My first GP was Brands Hatch '66, the first year of the "return to power" with the 3-litre formula. It all seemed over rather quickly, and the cars looked boring. I've been to three or four GPs since, the last being Spa 2005, where the circuit makes up for the cars. If I'm about and there's a GP on the Beeb (no way would I pay money to that man that runs Sky), I will watch, but seldom turn on before the parade lap, or stay tuned after the flag drops. Vacuous interviews don't do it for me in any sport.

Like much premium sport, F1 is now a huge business, aka a trough for Ecclebum and co to swill at. Much of the racing is artificial, e.g. DRS and the need for two types of tyre per race. The unregulated pit-teams, still with an impressive rate of cock-up, do not inspire. The cars still look crap. But it may beat mowing the lawns...

Hi Colin

I'm only an occasional visitor here. I am Ian Dudley, Deborah's widower. Deb would be so proud to think her work of a few years back might be helping people after she was gone - not all of us can look forward to that. She adored CA and many of its members, so you can rely on this being a most splendid community to have joined.

You are already getting splendid advice on here, so I can add little of value, but hope to meet you during the weekend.

Yours, not entirely dry-eyed.

Deb would not have approved. Having enjoyed a vintage race, I realised by about 2 p.m. Sunday that Dr Ulrich was going to get another notch on his bedpost. So about 2.45 I slipped out of Tribune 18 and was out of Parking Blanc within minutes. Home indoors by 3.30. Deb was adamant we should stay and fete the winners, listen to the speeches etc. In the days when we camped, of course, it took a grumpy while to dismantle the tent and stow everything, making uncouth suggestions about the Sarthois Pikeys etc, and by that time the crowds had gone anyway, so her idea made sense.

She was quite good at making sure we all had fun!

Earlier today Meteo was showing rain for the race weekend, now it just shows 21 degrees, down to single figs overnight.

Can't argue with that. But the fact that Audi can run an extra car always gives them strength in depth the other teams lack. The LM steamroller factory teams have always dealt in numbers - Ford in the '60s, Porsche in 1970/1 etc etc so that when the accidents happen they still have another card in their deck.

Toyota would be popular with many. Porsche might seem a bit ominous for the future. But Audi will take some beating in a fair fight.

I note the latest weather forecast here suggests some rain both days, so bring yer wellies.....

Be warned, Le Mans can be addictive. While many CA-ers have been to more races than I have, my late wife (former member here) and I liked it so much we moved here on retirement a decade ago.

One part that doesn't seem to have been mentioned is the start. The field - 56 cars, that is, which is a lot - is brought round the full 8.5 mile circuit behind the pace-car. In the grandstands area they play stirring music, and as 3 p.m. approaches the pace car pulls off, the starter (Fernando Alonso this year, I think) drops the flag and the fastest sportscars in the world go ape. "Impressive" doesn't cover those few seconds.......

I know I don't really count, but will be at the Classic, although if I can't get a babysitter for Deb's horses may not be able to stay Saturday night.

I tried to pick up my Classic tickets last weekend at the museum - but was told they won't now be issued there until after the 24 hrs. Must be great to have a computer system that only does one thing at a time. Bet they paid extra for that!

As it happened there was a particular group of guys next to me in Tribune 17, who had been galvanised into a LM visit a couple of years ago, when one of their mates, a LM veteran, had passed away (NB I will never refer to Deb in those terms - she insisted that one DIES!) and so they had scattered his ashes on Mulsanne. Quite illegal here, as I'm sure you all know.

The chap next to me was on cordial terms with an elderly French guy in a mac, and told me a bit about him. He's 88 - and has been to every 24hrs since 1932! Lives in Tours, drives up and back each day of the race. Now that is a style of which Deb would certainly approve!

If you were going to start/restart in LMP1, would you really choose the year when Porsche intends to do the same?

The disruptive nature of an SC period is, as pointed out above, often the cause of an artificial race result, where a competitive team has its potential neutralised by being in the wrong SC queue. Aston Martin came to LM with 5 fine cars and some ace drivers. They went away with a third-place, three broken cars and a dead driver to contemplate.

This is C21, and frankly I don't understand why we still have SCs at all. Piglet's point about protection is absolutely indisputable, of course - but haven't we all heard of GATSOs? Truvelos? The Race Director pushes a couple of buttons, and on a section of the course with yellow flags anyone exceeding the temporary limit gets black-flagged, with a printout to offer the team chief if he protests his driver's innocence. Neat, fair to all, self-evidencing - and probably on hire for the duration of the meeting.

Why hasn't it been done?

Deb would not approve of me being thumb-up-bum, brain in neutral! Sorry I didn't get around more over the weekend, but I did enjoy everything - except the outcome of the early crash, of course.

And, if you choose to believe it, Deb saw the whole thing from closer to the track than any of us!

I'm still not sure what happened to AS, as the video I saw showed the aftermath, not the circumstances.

Sportscar racing always was and probably always will be the preserve of the Gentleman Driver, and they pay huge sums into the sport, at a time when manufacturers' teams are fewer than we might like. After all, Tracy Krohn, having messed up one car big time, then managed to beach its replacement, too. The ACO is a completely commercial concern, just like any other sports promoter today. In fairness, they do make every driver demonstrate their competence by day and by night before allowing them to race. And, actually, finding 168 truly competent drivers could take some doing. The FIA now kindly ensures the race isn't on a Grand Prix weekend, but apart from Martin Brundle last year, it's been a year or two since a current GP personality dabbled elsewhere.

Conditions this weekend were very variable - successive laps could see quite distinct changes in grip on the same corner. Nick Lapierre is a good driver - Sebring outright winner - and yet he nosed the Toyota into the wall. McNish made the point that any driver could have been caught out, as was Belicchi with the Rebellion, Fred Mack with the Aston. Amateurs and rookies weren't the only victims.

Apart from the personal poignancy of the whole event, and the awful news of AS, I thought the weekend quite interesting - not the usual form of Audi walkover, at least. LMP2 was full of cars and variety, even if Nissan seem to be annexing large chunks. And the Manthey Porsches will have put a nose or two out of joint.

The State of Denmark may be a sadder place after this weekend, but sportscar racing isn't all rotten.

Deb (termietermite) and I first went to LM in 1997, by "luxury coach" which turned out to be crap, and we got virtually no sleep all weekend. But the LM experience was simply something else. By bus to Arnage and Mulsanne in the evening. Turkish coffee in the Old Village in the small hours of Sunday. Watching the dawn come up. We missed '98, but tried again with a different firm - MRI - in 99. This gave us a hotel in Alencon for Friday and Sunday nights, so we were better rested, more rational, more energy. Ditto 2000. Then in 2001 we decided to drive, and Deb booked Hotel Galaxie, where we shared the breakfast room with David Leslie, since lost in tragic circs. 2002 we had a gite for a fortnight, although it was a bit far from the circuit (just in the Mayenne). Mate Paul drove Deb round the circuit in his Morgan on race day, hence her avatar. And this was all pivotal - it was during those two weeks that I said to Deb "We could live here!" And so we did, moving in 2004.

Chez nous is 40 mins leisurely drive from Parking Blanc. We, now I, am able to attend scrutineering and test weekends, the whole shebang. On my own is ok, I discover. With Deb was a lot better!

That, my friends, is what Le Mans can do to you.

Crikey! How nice to find this! I did do a brief tour of BN and MB yesterday afternoon, and was delighted to shake a few hands. Yes, this is a weird LM for me - but I'm coping a trifle better than I feared. Deb's energy was the power of getting things done around here, even during her reduced-mobility years - so it's good to think I even managed to book tickets! 65 this year and still able to think for myself!

I will have a wander round the campsites again over the weekend, and hope to catch a few more of you. Hope everyone has a great weekend.