Club Arnage

Just realised that 2005 will be the 40th anniversary of my first visit to La Sarthe.  Things were a bit different then!!!



Note the lack of Armco, proper esses and profusion of flat caps!


Anyone else around then?


Del

Bloody hell! Rispek, DelBoy!

Wow! Lovely shot of the Chaparral in the esses, when was that? about 1967 perhaps.  Would you look at that, back then it looked like a real race track and you could actually see the cars...
John

Yes, a great shot DB.
Note the cardboard periscope on the right. I reckon he has it upside down, it should be round the other way searching for legs with stocking seams.
Like mine, or rather, a friends.
H

-It'd be interesting to compare to a contemporary shot from the same spot, if anyone's got one handy.

It was in 1965 - I have a few others from the same trip, but the only recognisable cars are the crashed GT40s because they were not moving!!  I didn't have a particularly good camera in those days.  I'll post a couple more later.

DB

(http://www.dreamracers.net/oddsnsods/lm/dunlop_perhaps2.jpg)

Another piccy from 1965.  Anyone recognize the car?  Don't ask me for an answer - it was 39.5 years ago and as I said above, I didn't have a sophisticated camera, and quite possibly my technique (with the camera) left a lot to be desired.

The few piccies I have are all from around the esses as in those days, the esses were included in the 'Virage' tickets - much cheaper than the general ticket.  There used to be a gate on the left of the road leading down the main tunnel - in fact that was there until sometime in the 80s.

....And another

And a final one.  This car park, I think, is where the motorway now is.

Our car is the 1956 Hillman Minx arrowed.

Very tidy parking there  ;)
Also, lots on Citroen DS's.

Hi Delboy,
               Nice pics, I have a number like the second one so can confirm the car is a "Blur" they were very competative back then and much faster than the camera technology/operators of the time. ;D The other looks like a Porsche 910.
Canada Phil

Hi Guys,
That blur looks alot like a Ford GT-40!  That would've been really something to see and hear.  I think more than a few of us have some "blurs"(Kodak Instamatic's and all) laying around.  We could have some fun with these...
John

Delboy,

I can remember at  my first trip to Le Mans in 1980 being amazed at the number of Brits there.

Was it the same back in 65?, I guess the drive there was also alot more of an adventure then as well, was there any organised camping etc.

My dad rode a motorbike to the south of france and then onto Monte Carlo in the mid 50's for the GP, and stopped off at Le Mans onroute and says it was the best thing he has ever done, shame he never had a camera.

... which has the same pushrod engine as the dreaded Commer, tho it's more likely to be the 1600 version rather than the more powerful 1725 42hp version I posess. Anyway, nice to see some things don't change.

Agree with the others about the GT40 and 910 BTW.

Parking??? - most of the cars you see are queueing to get out, so there's not much change there.  We weren't in a hurry as we headed south to the Med for a week - the old Minx got us back, albeit without rear brakes and starter motor.  Not a prob in those days - didn't do much reversing and cars then had a starting handle.

DB

Could be right Fax - here is how it ended up.

Del

Delboy,
I'm sure you're right about your first visit being in 1965. However, I think your photos of the cars are from '67.
The GT40 is the Ford GT Mk II B entered by Ford France, and driven by Jo Schlesser and Guy Ligier in 1967. No doubt about that. It retired after 183 laps for obvious reasons.
I think the Chaparral is the Hill/Spence 2F car which won the BOAC 500km at Brands Hatch later that year. Could possibly be the Bob Johnson/Bruce Jennings car.
The Porsche looks like a 910 - they first appeared in 1967. I think it's the Rolf Stommelen/Jochen Neerpasch car - finished 6th.
By the way Delboy - when do you move house to France - and to where, exactly??

Not saying you're right or wrong KP, you either have a better memory than me or you have access to documentation.

I know a lot of the old brain cells have died off in the last 40 years, but it is my recolection that I took these photos in 1965.  The photo below and in the next post [can't seem to attach 2 piccies] (I believe taken the same year) show the (remains of) the other two GT40s entered that year.  Two crashed out in one incident, and the third in a separate incident in almost the same place.  The wrecks are shown on the (old) entrance to the Bugatti circuit.

DB

And the other picture....

Kpy,

Had intended to go house-hunting in July this year, but slipped a disc in my back instead, so we had to put it off for a year.  We will put the UK house on the market early spring and, all being well, will drive off to the wild blue yonder (at least to France) in the 'van a couple of weeks after LM.  We were aiming for Charente, but after a late hol there after my back improved sufficiently, we found it was very nice but  more expensive than we anticipated.  We'll probably start off just over the border in the Limousin, and work our way south until we find something suitable.  When I say expensive, I don't mean compared to the UK!  I am retiring 5 years ahead of the pension date, and will live on the difference in the house prices until my pension kicks in.

You may have seen that I got married (again) a week after LM 2004 - without taking all the romance out of it, one of the reasons was to be able to hook into CPAM as a spouse (swmbo retires mid JUly '05).  Otherwise it would have cost me lots of euros for medical insurance for 5 years.

You never did answer the questions I sent you. Can't remember now what I asked.  

Looked for you this year at LM but I gather you had car problems and couldn't make it.  Will you be there next year??

Del

Well yes I do have access to documentation. You have some historic photographs of the aftermath of the accident at the esses in 1967. Here is a translation of part of an article in a French magazine which I translated last year:

In  1967,Ford were up against Ferrari again:  the two Mk II s were beaten at Daytona by the P4s. The all-new Mk IVs had their revenge at Sebring. This time, Andretti was teamed up with McLaren. And they won for Ford, ahead of the MK IV of Foyt - Ruby, after a tough battle with the Chaparral 2 F of Jim Hall and Mike Spence (holding second for a long time, they retired with a broken engine). At Le Mans in June, Mario teamed up again with  Bianchi . Ford beat Ferrari again (Gurney-Foyt were the winners.). This time, Andretti (who set the lap record along with Hulme in 3:23.6 : 148.75 mph, and was running in second place), was involved in an accident at the esses as night fell. His brakes locked as a result of badly fitted pads, sliding wide, he was hit by McCluskey and Schlesser. A tough blow for Ford with three cars retiring at once. Mario had two broken ribs and his shoulders were badly bruised by his safety harness during the impact.what happened next was, sadly,  typically American. Before the start, Ford's team management, organised like the army for the Normandy landings in 1944, told their drivers: "above all, if you're involved in an accident, wait for the Ford team doctor to take care of you and don't have anything to do with the French doctors." (thanks for that!). Seeing Mario injured, Roger McCluskey listening only to his best instincts, his patriotism and the orders from Dearborn immediately threw the French Red Cross ambulance keys into the woods, so that the 'froggies' couldn't carry his friend off to his probable death. Apparently only Americans can care for the injured. As long as they work for Ford. Let's move on -

In fact the accident happened, not at nightfall, but at dawn. In your photographs the car on the left (No 3) is Andretti's car, with McCluskey's immediately in front of it. Schlesser's car is the No 6 in your previous photo.

Working from the bottom up (no puns etc), the Alfa suffered a distributor head failure on the way down this year. The repair ate both my time and my budget and I had to call the trip off. I shall be there Saturday and Sunday this weekend though, taking part in Gilles' winter classic car rally.
I don't think you actually asked me any specific questions about property in France, just general things. I was very tied up in trying to find more work at the time, and I'm sorry that I didn't come back with any advice. The Charente is an excellent part of France, but has become expensive due to an influx of English and Parisians, thanks to cheap flights and the TGV connection to Angouleme. I have far more availability for property advice now, even though I have far more work - so just ask away!
See you at LM next year and please let me know if you are passing through Normandy at any time - there are usually spare beds here. I can always help out with any translation problems if you have a need.
Have fun!