Aysedasi's Le Mans

Le Mans 2016 - Ayse's Story

Page 16 - Sunday 19th June

New Adventures at Indianapolis

If truth be told I was by now itching to move on.  Having had our time at Arnage ruined by the weather on Thursday evening, I wanted to get out there particularly to see what the view was like from the new spectator banking at Indianapolis.  So having taken my last shot from the grandstand at 2 am we made our way back to the car (to which Allon had retreated earlier for some shuteye).  Unlike when we left Parking Blanc on Thursday evening to make the same journey the traffic was very light and we arrived at the main car park at Arnage about half an hour later.  Having learned my lesson in 2008 and 2011, I put on some warmer clothes but eventually decided against donning my thermals as it didn't seem anywhere near as cold as usual. 

We made our way into the enclosure, this time taking our folding chairs with us so we could take the weight off our legs as this stint was planned to take us through until dawn.  Unsurprisingly, we made a beeline for the new viewing area overlooking the run down into Indianapolis - and what a great view!  The chairs were soon set up and for the first time during the week I broke out my new (to me at least) lens, a Sigma 120-300 f2.8 which I'd bought second hand a couple of months before.  Although I could hand-hold it for a few shots, I had to use it on a new beefier monopod that I'd purchased for the purpose.  I was set for the duration, taking turns hefting the weighty lens and then having a rest in my chair while consuming the remains of my almond tuiles plus a few pistachios that I'd also brought with me. 

There is something very exciting about being able to watch the race from somewhere entirely new.  All the other viewing points are now very familiar but standing there at Indianapolis was quite a revelation, so much so that I was having such a good time that I didn't really think about my tiredness.  It wasn't until later that I realised as well that I'd enjoyed the view from there so much that I'd completely forgotten to go back over to Arnage to get some shots from there.  Oh well, there's always next year....

It was a fantastic few hours at Indianapolis.  The race was just as absorbing as it had been for many hours already with the huge bonus that the bone-chilling cold that we've experienced several times in recent years on race night never came.  As is our habit, we stayed at Indianapolis until dawn arrived and at about 6 am we packed up our gear and made our way back to the car for the short journey to Mulsanne Corner.