So we spent a somewhat crazy, sleep deprived, drunk, hot, sunny, long weekend at the 24 hours of le Mans.
Friday we arrived at the city at about four, to congestion. All day we’d been seeing racy cars, and the reception was of no exception, Jérémy clarkson in a ferrari included. Tickets €25 each check, camping for group of six €49 check, so far so cheap. Off to the supermarket we fill a shopping trolley with booze. I made my concerns over the lack of alcahol known, but this and a bit of soup, cheese, and dried mash potato was to be our staple for 3-4 days.
So to the track, we missed our turn off and raced along the track, and back, before finding our campsite. We were late arrivals so camped so far from the action the field was relatively empty. Still a strange site it was to see fields of tents with porsches, ferraris, atoms, tvrs, kit cars, well every boys dream, all polished on show, and being covered in dust. Some people had been there since Monday so the piles of beer bottles/cans were already geting artful.
We throw up our tents and get drinking. A quick watch of some vintage cars on the track and back to eat mash and meet fellow campers. Some crazy French guys next to us, a bit of football, Dutch blowing up plant pots, some drunken joy rides and I woke up Saturday morning, just blurred memories.
The frencies passed me some whiskey, I have a beer, eau d’vie and pastiis, an go to watch the warm up. Then after some quick food I head to the track to watch the start at three pm. I was toasted but managed to find the Dunlop bridge. It was quite exciting, but the alcahol in my system, along with the fact that I was without my chums made it less that it could have been. Still it was awesome to see these cars that I’ve read about all of my life, and for the fast ones to lap the slower some after three or four laps. This a 13.6km track. These guys were doing 3:26 laps, averaging 180kmh!
So I wonder to the camp, nobody, walk to visage arnage, nobody, bus to musanne, I necked 2l of water an chill on the back watchin the race. There are so many amateur camera people going snap, snap, snap for every car.
Finally I found the guys back at camp, alex is put for the count. We stop by the track pay an extortionate price for a cold beer and watch the cars into the night. Dad said we’d never see a crash, but we did get to watch an audi take the corner too fast, and smash backwards into the tyre barrier. I think we left after midnight, for more madness in the campsite. So several joy rides on the van, some kebabs, close calls, but the sequrity loved us with their camera love, and again I wake up in a haze.
So I started Sunday off with no booze, and check that the cars are still going. Just an escape really, as how can I not tell, being camped in the track?
I suggested that we all pack up and drive to the mulsanne corner, to avoid the rush to leave at three.
So the peugots are in the top two, a mazda goes hard into the barriers, safety car out, an Aston blows up entering the pits. It was too hot and I almost pass put. For the last three laps the cars bunch together, peugots, corvettes, audis, ferraris etc. The race is for all intents over, peurgot hdi’s first and second and sixth, audi tdi third, Aston fourth, and lolo fifth.
I rooted for aston, being british, and audi because i’m an audi driver and born in Germany. So not a bad finish, allez les bleus!
So we got away nicely, I felt sick and passed out to wake up by la Rochelle. We had a lush meal here on Ile de Re. It’s been fun, time for longfggggg sleeeeep.
Good night.