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The race morning
dawned bright and sunny with no threat of the dreaded rain and with the ACO's
centenary celebration races to start the day off, we were keen (well, some of
us, anyway!) to get back to the circuit. On arrival we had no problems
parking in the garage rouge (unlike last year!) and we were soon off into the
circuit itself after the enceintes generales were purchased.
As always, the moment of arrival at
the circuit on the day of the big race was a moment to savour. OK, I was
here yesterday, but today saw my 21st visit to the actual race and I was
really looking forward to it.
I took a few pictures of the
"centenary" cars but our vantage point around the Dunlop chicane wasn't the best
for photography - I'm sure that fencing gets higher and thicker every year......
I still live in ever more slender
hope that someone will be able to wangle me a media pass so that I can take just
a few pictures from somewhere without fencing in the way.... Dream on, I
suppose.
Still, the weather was really fine
with the promise of the same all through the weekend. Just what the Le
Mans fanatics were hoping for!
We did suffer a spot of bad luck
around this time though - Ian suddenly realised after we'd been in the circuit
for about half an hour that he no longer had his entry ticket which had been in
one of those plastic wallets around his neck. He and Alan retraced his
steps but it was nowhere to be found. As it happens, to my surprise Ian
managed to survive without it for the rest of the weekend!
The centenary races continued.
It's always good to see older sports cars out on the track. I guess (I
hope) it must give their drivers, particularly the amateur owner/drivers a great
buzz to say they've driven at Le Mans.
After the Centenary races it was
time to retrace our steps to one of the beer tents for some much-needed
refreshment.
The races had finished about midday
and after dealing with the immediate need for something to eat and drink (I'm
pretty sure it was croque monsieurs all round (that's the trouble with trying to
remember a year's Le Mans happenings 10 months later!), the time had come for me
to leave the Tourists and to go off in search of the members of the Ten Tenths
forums for the Saturday lunchtime meeting. Now this task was just a tad
more difficult this year due to the fact that the ACO had bulldozed the entire
Village since Le Mans 2005, leaving virtually no recognisable landmarks other
than a few trees. I even had a map that had been prepared to help everyone
find the meeting, but I think it was really a case of pure chance when I
happened upon Pascal, Rob, Sam, Suze and the others already getting stuck into
the wine!
It was another great Tenths Le Mans
meeting, although it seemed quite strange not to have Fab in the thick of things
this year..... So, the meeting was over and people started to disperse.
It was time to buy some provisions for the afternoon and head off in search of
my seat in T34 to settle down to enjoy the parade!
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