wouldn't you think that though that changes every so often make the whole event more interesting, just as the car regs get juggled around, it mixes things up and keeps thiings interesting. ("heretic, heretic!" cries bounding over the pond....they'll probably hit in about 6 hours-its snowing/rainy/gusts up to 70 klicks today so I'll have to really listen!)

cheers