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Le Mans 2009 - The Tourists' Story - Page 6

Off and Running

 

It was great to be back in T34 for Le Mans again after my brief dalliance with Lagache in 2008.  I know that many people seem to think that this grandstand doesn't afford a great view firstly because it's so steeply raked (you wouldn't want to trip over on the top step, for sure!) and secondly because there is no view as such of the pits below.  But for me, it's the perfect place to watch the start of the race (and plenty after the start too!) and it's also really the only obvious place to which access is afforded to the ordinary spectator where you have an uninterrupted view with no debris fencing getting in the way.

 

Peugeot 908 #9 - Alex Wurz     Racing Box Lola #30 - Thomas Biagi     Oak Racing Pescarolo #24 - Richard Hein

Alexandre Premat goes off at Indianapolis in the #3 Audi, just minutes into the race....     He got the car back to the pits though....     It would be interested to know what he was looking down at in the cockpit here.....     ....or perhaps he was just hanging his head in shame.....?

 

I mentioned earlier that my camera had been playing up and I was disappointed to find that the problems of Friday night returned, as unpredictable as they had been before. It was strange that I had no problems at all with my short zoom lens, but no matter what I did with the longer lens, the problem kept coming back over and over again and it was really cramping my style. I pressed on with both still and video from my position in the front row of the grandstand.

Quifel ASM Ginetta #40 - Guy Smith     Bruichladdich Radical #26 - Marc Rostan     Christophe Tinseau brings the Pescarolo #16 in to the pits     Tinseau shared the car with Bruce Jouanny and Joao Barbosa     Peugeot #9. In third place at this point.

Oreca 01 #10 - Stephane Ortelli     Creation #4 - Jamie Campbell-Walter     And here comes the leader for his first pit stop - Peugeot #8     GAC Racing Zytek #41 - Philipp Peter     Peugeot #7 comes into the pits in second place for that first ill-fated pit stop....

I had a good view of course when the cars began to make their pitstops although I was unable to see the stupid shunt between the number 7 and the number 17 Peugeots. It was clear even from the opening hour that the Audis couldn't live with the Peugeots and when Premat put the number 3 car into the tyre wall at Indianapolis after just a few laps, I somehow knew, even within minutes of the start of the race, that at last, Audi's long Le Mans reign was probably coming to an end.

Corvette Racing Corvette #64 running second in GT2     The Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette #73     Oreca 01 #11 - Olivier Panis     First pit stop for Allan McNish in the #1 Audi. This is a rare photo of this car - can you see why? It has the first place marker light - sadly for the #1 Audi crew, that single light only lit up for one lap during the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours.....     And in comes the #17 Pescarolo Peugeot - a second or two later it made contact with the departing #7 Peugeot, with dramatic consequences....

The Corvette #63 follows the Team Advanced Engineering Ferrari #81 into the pits     The #63 car was crewed by Johnny O'Connell, Antonio Garcia and here, by Jan Magnussen     Snoras Spyker #85     The #81 Ferrari leaves the pits again

The #7 Aston Martin Racing Lola enters the pits.....     This car was driven by Peter Kox, Harold Primat and Stuart Hall     It was started by Primat, although Kox had set the car's fastest time in qualifying

Luc Alphand Corvette #72     Team Essex Porsche #31 - Emanuel Collard     The safety car is now out after the problem for the #7 Peugeot as it shed tyres and bodywork all around the circuit     The Drayson Racing Aston Martin #87 follows in the #89 Hancook FarnbacherFerrari     Team LNT Ginetta #6 - Richard Dean

Imsa Performance Porsche #76     JMW Motorsport Ferrari #92     JMB Ferrari #99     Back on track, still leading GT1, the Corvette #63    

The Drayson Aston was crewed by Dario Franchitti, Jonny Cocker and Lord Paul Drayson himself!     Oak Racing Pescarolo #35 - Karim Aljani     The #73 Corvette was crewed by Yann Clairay, Xavier Maassen and Julien Jousse     Guy Smith's teammates in the #40 Quifel ASM Ginetta were Miguel Amaral and Olivier Pla     And joining Richard Dean in the Team LNT Ginetta #6 were Lawrence Tomlinson and 17 year old Le Mans debutant Nigel Moore

It wasn't quite as hot in the stand as it had sometimes been, but I started to sip my water a little more frequently as the sun began its gentle climb up the rows - the grandstand was already only half full with just a couple of hours gone.  It never fails to amaze me how quickly spectators drift away from the grandstands - this one in particular.

 

Strakka Racing Ginetta #23 - Peter Hardman     The Team Advanced Engineering Ferrari boasted on it's driving strength Patrick Dempsey, an American actor. As I rarely (if ever) watch American TV, the name meant nothing to me.......!     Speedy Racing Team Sebah Lola #33     Barazi Epsilon Zytek #32 - Juan Barazi     Speedy Racing Team Sebah Lola #13

 

The #7 Peugeot was by now in catch-up mode, having spent the best part of half an hour in the pits after what was a really stupid accident in the pits     But the #8 Peugeot pressed on all the while in the lead....     The Team Bruichladdich Radical's nightmare was yet to begin.....     And Premat in the #3 Audi was doing his best to atone for his mistake at Indianapolis

 

Stephane Ortelli is still at the wheel of the #11 Oreca     The LNT Ginetta had some problems early on.....     Richard Dean pits to hand over to Lawrence Tomlinson

 

The Drayson Racing Aston Martin #87 starts another lap     Another shot of the orange Ginette     Essex Racing Porsche #31     Imsa Performance Porsche #75     Endurance Asia Team Porsche #75

 

One of the Oreca's     Team Navi Goh Porsche #5 - Seiji Ara     RML Lola #25     The big TV screen displays another accident - this time it's Stephane Ortelli into the barriers in his Oreca at Tertre Rouge     At least Premat can comfort himself now that he's not the only one to have gone off....

 

Guy Smith still driving the #40 Ginetta     Signature Plus Courage Oreca #12 - Pierre Ragues     Risi Competizione Ferrari #83     Vanina Ickz is now in the #4 Creation

 

The Flying Lizard Motorsport Porsche #80 was crewed by Neiman, Law and Bergmeister     KSM Lola #39 - Jean de Pourtales     Hancook Farnbacher Ferrari #89     Porsche overtakes Porsche - LMP2 passes GT2.....     Virgo Motorsports Ferrari #96 - McInerney, McInerney, Vergers

 

 

By this time, one car had already made a thoroughly ignoble departure from the race (and I choose the description very carefully) .  As described by John Hindhaugh on Radio Le Mans, the 'woeful' Lamborghini Murcielago of the JLOC team was retired after a single lap.  It was clear and obvious that the team never had any intention of running the car any further.  In my opinion, this was a scandalous act by a team that hadn't had the decency to withdraw the entry weeks earlier and let a far more deserving entry in.  If it were up to me, I wouldn't let this team anywhere near Le Mans ever again....  But of course it isn't.... (see 2010 race entry). 

 

 

Nick Leventis is now at the wheel of the #23 Ginetta     But Christophe Tinseau is still going strong in the #16 Pescarolo     What a start to the 2009 Le Mans race for Kolles! Narain Karthikeyan dislocates his shoulder literally moments before the start, leaving Andre Lotterer and Charles Zwolsman Jnr (here) to share the whole 24 hours driving duties in the #14 Audi between them....     The #17 Pescarolo Peugeot is playing catch-up after it's coming together in the pitlane with Peugeot #7     Mike Rockenfeller is in 3rd place in the #2 Audi     The other Kolles Audi #15, driven here by Christijan Albers

 

At speed - in the lead - GT1 leader Corvette #63     Imsa Performance Matmut Porsche #70 - Horst Felbermayr Snr and Jnr and Michel Lecourt     Snoras Spyker #85 - Bleekemolen, Janis and Coronel     The sister Corvette #64 is close behind the GT1 leader in 2nd place     The #80 Porsche again - notice the difference between this shot and no 7390 above - the car is now up to 2nd in GT2 from 3rd.... That light system is really helpful!

 

Also in 3rd place - in LMP1 this time - is Mike Rockenfeller in Audi #2     The Team Modena Ferrari #84 of Rusinov, Ehret and Mansell. For me, the best looking Ferrari in the race     The Signature Plus Courage overtakes the Oak Racing Pescarolo     The #9 Peugeot 908 - it's really diffcult to see, but I think Marc Gene is at the wheel here     Just possibly my best on-track photo of the weekend. Allan McNish in the #1 Audi - note the absence of position lights - Allan is out of the top three....

 

Aston Martin Racing Lola #008 - Jos Verstappen     Kolles Audi #15 - Christijan Albers     Tinseau has now finally given up his seat in the #16 Pescarolo to Bruce Jouanny     JMB Racing Ferrari #99 - Bouchut, Lebon and Rodriguez     Out goes the Aston Lola #008

 

This confused me for a while.... I believe this is Nicolas Lapierre in the #11 Oreca. In the ACO's Liste des Engages, they've made a mistake over the picture of Lapierre's helmet - showing Stephane Ortelli's helmet instead! Hence my confusion!     Racing Box Lola #30 crewed by Piccini, Bobbi and Biagi     BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari #97 - Malucelli, Roberti and Babini     Aston Martin Lola #007 of Charouz, Enge and Mucke

 

#009 Lola passes the AF Corse Ferrari #78     Another pass on the straight, this time by the #8 Peugeot on the #73 LAA Corvette     Refuelling time at Aston Martin.....     The RML Lola #25 shapes up to pass the #63 Corvette on the straight     Leventis is still in the Strakka Ginette

 

I finally left T34 at about 5:30 after watching a solid two and a half hours racing. You rarely have too much of a good thing, but by now my food and drink supplies had been exhausted and I knew I only had a limited amount of time before I had to start thinking about the rendezvous with the other Tourists and I was keen to get down to Tertre Rouge (if possible) or at least the area around the Dunlop Bridge (if not).