Le Mans 2006
The Tourists' Story
Saturday - Race Day - Early Morning
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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