331 replies to this topic

[HandyNZL]

use this for the talkies.... http://radiolemans.0...org/nplayer.php

[Massa]

You mean having Wang Chung music in the background wasn't going to help?

Audi #2 isn't out...live timing just got confused.  We still have four Audi R18s out there.

[The Shadow]

I wish my car's headlights are as good as the Audi's

[The Shadow]

Anthony Davidson did fracture his back it would seem.

Edited by The Shadow, 17 June 2012 - 01:35 AM.

[Massa]

The Shadow, on 17 June 2012 - 01:26 AM, said:

I wish my car's headlights are as good as the Audi's

Hell, the tail lights and brake lights on that Rebellion are stronger than my low beams.

[Massa]

Audi just picking off other P1s down the straight.  That car is awesome.  I don't like seeing it win, but wow, what a car.  I'm really interested to see how a diesel LMP2 goes against gasoline LMP1s next year.

I'm off for now.  Better for the thread to have me gone...addition by subtraction because I have absolutely nothing to add as someone who knows nothing other than these cars are fast and it's dark and I'm impressed.

I just want to go to bed early so I can be up for the final hour or two.

[The Shadow]

Fassler in the #1 spun at the Porsche curves. Audi E-Tron #2 is in the lead now

Edited by The Shadow, 17 June 2012 - 02:28 AM.

[The Shadow]

The Eurosport commentary team sound like Frank Williams and Michael Gambon having a chat. Bizzarely entertaining.

[The Shadow]

Safety car out. #75 Porsche crashed at its namesake curves

#97 Aston stopped on track. Mucke trying to restart

Edited by The Shadow, 17 June 2012 - 02:58 AM.

[The Shadow]

Really awesome dawn rising over La Sarthe

[The Shadow]

Safety car coming in. Racing begins in the new light of day

[Insider]

At least Ant is alive. Just seen shunt pics on the BBC - horrific

[JHS18]

Massa, on 17 June 2012 - 01:22 AM, said:

Audi #2 isn't out...live timing just got confused.  We still have four Audi R18s out there.

"Out" on the timing screens means "leaving the pit lane"

Just rejoined the action in time to see the #2 and #3 Audis crash and the Safety Car come out. Whaaaaat?!

[JHS18]

Recent Audi dramas:

Gene goes off in a near identical accident to Dumas yesterday, whilst McNish goes off seconds later at the Porsche Curves. The #2 didn't receive much damage and is already back out on track, the #3 is still in its garage.

[JHS18]

And the #3 is ready to go now as well, but it is no longer an Audi 1-2-3-4, the #12 Rebellion is now back in fourth.

[JHS18]

Safety car in this lap.

[JHS18]

Or not.

[JHS18]

We're back racing and I'm back covering the race.

[JHS18]

New fastest lap by McNish. Can he catch the #1 with only one hour fifteen minutes left? Seems like the Audis are allowed to race.

[JHS18]

#12 Rebellion setting its fastest lap too. It'll be hoping something goes wrong (again) with one of the Audis in front.

[JHS18]

Closest battle in GTE Am. Three seconds split the top two.

[JHS18]

Audi flying in formation ready for the finish.

[The Shadow]

As expected, but no less dramatic. Kudos to Starworks, AF Corse and the GT Am Corvette. Inspirational.

[JHS18]

I've really enjoyed it. On the paper, a predictable result - but really, this has still been an exciting race right to the end. How ironic that on the first year Peugeot don't turn up, Audi suffers problems at some stage with every one of their cars.

Great job by Toyota too. Sure, they didn't get either car to the end of the race, but still, they did a better job than anyone ever thought they would. No-one thought they'd even get to lead a lap, but they did. For a time they were really there. Had the crashes not happened, who knows what the result could have been? Clearly they were fast enough and had made less driver errors up to that point...but it is hard to speculate.

Plus Toyota earn my respect for something else too. Maybe it is just the different culture that sportscar racing is to F1...but Nakajima and the boss of Toyota motorsport went to Deltawing and apologised. They stayed to the end out of respect for the job Audi had done. They didn't have to do either of those things.

Audi deserved it though. Not their cleanest race by any stretch of the imagination, but they got the job done. They saw all 4 cars to the end. They just get it done, whether it is with just one car getting to the end one year, or getting all four to the end another.

Big respect to Rebellion too. After the financial problems Lola has had, what better way to advertise the potential Lola cars have with best of the privateers in fourth place? Brilliant.

[Massa]

Starworks...I'm going to need an exact count on their total number of staff because I don't think it's much...good for Peter.

DeltaWing...there's a lot of talk about its future and I hope wherever it goes, it makes IndyCar and Ford feel bad for turning it down.  Classy of Kaz Nakajima and the Toyota gang to go apologize to them.  It's an exciting project and I'm glad they went out there, beat the target time, beat some P2s in qualifying, and proved a lot of "HOW DOES IT TURN" people wrong (it actually had more issues going straight than turning ).

Le Mans...I didn't see a single pass for position and somehow managed to enjoy it anyway.  Pretty cool race.

Audi...incredible what they've done, and now with a hybrid.

You guys...thanks for keeping me informed because I really had no idea how to keep track of anything myself (guys Audi #2 is OUT of the race ).

[Massa]

Damn James got a post in there before I did...you better think of something more to say Jimmy so you can have the last word in your thread.

[JHS18]

I think, honestly, even I can't put a race like Le Mans into words.

Just look at Toyota. One minute they're clapping and cheering at seeing one of their cars take the lead, half on the grass...the next, they've got their head in their hands wondering what has happened to Davidson...

That's the beauty of the race. One minute it all seems to be going so well, and then the next it isn't. That's what makes Audi's achievements here all the greater, that they're able to rebound from problems so easily. Look at how they got their cars turned around in less than ten minutes after two ended up in the barriers in the space of a few moments.

When Peugeot announced they wouldn't be racing, we all knew that last year's Le Mans would be hard to beat. That was a race in a generation type thing. But still - this year's was still great. And with a stonger Toyota next year, with three cars, more experience, more reliability, Porsche's new LMP1 just around the corner...I can't wait till next year!

[The Shadow]

You said it, James. It was great. I can't believe I have to wait a year for the next one. Hope Toyota brings at least 3 cars next year.

And as an occasional follower of the Japanese Super GT, it is a cultural thing and they do take these things seriously.

[JHS18]

I've been waiting for a picture to emerge that will help bring this thread to a natural conclusion. This is that picture.



Thank you Le Mans. Next year I'm determined to be there to see it all in person.

[Insider]

I'm not a Le Mans 24 fan as such - I have been but got p**sed and slept for most of the race. Perhaps you lot can explain something to me.  Ant was clearly driven into by a back marker. Is this not an issue for the stewards? is it being investigated?