IN RETROSPECT ....
Every year we say ‘That was a classic ... surely one of the best ever ...’ This year we really have to wonder whether 1999 will go down as one of the classic Le Mans of all time, brave words ?
We don’t think so ! Imagine rewriting the script of the Steve McQueen movie ‘ Le Mans’ based upon this years race ? We have immediate drama and visual impact when the hugely resourced giant ‘Mercedes’ appear to make a huge mistake with their aerodynamics and incredibly , despite miles of testing, and millions of pounds, one of their cars takes off. flips over and crashes. Mark Webber is not happy. Rumour spreads that this wasn’t the first time .. their PR machine goes into action, the car is rebuilt and is ready for the warm up.
No script writer would risk suggesting that the same car and same driver goes out and does precisely the same thing, but it does, another big accident.
As a background to this Eric van de Poele has a huge accident during the build up and the ‘Motor Racing is Dangerous’ message comes over dramatically loud and clear.
Mercedes then make a controversial decision to race on, despite not being 100% sure why the car crashed, but this is the greatest race in the World and good sense is put on the back burner. The decision back fires big time in what could have been an accident involving a Mercedes that could have rivalled the 1955 Le Mans disaster. The cameras capture all the images in great detail as the Peter Dumbreck Mercedes rears up, flashing past the camera and then flying 30 maybe forty feet in the air, flipping over and crashing into the trees. Miraculously Dumbreck is uninjured, what on earth were Mercedes thinking about ? The remaining car is immediately withdrawn and Mercedes start dismantling their pit equipment and go home.
The Europeans are out and this leaves the Japanese driven Toyota back at the top of the betting, millions of pounds, miles of testing, memories of last years heart breaking near miss. They begin to look invincible, this year they must make it, surely the dream result. But listen to the pundits, they are talking about a BMW victory.
Add to this potent mix another huge manufacturer , Audi, they have a huge investment with four cars. But they are the new kids on the block, you don’t get on the podium win Le Mans on your first visit old boy.
The leading Toyota gets a puncture , spins, hits the wall and is out. No worries the #2 car is almost as quick , if not quicker and it takes up the battle. Toyota still have a third car in wings driven by the Japanese. Then the next Toyota crashes heavily and is out, Boutsen is sore but OK. The three car team is suddenly a vulnerable single car team. But what about a Japanese car with a Japanese team winning Le Mans .. now that would be popular in Japan !
While all this is going on BMW, an efficient German machine, well honed and well resourced calmly move into the lead, the Toyota plot has fallen apart ! As the race builds to its climax everybody has their calculators out , the Toyota is quicker, the BMW uses less fuel, fewer pit stops, it could well make it, but the Toyota is the fastest car on the track. It will be down to spilt seconds. To make the public understand the plot the second place, hard charging Toyota gets a puncture at the furthest point on the track , it is unbelievably unlucky!
Has the BMW escaped at last , with less than an hour to go ? This scenario would be regarded as very dodgy plot line for a film, but there is damage to the Toyota so the seconds tick away, not another year of getting so close yet so far, this is such a cruel race ! The BMW leads.
It is now down to the lone BMW to heroically fight its way to finish. The fourth car, not in the running, now gets a puncture, BMW are worried about debris on the track, so they pit for new rubber, they have the time and are playing it safe, they surely can’t lose now .. more is fuel added so it should run to end now. At precisely 16:00 hrs the 1999 24 Heures du Le Mans is over, BMW win, in the end by a safe margin. It is truly an emotional moment, nobody can remember a race quite like this one, we were lucky to be here.
In GTS the big brash American Vipers are over powered and over here, they are huge, noisy, ridiculously fast and they are out to win again ... the German Porsches are wiped out by these monsters, they never stood a chance, this , in contrast this really wasn’t a fair contest, but they are colourful and this time the plot line here is very easy to follow, maybe a help for the overseas and foreign language versions of the film !On a serious note the Vipers are in a class of their own with no serious competition, this year it gave the crowds very little to get excited about, just ‘which Viper would win’ ?
Nobody would believe such a film or even the book of the film, but we, along with several hundred thousand cheering enthusiasts spent an emotional and hugely enjoybale weekend here, we were the lucky ones and it was all true.
Roll titles over sunset!