Aysedasi's Le Mans

Le Mans 2011 - Ayse's Story - Page 16 - Sunday

The End of Another Wonderful Le Mans Night

After getting back to the cars we made the short journey to Mulsanne Corner.  Tony had woken from his semi-slumber at Arnage feeling a little worse for weather in the tum department.  As those who have made the journey before will know, the walk from the car park to Mulsanne Corner itself is quite a long one and Tony was keen to use the facilities once we got there!

As we walked along the road under the trees we were surprised to spot our French pal Pascal standing watching the race, near to a small turquoise tent in which his children, Vincent and Amandine were presumably still asleep.  We had a good long chat with Pascal as we walked towards the corner and the coffee and croissant stall which was just opening.  It was good to see him again; he is such a good friend to the Ten Tenths members at Le Mans - the English in particular!

After the coffee and croissants were consumed we said our farewells to Pascal and I took up station overlooking the corner for yet more photographs, snapping away until just before 8 am.  The sun was now fully up and shining and the intense cold of the night was at last beginning to ease.  This had been my 26th night at Le Mans and I can say without hesitation that at 4 or 5 am, it was the coldest I have ever felt at Le Mans, even on the thankfully relatively rare occasions when it has rained during the night, as far as I can remember it has never been this cold. 

As the race went on it continued to be plagued by incidents and although none were as extreme as the two Audi shunts, another did claim Magnussen's leading Corvette in GTE Pro.  But the race at the front of the field between the singleton Audi and the Peugeots remained as enthralling as it had throughout the night.

Sadly for Tony, his stomach woes were very plainly getting worse.  I'd taken my fill of photos at Mulsanne Corner and when James suggested that if we wanted to take a quick pit-stop back at the hotel, primarily for Tony's benefit, now would be a good time, I was quite happy to take a break.  We still had that 15 minute walk back to the car and then the half-hour drive back to the hotel but I felt much happier breaking off from the race at this point than I had last year when we had departed Mulsanne Corner at about 5.15. 

It was actually quite comforting to sit in the car resting and warming up again after so long on my feet.  Don't get me wrong, I simply adore the night at Le Mans and couldn't even begin to imagine missing it, but the surprising cold of the night just gone had taken it's toll and even that half-hour of relative comfort was a bit of a life-saver. 

Back in the hotel I had a quick wash to remove a full day's worth of dust and grime and, most important of all, the teeth clean!  I knew it would be the worst thing I could do to actually lie down on the bed so after a quick change of underwear and t-shirt, I made my way back out of the hotel to wait for James and ready for the journey back to the circuit.