Petit Le Mans

[Bill Musarra]

Made it to the race on Saturday. Tried to find Gordo, but there were at least 30 campers of notable size in the turn 6 area that were earth tones, so continued on to see the rest of the track. Racing was very good. the two Ford Gts were underpowered compared to the Porsche and Corvettes. The Audi's got their butts kicked by Puegot's diesel. Didn't see the end, but they were able to pull away after full course yellows. Man are they quiet. McNish(sp?) managed to wreck on the warm up lap before the open concouse on the track. Was able to get it repaired after the first lap was complete, but couldn't catch the number 2 car. The crowd was fantastic and was more than I expected. Here are some of the pics.

Bill

 

[J. Salmon]

This was my first ALMS race, and what a hoot! Bill, you should have stayed to the end, McNish's driving was a sight to see. The night finish was just awesome. We were sitting on spectator hill where you could hear the gators and see the sparks from under the chassis. The 908's rotors were glowing the entire time, and blue flames from the 430 pipes was fun to see.

It was a good day for an Audi/Ferrari fan, but it really didn't matter, as the entire event was just fantastic. We'll definitely be back next year!

 

[Dutton]

Salmon is right, Bill -- you missed one heelacious finish!

Although it was hard to believe what a seasoned pro like McNish did on the warm-up lap (been there, done that), everyone watching had to know that he wasn't going to lighten up his pace until he knew he had it in the bag. The last 45 minutes or so was truly something special to watch... I hope you had the VCR recording it for you.

With Acura heading for P1 in 2009, next years event should really be a barn burner!

Thanks for the pics. :thumbsup:

T.

 

[Keith]

Fantastic race in the beginning few hours marred by far too many full course yellows IMO... Quite a few could have been dealt with by localised yellows. Continuity and momentum was hard to establish let alone strategy. Great finish though...