LeMans24

hi! paul and i are home but still coming down to earth and back into real life after an amazing, 

relaxing, exciting, romantic, lovely of loveliest holidays ever. it was a vacation of heart warming, heart pumping surprises, one after the other... 

we flew into geneva, meeting up with old friends (paul o. & faith) and new friends (pete & ingrid, graham & pauline). that afternoon, the eight of us made our way into france spending our first night in the charming town of romorantin-lanthenay. once there, we immersed ourselves in the first of 10 glorious days savouring unforgettable french cuisine, architecture, history, language, culture, cathedrals, chateaus, beauty, kindness, countryside, oh....my....the countryside.

next stop, le mans!

it was "glamping" mode for us on our arrival the day before the race, comfortably settling into our tents set up inside the racetrack and quickly catching lemans24 fever! i've decided i like glamping: hot showers, soft mattresses and duvets, roomy tents, bedside tables, sheepskin rugs...!

paul o. and faith, you are officially crowned master organizers. thank you, thank you for thinking of every little thing to make this experience an extraordinary memory of a lifetime. hugs.

race day!!!

the comfortable and luxurious michelin "tent" was our race headquarters. the excitement was building......we made sure we arrived early enough to watch the warm up race - classic cars!

family story: i have grown up hearing about le mans car race ever since i can remember. my parents were living in france when i was born and one year, 1960 or 1961, they attended le mans. i was always intrigued by the idea of them camping inside the track of the car race and here i was doing the same thing! life is surprising!

the cars in the classic race were of the same vintage that my parents would have watched when they went to le mans.

as we were getting comfortable in our new setting and anxious for the race to start, paul o., graham and pete (hard core car enthusiasts) were given the surprise of their lives.........a lap in a le mans race car driven by a professional driver! 

off goes paul o. in #3....

it took these boys quite a while to come down from this thrill, just in time for the race start.

3:00pm, green light and off they go..........

what an exciting and incredible experience!!

this is our group of friends all hanging out, watching the race together. at le mans, i would guess the ratio of men to women is about 25/1.  how lucky are these guys?  

we were set up by the porsche curves section of the track and also the exit for the pits. thrilling!

as the hours go by, we are able to relax on the balcony even with the mesmerizing, constant and powerful shrill of the cars.

                                         

when all of a sudden, faith says to us, "are you all ready for your helicopter ride?" 

what? really? i've never been in a helicopter before. really?......really.

so up we went for a bird's eye view of the track!

as well as a bird's eye view of the quarter of a million spectators' accommodations.

hey, there are our glamping tents!

i learned so much about the race and the intricacies of the competition, cars, tires, rules, history etc. 

- there are four different races going on at the same time separated by the four different classes:

LMP1, LMP2, GTE-PRO, GTE-AMATEUR

- you can see the difference between the LMP1, LMP2 and GTE race cars

- each car/team has three drivers rotating about every 2.5 - 3 hours

- the LMP race speed can reach 250 km/h

- the race is won by total distance covered in the 24 hours

impressed? :)

so, these guys above are marshalls and positioned all along the track. they are seasoned and expert volunteers and given a lot of praise and respect. i now know that a blue flag means a faster car/car in a higher class is trying to overtake and you must hold your line. the gt cars are constantly being passed by the prototypes so these flags are for them.

we also learned alot from a guest speaker at one of the lunches. allan mcnish, also known as the scotsman and a three time le mans winner. he was fascinating and very funny. 

speaking of lunch, this is a perfect time to show you the desserts we were served after the equally interesting and delicious mains over the 24 hours. the french just know how to do it!

downstairs and upstairs inside the michelin "tent". 

we went on a tour of the michelin factory set up at the track and learned more than i'll ever need to know about race tires: 

- slicks are the main type of tires used at le mans and have a smooth tread. if the track becomes wet from rain, the tires must be changed to a different type, there is also a new hybrid michelin tire that can be used for damp and dry track conditions.

- 7,000 michelin tires are sent to the race. after the race, each and every tire is accounted for, used or not, and brought back to be analyzed and studied for improvements gearing up for next year's le mans.
- if a team does not return a tire, they are charged $1,000,000! truly! serious stuff.

there was a lot of attention given to this car and its team. this is patrick dempsey's porsche 911 rsr racing gte amateur. they ended up coming second place in their class!

go patrick!

well, i think its about time for this post to come to an end. i'm still pumped from the experience but you've probably had your fill so let's end with photos of the winner of le mans 2015....

no. 19 porsche team porsche 919 hybrid 

driver nico hylkenberg 395 laps

avg. speed 247.1 km/h

congratulations!

porsche enjoying their final victory lap!!

au revoir from le mans!