|
We had agreed beforehand that we weren't going to
hang around for the podium celebrations, bearing in mind the length of time it
had taken last year to get out of the car park. So we saw out the finish
and watched the cars over the finish line.
We quickly made our way out of the grandstand and
over to the car park. It was a good move - very few others seemed to have
the same idea, so much so that we were out of the car park and on our way in
just five minutes or so. In fact, it was an astonishing getaway this year,
in contrast to 2011 and it saw us pull into the car park at our hotel at 3.40,
less than three quarters of an hour after the race had finished. And we
thought we'd stolen a march on Tony, but he arrived only ten minutes later.
So, the race was over, but there was no thought of
disappointment yet, the only thought was of having the best shower of the year
and a couple of hours of rest before going out to get something to eat. It
was important of course not to fall into a deep sleep as if I did I knew I could
undoubtedly sleep through until Monday morning! We were joined at the
hotel by Julie, James' cousin and her husband Andy who had been unable to get to
the race this year, but as they live in France for much of the time, they came
over to join us for dinner.
You'll remember that James and I had eaten at the
Hippo Grill on our first night in Le Mans the previous Sunday and we were headed
there again for our meal this evening. It was good too, including the
mandatory foie gras and creme brulée at either ends of the meal! All in
all, a very pleasant way to round off our last evening in Le Mans and a
relatively early finish meant a good early night and some seriously well-earned
sleep.
|
