Ayse's Story - 1988
Page 2
We gradually made our way back towards the main start/finish straight, and spent some considerable time (as always), spectating from the tribunes opposite the Jaguar pits, from where I was able to photograph several of the Jaguar drivers, including Watson, Pescarolo, Dumfries, Wallace, Daly, Nielsen and Brundle.
There was generally a good feeling about the 1988 race. It almost seemed that, before things really got under way, Jaguar wereexpectedto win, and with Sauber Mercedes having withdrawn, all it needed was a spot of good luck to give Tom Walkinshaw's team the edge. That spot of luck came during the early evening when Klaus Ludwig, driving the lead works Porsche, drove one extra lap over his fuel schedule and ran out of fuel out on the circuit. Although he managed to get the car back to the pits (on the starter), the best part of two laps were lost, and, I suppose you could say that Le Mans 1988 was effectively won there and then by Jaguar #2. Quite unbelievably, the works Porsche team running out of fuel at Le Mans - I bet that brought a smile to the face of Tom Walkinshaw!
As night drew in, the familiar night-time pattern was again followed by the team, as Ian led the way, as usual, out of the garage (unusually green instead of red on this occasion), and off to the Mulsanne. Yes, we would once again take our evening meal at Le Restaurant des Hunaudieres, but with one major difference - for the first time, we would eat inside the restaurant, instead of in the barn outside at the back!
This was yet another astonishing Le Mans experience, and yet after a while it became something I just took for granted. We sat at trestle tables, eating pate, followed by steaks (from some unidentifiable animal!) and then, inevitably, a dessert involving strawberries, lots and lots of strawberries! And all the time the cars screamed past, the noise quite deafening, rendering conversation quite impossible and pointless, until a few second's gap between cars brought a moment's respite. Communication consequently became a matter of hand-signals, interspersed with occasional shouts, while several of us gave up all pretence of normal, civilised behaviour, and simply listened in to Radio Le Mans, while finishing our meals.
After last year's events, I'd been a little bit wary this year food-wise, and had (apart from the curried fish!) taken things rather easier than the others on the food and drink front. Aside from this, I had brought a pocketful of diocalm and other assorted stomach remedies, just in case! Fortunately, the dreaded bug which laid me low in 1987 (which I now suspect to have been something eaten at the Hotel Restaurant St. Michel the night before the race) thankfully didn't re-appear in 1988.
For the first time in 1988 I tried to take one or two pictures during the night. I had no tripod, and frankly knew nothing about night photography, less still night photography of cars travelling very quickly indeed! I stood and watched others at work however, and tried to puzzle out why they would cover the lens with black card, and open the shutter to the light again, as and when the cars came past. I took one or two very shaky pictures from the tribunes, and whilst they are no masterpieces, they do give some idea of the atmosphere, and, by the way, they show just how many people remained watching from the tribunes at this late hour.
Those who usually did, retired to their tents and cars at around 1.30 a.m. I didn't bother, and instead wandered the area from the Esses along to the Ford Chicane, stopping at stalls to look at the souvenirs on offer, and eventually to buy presents and t-shirts for those at home. As I recall now, aside from the obligatory t-shirts for all, I bought Toby a model of the Porsche 961 which raced in 1986 and 1987 (in the plain white livery of 1986), together with a Jagermeister Brun Porsche 956. Unfortunately, the 961 is no more, the wheels having fallen off long ago, but the 956 is still with me, having rescued it from Toby's clutches some years ago!*
(*2014 edit - sadly, now lost to the mists of time....).
1
2
3
