Le Mans 2005 Test Day

[Grand_Fromage]

CLUB ARNAGE ….LE MANS 2005

JOX JOTTINGS … THE OPENING SHOTS …

Here we go again .. was it really only a year ago that we were last here? Maybe it is old age but it seems that time really does fly. As in previous years we are working in close harmony with our chums at the ACO so as the event progresses head for their site: www.lemans.org . In the meantime you will have to put up with our demented input.

The team assembled in its now traditional ‘ragged’ fashion from America (minus luggage, shampoo and deodorant, which is travelling independently), Luxembourg, of course little ol’ England plus some more of America and our local French, Welsh speaking anomaly all of whom will be here tomorrow. (Franco-Taff?). We even have a tough guy called Martin Buck who rode his huge BMW motorbike 500 miles from Birmingham to Chateau Incomplete in one hit; he apparently snacks on raw nuts and bolts, washed down with used sump oil!

We have new improved technology everywhere. Dave Davies has a phone that can get its own breakfast and collect the kids from school but can’t cope with text messages and telephone calls. Other members of the team have UK (or USA) phones with French SIM cards so everybody has at least two phone numbers, two phones and no idea what is going on. In the Media Centre we are using local Wi-Fi and maybe soon our own Wi-Fi. (Whatever that is) The jury is still out pondering whether this is actually a step forward. Those of us more accustomed to quill pens and parchment are struggling.

As before we are ‘integrating’ (I think that is the word) with our chums at the ACO and this means that we should have more information of better quality. At least that is what’s been promised.

So, what of the racing? Nothing has happened yet, but ‘bar talk’ suggests that the ACO might have done enough to make life difficult for the Audis. Smaller restrictors, more weight, plus tiny fuel cells should ease the way for, say …. Pescarolo and Courage .. to be in with a chance. We are sure this is a scurrilous suggestion and not what the ACO had in mind at all. We will watch the Domes as well.

LMP1 is now officially deemed to be incomprehensible. We have LMP1 cars which are built to current regulations and called .. well … LMP1. We also have LMP1-LMP900 which are cars that have not yet caught up with the current regulations and we have LMP1-LMP675 which are old LMP675 that are no longer allowed to be LMP2s anymore. OK so far?

LMP2 is much clearer; they are all current regulation cars and are all LMP2s.

Next up we have LM-GT1 and this looks tasty. Quite why the nice chaps at ACO chose to restrict the class to just nine cars is a bit of a mystery. The quality is very tasty. Two Aston Martins that arrive with wins at Sebring and Silverstone under their belts. Two very slick Corvette C6-Rs that are new for this season and a fleet of four Ferrari 550 Maranellos that may be suffering from old age but at least they know what is ahead of them. There is a lone Ferrari 575s. What happened to the grand plan to improve the 550 and beat the World with it? Rob Schirle has tapped into a Russian goldmine and has that well known duo of Fomenko and Vasiliev (they sound like an ice skating pair) in their Ferrari 550. Anyway this could be good, assuming everything holds together.

LM-GT2 has a curious feel to it. It is bit short of ‘grown ups’ and comprises a number of teams with relatively unknown (but rich) drivers. The star performers here should be Alex Job Racing and White Lightning Racing, after all they both have the ear (and ‘assistance’) of Porsche Cars North America. A dark horse here might be the Scuderia Ecosse team. They are well funded and have Messrs Nathan and Kirkaldy - who may lack experience but they are rapid. We must all cheer the lone Racesport Peninsula TVR Tuscan 400R. Sad that there is only one of them, plus no Morgan etc. Some UK fans will be amazed to see that Thorkild Thyrring, probably the best Dane currently in Motorsport, is back after a ten year break (although a certain Mr Magnussen might have something to say about that). He is piloting the Sebah Porsche. There is some confusion working out precisely what model the Panoz are. The official paperwork describes them as Elans but they seem to be Esperantes. One, maybe two Spyker C8 Spyders have popped up again and despite some less than successful outings in the past they are here when some possibly more rapid and reliable teams are not.

We are not sure if those awfully nice people from the ACO will be laying on timing for the Sunday session but whatever happens, keep an eye on the new, revised ACO site.

Here are links for Live Timing
and Live incidents

[Paddy_NL]

live timing is up! http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/live/pages/chronos.html

[Grand_Fromage]

Jox Jottings… Car spotted on track shock horror!

Let’s begin by saying that normal service will be resumed as soon as your regular scribe can be bothered. Yes, you’re being treated to a guest columnist, Martin Buck. I understand that I got a mention in the last edition; I did threaten to sue Club Arnage for all it’s worth, until it was pointed out that a) it would be a lot of hassle for a slightly battered Volvo, even one that has a s***-hot parking pass for Le Mans, and b) apparently it’s not libellous if something is actually true. Damn lawyers…

Anyway, as indicated by the title, after the ‘hurry up and wait’ of Friday’s scrutineering, the cars have finally done what they’re built for, and got out on the circuit. Some of the drivers seemed to struggle with the task of staying on the black stuff, most notably Stéphane Daoudi, who stuffed the JMB Racing Ferrari 575 GTC into the tyres at the Michelin Chicane, with enough vigour to bring their day to a distinctly premature end; at least as far as the drivers were concerned. When I was walking through the paddock this afternoon the entire front bodywork had been removed and the mechanics were just preparing to jack up the car, with a notable lack of enthusiasm; it was obvious that the damage was going to require a little more than T-Cut and tank tape....

A little earlier I had been near the Museum, on the approach to the Dunlop chicane. There was a curious acoustic effect; each car was followed a second or so later by an echo, but one that had been shifted an octave or so lower. At first it seemed that each car was being followed closely by another, phantom one which mysteriously failed to appear.

The only car which was immune to this effect was the Corvette C6-R; for some reason its earth-shaking basso profundo didn’t resonate in the same way as the shriek of the higher-revving motors.

Whilst I’m musing on the subject of engine notes, I do think it’s high time the ACO introduced a new rule; one which specifically outlaws any kind of pit-lane restrictor which makes the hobbled car sound like it’s farting its way into oblivion. These are racing cars, dammit, they’re not meant to sound like an asthmatic tractor!

During my lunchtime stroll I went via the area which, on race weekend, will be host to numerous merchandising stalls and heaving with punters – often literally once a diet of lager and sunburn takes hold. For the practice weekend it was curiously empty, with a feel of almost suspended animation; a sleeping giant which will be awakened by the presence of large numbers of wallets.

Being a truly international race, it has attracted a truly international field of drivers. Some of these, rather inconveniently, use weirdly accented characters in their names. I consider it a significant contribution to the quality of Club Arnage to have been instrumental in showing your regular columnist the easy way of achieving this. Of course, spell-checkers aren’t exactly designed to handle names; Danish legend Thorkild Thyrring becomes Thornily Whirring, whilst Vanina Ickx comes out as Banana Icky, despite some members of the crew suggesting rather less polite alternatives.

Without any competitive element involved, there is a lack of any real excitement about proceedings. Dennis Leech, team manager of Racesport Peninsula, who are running a TVR Tuscan 400 R, said it best. “There’s no reason to rush anything today,” he said, when asked why the car didn’t turn a wheel for over an hour this morning. “We were checking a small oil leak on the diff, to make sure it didn’t need changing, and took the opportunity to do a full ‘spanner check’ on the car – just to keep ahead of the bastard!”

The mechanics also tend not to take things too seriously. This morning, we spotted the crew of the Alex Job Porsche 911 GT3 RSR applying copious amounts of tank-tape around the front splitter. When I asked about it, a mechanic said, with a grin: “We thought it made it look better!” When I asked whether someone had done some gardening, he replied, “Yeah, they do that sometimes…”

When the session ends, a little over two hours from now, it will be the start of an entire week of ‘hurry up and wait’. The teams can use the Bugatti circuit on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, although the twisty nature of the closed track doesn’t bear much relation to the high-speed run down the Mulsanne and on to Indianapolis. That apart, everything will be subject to scrutineering again on Monday and Tuesday of race week; they won’t be out on the full circuit again until 7pm on Wednesday 15th.