I'm going to drive the Le Mans circuit!

[smarjoram]

It's the Le Mans classic event this weekend. I bought my tickets through the Porsche Club and got all sorts of benefits (own parking space with all the other porsches, grandstand and paddock entry etc.) But the best bit is - for a bit extra I could pay to do 2 parade laps of the entire circuit - before and after the race! I hope we get a chance to get some speed up.


I'm off tonight - I'll try and get some good photos.

[AirCooledExcellence]

Have fun, and make sure you get those photos!

Cheers,

Tim.
____________
1983 SC Targa

[philjohnson911]

I'm off tomorrow night after work . . . overnight ferry . . . . arrive in France 9am Saturday. . .hit Le Man around 11am. I left it a bit late to get in with all the other Porsches, so I'm in with the 'odds and sods' boys (i.e. owners that weren't represented by a club or were late in applying) . . . could be parked next to all sorts of exotica. Problem is, our campsite is about a mile away, so we might have to pitch it somewhere on the Bugatti circuit and hope for the best . . . actually we'll probably end up in a sleeping bag in the Grandstand (up to my eye balls with pro-plus).

Hopefully (doubtfully) see you there.

Phil

[atlporsche]

If you've never been there, it's an amazing place. The mulsanne is just spectacular, and the little resturaunt (next to the chinese place is very good).

sjd
ex-Cadillac LMP team

[smarjoram]

I was there once before for the normal 24 hrs - in 2001. It was very wet but still a fantastic experience. But I'm really looking forward to seeing the older cars - especially the 917's.

Must have been great to be there as part of a team.

[atlporsche]

It was a life long dream fullfilled at age 25...

all in all we spent 5 weeks in france and 1 in italy testing at Monza...talk about cool...we went out on the old banking and walked around...really great...

sjd

[smarjoram]

Fantastic - are you still involved in motorsport?

I'd love to be part of it in some way - my grandfather used to work for cooper cars - working on single seaters and also twin engined four wheel drive minis with 200Hp! It must have been great.

Still, I get a lot of enjoyment watching and taking photos - now if I could just get a press pass.

[Jadams1]

I was in France two weeks ago and drove through the town of Lemans in a Reneault Clio rented from Avis. Wish I was driving my 911SC instead. Sounds like a great event.

[Paul Franssen]

Aaargh....! I'm debating as to whether I should drive down to Le Mans on saturday morning and see if I can get in to see the 917 et.al. I don't care about showing off with the restathelot but I would feel a bit sick about missing THAT kind of action!
Does any one know if you can get entry tickets at the gate???
My pocket book is low! I retrieved my Carrera after a 7000 Euro body shop part-restoration, and just spent a long week end driving her 2500 km down to and through the Grenoble alps. Grand twisties, jolly clubmates! She ran like a dream. Nothing like a shot of 2+3 past some Renault Scenic then brake into the next turn into the tunnel on those old twisties of the (old) Monte Carlo rally and (now) Rallye de St.Marcellin. Adrénaline!!!

[atlporsche]

I am not unfortunately...travelling on a race team is not condusive to having a happy marriage. She understood, but things kinda twisted and turned.

I'd love to get back on a team, and still find myself out at the track. I'm only 30 minutes from Road Atlanta. I engineer on an ITC VW sirocco. It's only amateur racing, but I get to go in the hot pits, plus it's a day at the track for free.

last outing, I managed to get 2 seconds out of the car...with just tire pressure and camber adjustment.

sjd

[smarjoram]

You sound like a suspension/tyre artist - it's amazing what a difference such relatively small adjustments can make. There's a lot of formula 1 teams that would like to knock 2secs a lap off.

Paul - I'm almost certain you'd be able to get tickets at the gate - I did for the main event - it's cheaper too (about 30euros I think). And what a fantastic trip that was through the alps - I'd quite like to do that myself.

[Paul Franssen]

OK Smarjoram, by now you must have had your drive at Le Mans! Were you one of those similar to the 356's I saw with 4 adults crammed into them?? So, I went with my 13-year old son, we had an absolutely unforgettable weekend, slept in our mini-tent pitched up right next to my faithful Carrera, luckily the weather was perfect. Met an Englishman happening to be a member of the home-turf Automobile Club de l'Ouest, organizers of the 24 hrs race, so we got free entry into the "societaires" grandstand, the "paddock". You should see those older gentlemen, boasting great bushy mustaches, clad in impeccable blue blazer jacket and tie, smoking fat cigars and enjoying their Champagne! We didn't know the way to the circuit, and ended up following a abt. 1927 or so Bentley 4.5 liter doing 70 mph on the public roads...a grand sight! And the other cars, heuly smeuk! Each group consisted of abt. 62 cars. Old "Le Mans" style starts: a scream, cars passing on the grass, cars not starting at all... Then, saturday 23:45 hrs, the 917 started in group 5 in about 4th position in the pack of Lola T70's, Ferrari 512 BB's and other Alfa 33's (not to mention the hordes of 906, 910 and 911's). By the end of the first 8.5-mile lap, the 917 came racing down the grandstands...something like half a mile ahead of the others! Screaming 'ell !!! I'm 53 but feel like 16, now. By sunday morning, however, we didn't see the 917 again, hope to find out why she didn't again leave the pits. I told my son (who is a greater Porsche freak than myself!) that I have the feeling that, well, now we've seen a 917 driving at some speed, but it may yet be a while before we see that again, if ever! By the way, these cars were running on today's Le Mans circuit, chicanes et.al., and the 917 was doing 4min50sec laps. I believe today's actual race times (Audi) are...3min20secs. I guess they don't run the old cars at full speed. At the Le Mans circuit, there is what they call a "village' (bookshops, chip/French fried potato shops, car model shops, etc. At night it's full of people. There's a small intersection in the middle of it. You should have seen it: cars of any and all description going in the 4 directions the wind flies: 1925 racing cars, GT-40's, Porsches galore, WW-II vintage jeeps with drivers in old military uniform(ferrying officials and race-drivers to and fro), mopeds, scooters. Almost got run over by a Bizzarini sporting sharklike fins on the front wings bottoms... BTW, our Carrera was a bit like a VW Beetle compared to the absolutely exotic cars visitors came with. There were at least 300 Porsches on the P-dedicated parking, but also plenty of (replica) GT-40's, Ferraris, Lambo's, E-types galore, and anything else imaginable. Well, you get the picture: thank you, Mr. Patrick Peter (organizer of the first Classic Le Mans), gung-ho for the next one in 2-years time!

[Phil CK]

Paul, in answer to your question about why Bobby didn't bring his car back out....

They actually started the 2nd race, but only managed 3 laps before one of the front wheel bearings over-heated and then destroyed the upright.

They'd mostly fitted some spare parts ("borrowed" from the museum LangHeck... I think) when they suddenly decided it wasn't such a good idea.

One of the mechanics said to Radio Le Mans "We don't mind breaking our bits, but when they're someone else's....???"

Also, they managed a best lap time of around 4 Min 30 seconds which is about 60 seconds slower than a modern Audi R8. The main cause for the slower time is the tyres as the 917 still runs on nasty old tyres, whilst the Audis have the very latest hi-tech stuff. Now if a tyre manufacturer would make a new tyre in the correct size & profile, you'd really see a race !!


It sure did sound wonderful on Radio Le Mans, just I shame I couldn't be there in person....


PS. I think we'll see the car out racing again soon as Bobby seems to be enjoying himself too much to stop - now all he's got to do is find some replacement parts.

[Paul Franssen]

Thanks very much, Phil CK: I didn't know radio Le Mans was "running". BTW, great news that the 917 may yet run again! She was such an overpowering sight...

[Phil CK]

Radio Le Mans was running from the AutoSport site, and it was my saviour as at least I could listen to the event even if I couldn't see it !!

They even mentioned me & my site a couple of times whilst talking about 917s which was great !

[smarjoram]

Well, I did it, and it was fantastic. Not quite as fast as I was expecting but still a lot of fun - hooting at all the flag waving marshalls and blasting down the start straight. The whole weekend was an experience I'll never forget. There are very few racing events where you can get this close to the action - especially in the pits.

At various times I chatted to the owner and mechanic of a maserati birdcage, the driver of a very early Aston for whom it was the first time he had raced in the dark (made even more daunting by the fact that he had the huge supercharged Mercedes SSK behind him), I pushed a stalled Bizzarini through the paddock, and best of all I saw the 917, lights blazing, wind up through the curves and scream down the start straight. What a noise.

If you ever get the chance - go!

I'll get some pictures up soon - and maybe a bit of a movie too.

Cheers - Stefan

[Paul Franssen]

Here's a link to some 800 pictures taken by our French Club911.net president (merci Steff!). There's quite a lot of dark photo's (courtesy nighttime) but there's some jewels here and there, too (including 917 917 917 917....)

http://j.chabbert.free.fr/lemans_clas2/page_01.htm

[smarjoram]

I know it's not a porsche in the foreground but I'm dead pleased with this photo all the same...

[Big_Mac]

Stefan, that is an outstanding picture. You should consider selling it to Classic Car magazine.

It was a truly awesome event. I was running around like a dog with two dicks. There was too much to see and take in.

Did you see the red 911 speedster with a single seat cowl turn up? The driver took off his full face helmet, climbed over the top of his wrap around screen and then helped his wife clamber out from under the passenger side cover. They got a round of applause.

The 356 speedster with Vasek Polak number plate surround was very cool. Do you know who it belongs to?

[smarjoram]

Glad you liked the photo.

I'm afraid I'm not too clued up on who owns the cars and so on - I just like looking at them. Was the speedster in the Porsche club enclosure? - I noticed a black one that had its front stoved in - they obviously got a bit carried away on the journey down.

Do you have any idea about how to sell an image to a magazine? Have you tried it? Maybe I'll give it a go.