Posted by Richard | Filed under Le Mans 24 Hours
As I type this people are arriving at the gates of the Travel Destinations/Radio Le Mans private trackside campsite at Le Mans. The cars are already out on the track for the free practice session so all guests are greeted by the fantastic sounds of Le Mans.
The Le Mans campsite team are all in place in their very attractive shirts (see above photo) and finally it feels like Le Mans is here.
Although it is early, out on the track the Peugeots are putting down a marker by setting the 3 fastest times so far. Even the 4th car is the Oreca Peugeot. So the gauntlet has been thrown; “Come on Audi, have a go if you think you are quick enough!”.
Elswhere, the famous names of Mansell, Alesi & Fisichella are all treated as Le Mans rookies, and so have to complete at least 10 laps in their respective cars to be able to start the race. The Le Mans 24 Hours is a great leveller.
back in the camspite tents are going up and the time to beat from tent to bar has just been set by Andy, although it is a record sure to be broken as more guests arrive across the next couple of days.
I think the stand promoting the Nurburgring 24 hours looks great. Residing in a corner of the marquee, sure to be the social centre of the campsite, it really jumps out at you.
The rain is currently holding off, so all is well both on track and off. Fingers crossed it continues.
Welcome to Le Mans, one and all.
Read more | No Comments | June 9th, 2010
Posted by Richard | Filed under Le Mans 24 Hours
The Le Mans 24 Hours 2010 may well go down in history as another battle between the diesels of Peugeot and Audi but there are many other exciting battles to be fought throughout the grid.
In LMP1 the battle to be the first petrol car could be very exciting. Aston Martin Racing will be looking to repeat their success of 2009, but they look as if they will be pushed hard by Drayson Racing, who have shown that they have the speed at Sebring and Paul Ricard. Many eyes will also be on Nigel Mansell and sons in their Ginetta Zytek, but more likely challengers for the petrol title are the Lolas of Rebellion Racing. The absence of Pescarolo from the LMP1 class this year will be a big miss for many race fans.
It looks to be another close battle amongst the LMP2 class. The driver line up of David Brabham, Marino Franchitti and Marco Werner looks impressive for the Patron sponsored Highcroft Racing team and they will be fighting hard to finish ahead of two Oak Racing Pescarolo-Judds and the British Lola of RML. UK racing fans may also like to look out for the other all British driver line up of Nick Leventis, Danny Watts and Johnny Kane at Strakka Racing.
The Corvettes from Luc Alphand may well dominate the small LMGT1 class in 2010, although with Aston Martin driver Tomas Enge dropping down from LMP1 in 2009, the DBR9 of Young Drivers will be pushing hard. It will be interesting to see how much impact the Ford GTs and the Lamborghini Murcielago from Japan can make this year.
Perhaps the most competitive class in 2010 will be LMGT2. The Porsche 997s and the Ferrari F430s have returned to fight it out. The 2 Porsches of Team Felbermayr-Proton will be up against the 2 Ferraris each of Risi Competizione and AF Corse. The GT2 field has been strengthened this year with the additions of 2 Corvettes, 2 BMW M3s, an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, a Spyker and the easily recognisable Jaguar XKR. The BMW Motorsport team arrive at Le Mans following success at the Nurburgring 24 Hours, whilst the Jaguar RSR team have been featuring in the American Le Mans Series with mixed results. The Aston Martin of JMW Motorsport may well be the dark horse in the field with experienced British drivers Rob Bell and Tom Sugden alongside Bryce Miller from the USA.
All will be dreaming of a podium finish come this Sunday afternoon.
Read more | No Comments | June 7th, 2010
