24 hours Le Mans this weekend

[grober]

24 Hours of Le Mans 2023 LIVE - Latest times, results and live stream with Free Practice and qualifying

Always one of the highlights of the motorsport calendar, the 24 Hours of Le Mans starts on Wednesday with the finest endurance racers in the world in action.

www.eurosport.co.uk

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[ALFAitalia]

Been a few years since I last went.....must go at least one more time before I'm too old for tents and high speed motorcycle lunacy on the way down!

 

[grober]

Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 can be found on Sky channels 410 and 411, and Virgin Media channels 521 and 522.

 

[sgregory124]

24 Hours of Le Mans 2023 LIVE - Latest times, results and live stream with Free Practice and qualifying

Always one of the highlights of the motorsport calendar, the 24 Hours of Le Mans starts on Wednesday with the finest endurance racers in the world in action.

www.eurosport.co.uk

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Will be watching as much as I can over the weekend, managed 18 hours last year. Not been in person since 2009

 

[sgregory124]

Been a few years since I last went.....must go at least one more time before I'm too old for tents and high speed motorcycle lunacy on the way down!

Same here, although I would NEVER camp again - next time around it’ll either be borrow the family motorhome or get an air bnb/hotel somewhere locally.

 

[ALFAitalia]

If I couldn't camp...in a proper tent....I would not go......rolling into the sleeping bag at 5am having spent the whole day partying and watched cars approaching you at over 200 miles per hour in the dark with they discs glowing cherry red when on the brakes at the end of the Mulsanne straight..... with a few beers on board....then trying to sleep on a surface like the moon is all part of the adventure....apparently there is racing as well...who knew!!!????

 

[GeeJayW]

We went in 2009 and 2010. Hoping to get out there again, though it probably (and regrettably) won’t be under canvas next time.

 

[sgregory124]

If I couldn't camp...in a proper tent....I would not go......rolling into the sleeping bag at 5am having spent the whole day partying and watched cars approaching you at over 200 miles per hour in the dark with they discs glowing cherry red when on the brakes at the end of the Mulsanne straight..... with a few beers on board....then trying to sleep on a surface like the moon is all part of the adventure....apparently there is racing as well...who knew!!!????

You’re not wrong about the atmosphere, sitting in the grandstand in the early hours, watching a factory C6R come in for a stop and hearing the biblical overrun is not something I’ll forget in a hurry.

But I certainly don’t miss the flooded tent, queuing for showers and toilets that were filthy and having some clown in the next pitch setting light to propane canisters a few feet away from us….

‘Adventure’ for me at Le Mans next time around will be rather more civilised

 

[ToeKnee]

Never been to the standard le mans but been to the classic many times. I'm not much for watching the racing but love the drive there, your around for a few days after and the craic whilst there.

 

[ALFAitalia]

You’re not wrong about the atmosphere, sitting in the grandstand in the early hours, watching a factory C6R come in for a stop and hearing the biblical overrun is not something I’ll forget in a hurry.

But I certainly don’t miss the flooded tent, queuing for showers and toilets that were filthy and having some clown in the next pitch setting light to propane canisters a few feet away from us….

‘Adventure’ for me at Le Mans next time around will be rather more civilised

You are only there for two or three days!!!....cant say taking a shower there has ever occurred to me!! Big pack of wet wipes, Glastonbury style......sorted!! Not to mention when you go on a sports bike a towel just takes too much space.

 

[sgregory124]

You are only there for two or three days!!!....cant say taking a shower there has ever occurred to me!! Big pack of wet wipes, Glastonbury style......sorted!! Not to mention when you go on a sports bike a towel just takes too much space.

Well, if you want to neglect your personal hygiene for 4 days, that's your lookout - I'll pass. Camping is my idea of absolute hell.

 

[ALFAitalia]

To be honest I don't ever remember seeing a shower block at LeMans.......the results of too much alcohol no doubt!

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Loving that rain !

Can't beat a good rain dance.

Great to see Caddies doing what they do best, and just a touch of German Schadenfreude about that Ferrari.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Mactech]

I can't remember a Le Mans race which has taken so long to settle down. Drivers, cars and weather all misbehaving to cause more slow zones and safety cars in the first few hours than I have ever seen!
Very difficult to get a read on the race, but sufficient to know that the Toyota cars are not going to have it all their own way this year.
Makes me rather glad I can go to bed tonight....in my own home...instead of spending it on the pit wall. I've done that 16 times before

 

[sgregory124]

Ferrari looking very strong too, just need to make sure they don’t fall foul of any heroics and get them through the night….

 

[grober]

I can't remember a Le Mans race which has taken so long to settle down. Drivers, cars and weather all misbehaving to cause more slow zones and safety cars in the first few hours than I have ever seen!
Very difficult to get a read on the race, but sufficient to know that the Toyota cars are not going to have it all their own way this year.
Makes me rather glad I can go to bed tonight....in my own home...instead of spending it on the pit wall. I've done that 16 times before

I am always struck by the differing demands of long-distance sports car racing and Formula One. In this case an 8 mile long track over a wide geographical area, the ability of pit crews to keep cars going over 24-hours rather than a mere couple-- [leading to yesterday's chaotic start where it was pelting rain in one section and bone dry in another], and racing in the dark or with a windscreen obscured by insect debris, drivers torn between getting a nap/sleep and mentally switching back on to drive at 200mph----- very much a hundred metres sprint v marathon scenario in athletic terms?

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

….. but sufficient to know that the Toyota cars are not going to have it all their own way this year.

Some years are so easy to predict

and some aren’t

 

[Mactech]

I am always struck by the differing demands of long-distance sports car racing and Formula One. In this case an 8 mile long track over a wide geographical area, the ability of pit crews to keep cars going over 24-hours rather than a mere couple-- [leading to yesterday's chaotic start where it was pelting rain in one section and bone dry in another], and racing in the dark or with a windscreen obscured by insect debris, drivers torn between getting a nap/sleep and mentally switching back on to drive at 200mph----- very much a hundred metres sprint v marathon scenario in athletic terms?

…..Except you are sprinting all the way! The average speed in normal conditions exceeds the average speed over a season of F1

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

An excellent race this year, lots of twists and turns.

 

[Mactech]

Toyota have confirmed something I already knew about the Le Mans race. How difficult it is to win it, and how easy it is to lose.
They have had a really good run of wins over the last few years, some would say without much works opposition, but they were in good shape again this year to win despite very real opposition from some great brands.
They lost the 7 car in one of the early rainstorms when they just got caught up in someone else's accident.
They feel they could have won the race until in the final hours the 8 car was hit by a large squirrel, which did considerable damage to the front of the car at 200mph! Without that, they may well have been able to stay ahead of the Ferrari.
However well prepared you are, less experienced drivers and sprinting squirrels can still catch you out.....
I can understand the stress that race can cause, it's like having a whole race season compacted into one day, especially if the CEO of the brand you are representing tells the worlds media at the begining of the year that you are going to win it!