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Everyone
had been talking about the changes to the corner and the viewing area at Tertre
Rouge on
Ten Tenths
– it would have been almost unforgivable not to go down and take a look, even if
I was sure that the view for the amateur photographer was likely to be pretty
poor – how wrong was I?!
This being my 22nd night at Le Mans,
not being as fit as I once was I’ve become a little more conservative about my
night time wanderings. I really must try and lose some weight and get myself a
bit fitter for 2008! But it was dry and relatively cool so the walk wasn’t so
bad. Of course, I stopped here and there to look for good places to set up the
tripod, but soon realised – there just aren’t any left…… On the dawning of this
realisation
I came to the conclusion as I stood overlooking the Esses that this would be the
last year I would bring a tripod. There just wasn’t any point to lugging it
around all night just to take a handful of shots, none of which really justified
the extra effort. Those famous and evocative light trail shots are now a thing of the distant past
for the amateur photographer at Le Mans - there just isn't anywhere left (in my
opinion) where you can get those shots any more.
As I walked towards Tertre Rouge, the enormity
of the changes, particularly to the spectator area really hit me. I had seen
the photographs on the ACO site, but there’s nothing like seeing these things
for real. As I had thought, the changes forced spectators to pass inside
the circuit, as the view from the outside looked was even poorer than before, but once through the
new large well-lit underpass (quite a difference to the old one!) and up onto
the banking, I soon realised there was just a chance that I could shoot over the
debris fencing. After a few shots I saw there were disabled areas which, because of the concrete base to the
railings, would give me about another foot in height – just perfect to lose the
fencing altogether!
As many of you know, I’ve have not been a fan of
the changes the ACO have made at Le Mans, from the chicanes on the Mulsanne, the
run-off areas at Indianapolis (which have ruined the corner for the spectators)
to the almost sacrilegious destruction of the quintessential Le Mans view on the
run-down to the Esses from the Dunlop Bridge, but here at Tertre Rouge I have to
grudgingly admit that the ACO
seemed to have finally got it right. The drivers were saying the corner was
faster – the lap times supported this and it certainly looked faster to me – and
the view for the spectator is (at least) very good indeed. So well done the ACO
for thinking of the spectators when designing the changes to the corner.
I only wish I’d got down there sooner as my
first photo was taken at 3.45 a.m. Thankfully the rain was still holding
off although the track was still damp and I was able to enjoy a great time
watching from here, taking photos and listening all the while to Paul and co. on
Radio Le Mans. Right then, at around
4 in the morning at Le Mans – as near to perfection as it can get. (Well,
take away an Audi or two and it might have been better……
Time always flies when you’re having fun and I
was keen to go up to the Esses on the inside as it appeared that the new
spectator banking stretched all the way there as well. Just before 4.30 a.m.
with the dawn just beginning to arrive, I found myself in the spectator area on
the inside of the Esses, taking pictures through the gap in the fencing that I
knew was there (having found it in 2005!).
But I was getting pretty tired by now and I knew
that I had a long walk back all the way around from there, past Tertre Rouge
again and up to the main spectator areas near the garage rouge, so at 4.50 a.m.
I started the walk back. I had hoped to grab some more refreshments when I
got back to the Village but there was nothing much to be had. As the light
truly came up around 6 a.m., I grabbed myself a cup of that alarmingly strong
French coffee which jolts the brain and gives you a brief energy boost! With
Ian intending to arrive about 7 a.m., I made the fatal mistake of sitting down
and then spending half an hour as a nodding dog, desperately trying to stay
awake. I just about succeeded, thanks only to the efforts of the Radio Le Mans
team who continued to keep me royally entertained…
Ian arrived with Robert and Jonathan shortly
before 7 a.m. and we indulged in another life-saving coffee before walking
around to the underpass near Maison Blanche (the existence of which I seemed to
have completely forgotten about until then!) and over onto the tribunes. It was
turning into a pleasantly warm morning and I took a few more photographs from
here, mainly to stop myself from keeling over and falling dead asleep!
It was while we were here on the tribunes that
one of the most significant events of the entire race occurred when a wheel fell
off the all-conquering #2 Audi of Capello, McNish and Kristensen, so ending that
car’s race. I was both disappointed (primarily for Allan McNish) but also
encouraged as this gave the chasing pack some hope.
But the
time soon came to head back to the car and, as usual, for me this was the most
difficult task of the weekend. From the tribunes back to the bottom of the
garage rouge is only a 15 minute walk, but when you haven’t slept at all and
your legs feel like they belong to someone else, it’s more like a 5 mile yomp…….
Soon though we were in the car and on route back to Le Cheval Blanc for
breakfast.
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