Page 168 - Paddock Life Issue 13 ADRENALINE

Gone are the days of the infamous Le Mans start, were the drivers ran from the opposite side of the track to jump in their cars start their engines and go... fantastic to watch, but how there were not more drivers killed before they even crossed the start line is a mystery. Can you imagine trying to do the risk assessment on that today? There are not enough high-viz jackets in the world for that one... Today the cars still take their slots in a herringbone fashion on the pit wall side of the track, but it is mostly for show and today it was seriously hot on this glorious sunny day so the cars had foil heat shields over them, whilst drivers sheltered under umbrellas – quite the contrast to last year’s cold rainy grid. Once they are all out and the team photos are taken, the VIP’s and media are gradually cleared from the grid and the teams line out for the starting ceremony. This is quite a sight to see, almost military fashion, then once all the pomp and glory is done it is down to business and a grid of 60 cars, comprised of 6 LMP1 cars, 25 LMP2 cars, 13 GTE Pro and 16 GTE Am, start their engines and begin the warm up lap, once the formation laps are complete the safety car peels into the pit lane and the 85th 24 Hours of Le Mans in underway on this warm sunny day, making the noise of the 60 cars carry almost like a symphony in the clear air.
By early evening we decided the wise choice is to head back for dinner at our hotel, the Normandy Country Club, about a 40 minute drive and return to the circuit later in the evening. I squeezed the Range Rover in amongst the lines of Porsches and Ferrari’s and was glad I’d had the foresight to make a dinner reservation as this was clearly the place to be. We changed for dinner and enjoyed a quite spectacular meal on the busy restaurant terrace of the Country Club, most of the other diners were clearly Le Mans fans with their team jackets and hospitality passes.
As we drove back into the circuit the campsite parties were in full flow, certainly not much chance of any sleep tonight in the campsites. Our timing was perfect as we entered the Rebellion Garages, I asked the team manager and both cars were due to pit in the next 15 minutes, so Jenny was ushered into the now cleared garage, camera in hand.
The two Rebellion cars were leading their class, for the first time in history the LMP2 cars were actually racing the LMP1 class for position and as the various LMP1’s failed and retired the already thin entry grid for this manufacturer backed class was dwindling away. The Rebellion team raced hard, but to overcome a faulty starter solenoid the team knocked a hole in the body work so said part could be given a tap with a hammer to make the car start, this unfortunately resulted in the car being disqualified after the race had finished, which was made even worse by the fact that Piquet Jr, Heinemeier and Mathias had put car #13 on the third step of the podium, taking advantage of only two LMP1 cars crossing the finish Line and remarkably only two laps behind the winning LMP1 Porsche. Second place was the winning LMP2 class car, #38 DC Racing Oreca of Jarvis, Laurent and Tung, the tragic disqualification of the Rebellion car promoted the second DC Racing LMP2 driven by Alex Brundle, Tristian Gommendy and David Cheng to second in class and third overall. So, it really was an extraordinary race with LMP2 cars challenging the usually untouchable LMP1’s.
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