Just watching live coverage. It seems the temperatures are similar to when I last attended.

TV coverage is good, but it's not the same as being there.

Also, if you're a car nut, a walk around the on-circuit campsites will BLOW YOUR MIND.

MF1s parked next to Blower Bentleys, with the respective owners eager to talk cars, race results, your wheels, and whether you'd like beer or bubbly...

 

Also: 155mph on turn in to 1st of the Porsche Curves.

Big spuds...

 

I've seen the MotoGP there, and I couldn't believe that my heart rate went up when we were approaching and I saw the sign that said we were entering the town of Mulsanne. That, and the brake markers and catch fences on the public road.

I have not been to the 24 Hours, but someday I hope to.

 

I've been watching most of the day. Aston is doing quite well. Toyota has had a bad go of it. Would love to be there in person someday.

 

I've been lucky enough to have been there 7 times. The first time - in 1988 - was the year the Silk Cut Jaguar Team de-throned Porsche and the year I bought my first Jaguar, the newly-styled XJ6 (believe it or not a beautiful and trouble-free car). That was also the last year before a major spectator renovation; the first year we could literally lean over and touch the cars while they were pitting (not safe but sure as hell exciting).

Oh yeah, the best part: I had a French girlfriend whose father was THE race director who provided me with full access everywhere - and we did indeed go everywhere - including race control.

It's a 48-hour party of the highest caliber with Moët & Chandon free-flowing throughout. If you've never been I highly recommend it (even without a French girlfriend...although that does help immensely).

 

My problem with Le Mans (and a lot of GT racing in general) is balance of performance.

IMHO, penalizing a team for building a technically superior car just seems to be against what motorsport is supposed to be about.

 

It did result in very close racing though. Less than 1 second separating the two lead cars going into the final lap after 24 hours of wheel to wheel racing.

Plus, your 458 can compete with the other guy's 488. So you have a real mix of makes and models - and full grids.

 

Having various makes/models in the gte class is fun to watch but something has to be done about the BOP.

As much as I like Aston Martin ... winning or even being competitive on a 10+ year old platform because of BOP penalties is stupid. There is no incentive for manufacturers to build new cars or innovate when they can just run an aging platform and let all of the new cars be nuked to the stone age due to BOP penalties.

 

Good point. The team with the biggest budget should be declared the winner before the start. Everyone else can then race for second. Yes?

That AM car bears very little relationship to the then new 2005 car which nuked the competition at Sebring.

Ford built a prototype race car rather than something that looks like a Mustang and are now whinging that not only will they never sell any in road car form, but no race team manager in their right mind is going to buy one either.

Discuss...

 

I managed to stay awake until 4:30am PST but fell asleep. What a finish though!

 

Yeah.... if you didn't have BOP, you wouldn't have aston martin in the field. They couldn't afford to innovate to that level. You'd kill the diversity of racing.

 

What's the point of diversity if the cars are all forced to perform at the same level?

I mean, should Mazda be able to enter the Miata at Le Mans and have everyone else's performance restricted to match?

 

So you want one OEM to just destroy everyone else because they invested more/have more to invest?

At the end of the day a 24 hour race isn't meant to show who can make the fastest car; rather who can make the most reliable car while still being fast. This year's race is a perfect example of that with the #2 Porsche... literally only won because they broke the least.

 

What an amazing finish! Thanks for posting!

 

No Jags. Such a shame.

 

Doesn't surprise me at all.

But while on a similar subject, has anyone read or heard anymore about a possible F-Type for the GT3 class? (Whether it be a 4 cyl, 6 cyl or 8 cyl) Or is that still a slim to none chance?

 

Not for GT3, but for GT4:
Jaguar Is Rumored to Be Working on an F-Type GT4 Race Car

 

Which platform do you think they will use?

 

I would think the V8 would over-qualify it for a series that tries to equalize the performance of the approved marques/models to make it a driver's series rather than a manufacturer's series. A stripped down (3500lb) V6 or I6 would probably come closest to hitting the mark.