82nd Running Of The Le Mans 24 Hours - 14/15 June 2014.

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LMSCorvetteGT2
Yeah because I'm sure they're going to cry the loudest for a massive BoP change in their favor. The same one that helped them last year against Vette and Ferrari. They've cried with TUSC and I'm surprised I haven't seen anything yet after a bad outing at Silverstone.
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It's only in TUSC that the BoP sucks for them. The WEC BoP is pretty solid.
Did you forget that Porsche also walked away from the Ferrari?

I'm not a huge fan of the "Aston Martin are whiney *****" bandwagon. If you had invested millions into a race team and weren't getting fair results, you would complain too.
 
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hawkeye122
It's only in TUSC that the BoP sucks for them. The WEC BoP is pretty solid.
Did you forget that Porsche also walked away from the Ferrari?
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No, because Porsche's are walking away from everyone as of late. Not sure what the relevance is there? If you are talking about the WEC race the Ferrari actually put up a fight.

I'm not a huge fan of the "Aston Martin are whiney *****" bandwagon. If you had invested millions into a race team and weren't getting fair results, you would complain too.
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No I wouldn't, I may investigate the BoP and see if it really is that skewed, but to leave a series after one race and claim, "yep the BoP did us in, no way were we going to have a chance in America" it's a bit asinine of a claim. If it wasn't BoP that was really hurting my team all that much I'd probably work harder in the areas needed to get close to the competition. Trying to nerf everyone while hardly being touched isn't full of racing spirit. Also considering that even though one Aston did well at Silverstone, the others were beat out by the factory Ferrari, Porsche and a privateer team.

IforceV8
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/aston-martin-porsche-given-bop-adjustments/
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I wish I could say I'm surprised. Here's an idea FIA/ACO why not let the Aston go back to the original ride height and let Porsche keep their minimum.
 
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You might want to check up on that...

They've only withdrawn their 2 additional entries so as to focus on the FOUR WEC regular cars that they already had entered...

I admit that that article was poorly worded, which may have led to your misunderstanding. (Where it said "all Aston Martins" it meant "all of the withdrawn [GTE] cars were Aston Martins" as opposed to "Aston Martin withdrew all their cars", but a quick google search will reveal your misinterpretation.)
 
I'm thinking of having a go at making a track map for Le Mans that'll look like this, but will be Google Earth based so that all the Marshall posts can be hopefully pinpointed more accurately.
 
R0ssingt0n
My new passport came today along with the final payment invoice for the tickets. The excitement is growing!
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That reminds me anyone that doesn't have there passport sorted get it done quick!! Some passport offices are getting really busy and i'm don't want anyone on the phone moaning at me that it hasn't arrived yet (unless it's after the 10th of june after i leave)
 
Best thing to wake up to on your birthday :D (this is till when I leave for LM)
A4354611-4E8A-4BDB-9F43-5BB54B6BD25F_zpsyclafap8.jpg
 
Holdenhsvgtsr
That would be good so i know where to avoid at 3am ;)
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If you're thinking of trying to get down the Mulsanne in the middle of the night, you need to know a) that there's 3 metre high fences you can't see through from Tertre Rouge all the way to Mulsanne Corner, and again from MC to Indianapolis and b) a marshall point map won't include the locations of the police, who are everywhere.
 
Why is the Mulsanne closed off to spectators? I've never understood this. Are they worried some idiot will run out on the track?

Gah! It's so stupid.
 
Jawehawk
Why is the Mulsanne closed off to spectators? I've never understood this. Are they worried some idiot will run out on the track?
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Yes.

From Tertre Rouge right up to the Porsche Curves, it's public road - public road that's open to the public during the actual race weekend (half an hour after and before practice sessions and qualifying; immediately after the race). The part of the track that is race track is easy to isolate, secure and police and the rest of it just... isn't. So there's an exclusion zone and huge fences until the viewing bays at Arnage and from there up to Porsche Curves.
 
Thanks for the reply. I realise it's a public road, but I just can't quite fathom why it would be a problem to have people observing from the sideline. To put it in another way, is it illigal for someone to walk alongside the road during your average day? Perhaps the laws are very different from Denmark in that regard, 'cause here the only roads you aren't allowed to walk alongside are the highways. Unless of course you have a very good reason, like your car breaking down.
 
Jawehawk
Thanks for the reply. I realise it's a public road, but I just can't quite fathom why it would be a problem to have people observing from the sideline. To put it in another way, is it illigal for someone to walk alongside the road during your average day? Perhaps the laws are very different from Denmark in that regard, 'cause here the only roads you aren't allowed to walk alongside are the highways. Unless of course you have a very good reason, like your car breaking down.
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Maximum speed on a highway in Denmark is 130km/h. The maximum speed on the Hunaudieres has the same numbers, but in a different order.

It's simply a 3.5 mile long environment that they cannot adequately supervise to prevent total jeb-ends getting on (or throwing stuff on) the track at 3am and killing someone.
 
I remember during some of the broadcasts of the Le Mans race on Radio Le Mans they sometimes mention the marshal posts number near where theres a car stopped on track. Those who have a map with the marshal posts positions can use it as a reference as to where on track that is.
 
Standing on the straights at any circuit isn't the best idea - particularly when at the Mulsanne there isn't the high catch fences that are around the rest of the circuit. As an accredited photographer you'll often find that the majority of the straights are red zone (so we can't stand there). Think about it, if a car has an accident on a straight how often is it a big one? It's not a great plan to stand there either way.

Also, just looking at the thread title...isn't it the 91st Le Mans this year seeming it was the 90th Anniversary last year? Or am I missing something?
 
SagarisGTB
What you are missing is that the 24 hours of Le Mans was not held during WWII and in the years that followed. So while last year was the 90th anniversary, it was only the 81st edition of the race.
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Ah I see, makes sense now! Thanks. 👍
 
Now this I wasn't expecting ... Alonso will be the man dropping the flag at the start of this year's Le Mans! I wonder what this "really" means ...


Fernando Alonso, double Formula 1 World Champion, winner of 32 out of 221 grand prix and a Scuderia Ferrari driver since 2010, will be entrusted with giving the start to the 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours on 14th June at 15h00.
It is an immense honour for the Automobile Club de l’Ouest that this great champion, recently described by the Ferrari President, Luca di Montezemolo, as the greatest driver in the world, has accepted this invitation. Alonso is a true motor racing fan and although he has never taken part in the Le Mans 24 Hours, he is very interested in the greatest endurance race in the world. This honorary role for the Spaniard encouraged by his current employer also shows the strong links that exist between the ACO and Ferrari whose 458 Italias will be out to clinch more victories in the LM GTE Pro and GTE AM categories this year.
In the history of the event Fernando Alonso, who finished fourth at last Monaco Grand Prix, is the first driver currently racing to give the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Allan McNish three-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours (1998, 2008 and 2013) in 14 starts since 1997, reigning FIA World Endurance Champion, and former rival of Alonso’s in Formula 1, will be the Grand Marshal of the 2014 Le Mans 24 hours.
The Scot who scored his first Le Mans 24-Hours victory at the wheel of the last Porsche to win the race outright, and his last at the wheel of an Audi last year, will be the ambassador of the 82nd event.
McNish, who retired from racing at the end of 2013, will, among other jobs, drive the leading car, the official vehicle which leads the cars round on the formation lap, and he will pull off at the end of it giving Alonso the pleasure of unleashing the field!

Doug Fehan, manager of the competitions programme of Corvette Racing, which has won in GT seven times at Le Mans since 2001, is the heart and soul of the competitions branch of American giant, General Motors. Since Corvette’s return to racing in 1999 the American has run this team with fieriness and passion. The US make has racked up 92 victories in endurance (82 in the American Le Mans Series, 7 at Le Mans, 1 at Daytona and 2 this season in the Tudor United SportsCar Championship) plus 10 manufacturers’ and teams’ championship titles in the American Le Mans Series and 9 drivers’ titles.
Fehan is a tireless ambassador for the Le Mans 24 Hours and is viscerally attached to this event about which he talks with a matchless passion. He will be awarded the Spirit of Le Mans on Friday evening 13th June by President Pierre Fillon, a prize given by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest to all those who have served the spirit of Le Mans.
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