[LM24] Le Mans Diary Part 4

[Liz]

This morning upon arising, I sorted out the goodies that I bought yesterday afternoon and put them away neatly, leaving space in my day pack for what I will collect today and incidentally keeping everything neat until I get home. When Radio Le Mans announced that it was 8:00 I went down to the shower block, where I waited until Madame in charge decreed that it was 8:00 in France and then had my shower. As I was walking back up the campsite I heard the beginning of the Brazil – Costa Rica game burst into life and at the 5 minute mark Brazil had already scored their first goal. Breakfast and football proceeded amiably thereafter, and Brazil proceeded to the second round while Costa Rica proceeded back to Costa Rica and a firing squad. Next it is back to the grocery store for one more run and then back to the track for today’s attempt to chase down the drivers, bag a Spyker jacket, and pick up all the gossip in the pitlane. The actual racing starts tonight when qualifying goes off. Nobody expects any surprises. But if it buckets down rain again you never know. Panoz are very good in the rain if the wheels stay on the car…

THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2002

I am writing this in the dining tent, with a kerosene lantern at my right hand and Radio Le Mans coming through my headphones, and about 100 yards from where I am sitting, cars are roaring by at night practice. This is very odd but very interesting as well. I am listening to the Spyker owner talk about his car on Radio Le Mans (he has insisted on being interviewed, which is funny.) He said that the car is slow. He thinks they should be 7 seconds behind the Porsche but he is not getting there yet -- currently he is 9 seconds slower because the fastest car is either Lucas or Sascha (for a change). Nevertheless they will carry on and see if they can find some way to make the car get out of its own way. The Radio Le Mans guys thanked him politely for being so forthright and chased him out of their neighbourhood so they could go look for some drivers to interview.

I was up fairly early today to find the sun trying to shine (and eventually it did come out hot and strong) and the air a bit misty but clearly not inclined to rain. A shower and hair wash and clean clothes to get the day off right, and then back to the staff tent to find the Italy v. Mexico football game on and coffee brewing. I settled down to watch and kept my face close to the screen so as to give Fernando Totti his instructions (which he paid no attention to), as Italy and Mexico tied. By the woozy rules of the World Cup, this means both teams went through to the next series. Why they bothered to play is anybody’s guess.

Once the game was over, I went out to the track again, but today the gates were up and there were not many places where anyone without the proper documents could slither through and see anything going on. The ACO is not yet open and neither is much else. I came back to the campsite to find that some more guests had arrived, including someone who later on proved to be Takuma [fabled in song and story]. I walked up to the track with him and his young friend Liam, who is 15, and while he went up to the media room to do something Liam and I went for a walk up the part of the paddock that we were allowed to get into. Liam spotted an unguarded gate and pointed out that nobody was on the stairs, so we went up to the grandstand over the pitlane and hung out over the pits to look at the cars getting ready to go out and watch them speed away. A pair of Frenchmen were standing next to us and smoking, flicking their ashes onto the Corvette pit crew. A Marshall came out and blew his whistle furiously and gestured to them – and I told them that they were not allowed to smoke up there. They crouched down under the barrier to finish their cigarettes, and then stubbed them out on the floor. I suppose they had never heard that pit garages have a lot of gasoline around…

In fact they tell you that if you are going to lean over the garages, take off your cap because if you drop anything on the crews they will kick you out of the pitlane. Especially if you drop anything on the Corvettes …

Nothing to report about credentials, so I walked back to the homestead to find that even more guests have arrived. We had a nice dinner and it is still warm enough to sit outside and watch the racing. Karen has just come in to tell me she has put the kettle on (the propane stove in the other room) and the race has been red flagged, we think because the Goh Audi has flipped but has landed back on its wheels and has been towed back to the pits. The Panoz has also suffered a “small fire” somewhere on the circuit and one Saleen has fallen into the gravel, and apparently they just threw up their hands and just red flagged the whole circuit to give everyone a chance to be dragged off the circuit and get back to their garages. The quiet seems almost eerie or it did until the Germans began to shoot off fireworks!

Five new people will be tenting on our site tonight, and two motor homes full of Canadians from Edmonton are sitting in our compound from where they will join us for food and drink starting Saturday morning. By Saturday we will have 40 people here. The Germans are shooting off fireworks and setting bonfires. Life is beginning to resemble the carnival party that is Le Mans. And I bid you good night so I can go out to watch the cars go by and see the fireworks.

[Liz]

to be continued ...

[Es Nes]

/me wonders if we really needed four seperate posts

[iucrmh]

Why not separate postings? Makes it easier to read. I do appreciate reading first person accounts. Keep them coming.

[Es Nes]

because its pointless and stupid to make 5 posts which should be done with 1?

[Adam43]

Es, do you mean 5 threads (or topics) rather than posts?

Here is pretty much all I am going to write about my Le Mans experience this year:

I ate in the same restaurant as Alain Menu on Friday night!

[Es Nes]

yeah, something like that ... lol hopefully the 6 threads will be merged into one.

[Liz]

If it was one thread it would be too long. This way people can read it in bites.

[Adam43]

I really don't care how it is posted, but it is the same length whether it is posted in one post, one thread, or many.

One thread, but several posts would have been good. Like chapters in the same book. This IMO would have been best!

Anyway, haven't read it all yet (too long ). Good stuff though.

[Es Nes]

eh? one thread, 6 posts is too much for people to handle at time?

[Osella]

at the risk of falling into the same trap, time spent discussing the possible or actual length of threads is time that could be better spent doing something else

[Liz]

Like reading them?

[Es Nes]

nah, im more interested in acos possible new 675 rules