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This was of
course my first time in this grandstand for the race. I'd sat there during
qualifying last year and earlier this week, but I was really pleased with out
front row seats. OK, so they weren't really suitable for photography in
the way that T34 is, but for a view of the action on the grid and in the pits,
they were perfect. The four of us were sat in much the same place as James
and Tony sat last year when I photographed them from the other side of the
circuit in T34 - directly opposite the Audi pits. By the time we reached
our seats the cars were already formed up on the grid, waiting for the first
slow lap.
Having had
very little to eat so far today, apart from some bread with Pascal's delicious
duck foie gras, I tucked ravenously into my baguette as the seconds counted
down. This grandstand and the main ACO stand next door was very well
marshaled with everyone required to remain seated at the start - well, most people
anyway - a far cry from the interlopers on the stairs and elsewhere in T34,
which has become more and more of a problem in recent years.
But all too
soon the race was underway and even though I wasn't able to snap hundreds of
photos in this stand as I would have done in T34 - due to the no standing policy
- it was actually rather nice for a change to sit back and just concentrate on
the race for a change. I was of course listening to Radio Le Mans on my
amazing Elvex Quietunes headphones that I'd bought on Tony's recommendation just
before last year's Silverstone ILMC/LMS race. And it was Radio Le Mans
that alerted everyone to Allan McNish's huge accident with Anthony Beltoise's
Ferrari just after the Dunlop Bridge an hour or so into the race. We were
sitting almost opposite one of the big screens and we must have seen the
accident replayed 10-15 times in as many minutes - and it was just as shocking each time I watched it!
At this point
I had much the same feeling that I'd had for the first time in 2010; almost a
tinge of sadness that the race I'd waited a whole year for was actually under
way and in less than 24 hours it would be all over again. Having had so
much more time this year and last to build up to the race itself it almost felt
as if it was over as soon as it had begun. Nonsense of course, but the
mind does play silly tricks sometimes. One thing was clear though from a
very early point in the race; Audi and Peugeot appeared to be running on the
most level playing field they'd ever had at Le Mans and the prospects for a
really close race were very good - even if Audi had already lost one car - and the one
with their most experienced crew.
We stayed
there in our seats in the stand for a long long time before James suggested that
it might now be time to move on. Having taken up our seats at about 2.30,
I took my last shot there a few seconds after 7 pm!
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