40 replies to this topic

[Steve Deiters]

You can listen to live audio streaming from the 24 Hours of LeMans race at radiolemans.com.

I think video of the race may be streamed through the Speed Channel website for the 24 hours tomorrow. Not sure if you have to be a cable subscriber or not. If not, I'm sure if it is streaming through other sources, but it may not be. Might be worth looking for.

[TSR]

Cool!

Thanks, Steve!

Now I got to make this work in my car...

P

[ShootinSparks]

The fans seem to be getting out of hand... saw this at Motorsport.com...

[68Caddy]

That is a scary pic, John!

Nesta

[flem1959]

Very lucky no photographers got hurt by flying debris in that crash by Alan McNish in the Audi

[Phil Hackett]

McNish accident. Almost goes over the fence. He walked away. No injuries to "civilians."

Video at speed.com.

[flem1959]

They just lost the #1 Car with Mike Rockenfeller.
Looks very bad, another collision with a GT Car.

[Larry Mattingly]

The fans seem to be getting out of hand... saw this at Motorsport.com...

Geez...

And some on here say only NASCAR attracts 'trailer trash' and 'rif-raf'...

Hmmm... perhaps the pictured couple are only there to watch the wrecks and accidents...

LM

[Ron Hershman]

Those two look like a wreck about ready to happen. You don't see much "boy on boy" in Bubba's NASCAR.

[flem1959]

Amatuer racer/investment banker takes out last year's winner.

[Ron Hershman]

Me thinks they need a taller wall in that turn or a concrete "bunker" for the photographers.

[Ron Hershman]

Amatuer racer/investment banker takes out last year's winner.

Last year's winner should know you do not win a 24 hour race in the first hour of the race, but you sure as hell can lose in the first hour.

McNish didn't appear to have much patience for a "professional" driver in that "cowboy" move he attempted and failed miserably at. He could have waited one more turn to pass that Amateur racer/Investment banker without incident.

Last year winner TOOK himself out.

[flem1959]

I agree with you about McNish.
I was talking about the accident with Mike Rockenfeller and Michael Watrip`s partner.
The guys on TV are all saying he moved over in front of the #1 Audi.

On a lighter note, These cars are so cool looking.
I prefer the open cockpit cars but they are all bitching.

[JohnnySlotcar]

The Audi was closing at such a fast rate, the Ferrari driver probably wouldn't even have seen him as he was entering a turn. Pro-driver error!!!

[TSR]

McNish didn't appear to have much patience for a "professional" driver in that "cowboy" move he attempted and failed miserably at. He could have waited one more turn to pass that Amateur racer/Investment banker without incident.

Last year winner TOOK himself out.

Not exactly. The driver of the Ferrari GTE said on the French TV that he got a bit wide in the right hand corner after the Dunlop bridge, never saw McNish coming and closed the door trying to get back on the correct line to negotiate the following left-hander leading to the Tertre Rouge corner. The rules of conduct at Le \Mans are very clear: once you chose a line, stick with it.

Allan had already passed the Ferrari when the right front of the GT car hit the left rear corner of the Audi.

Allan McNish is not a cowboy and has an incredible history of success in endurance racing, with very few "offs" over the past eight years. It was simple bad luck complicated by too much of a speed difference between the prototypes and the GT cars. Simply a racing accident.

The second Audi that crashed driven by Rockenfeller ran in exactly the same situation, with a Ferrari GTE suddenly appearing on front of him with a 40 MPH speed difference. Mike got on the grass to avoid a direct punting that would have been worse.

These guys are true professionals and take no undue risks, but luck must be part of the deal when you effectively have three races into one.

[MG Brown]

The fans seem to be getting out of hand... saw this at Motorsport.com...

Is the fan in the print outfit John Cleese?

Speaking of NASCAR... 2000 Boston Marathon runner Michael Waltrip's GT Ferrari is still running in 36th place (there are 39 cars currently listed as "running" in the event).

[Rotorranch]

After losing two cars due to "driver error", Audi still wins!

Rotor

[TSR]

And a very deserved win at that...

[ShootinSparks]

A comment from another message board...
________________________

I don't often go here, but Rocky's accident was simply OUTRAGEOUS, and I've heard from people on-scene that his prospects for full recovery may be more serious than press reports suggest. I also want to share that I've been credentialed at Le Mans and have stood at the guard rail in that segment, where the fastest prototypes are doing 200 mph on little more than a country road. The Ferrari driver is a complete amateur and a menace who had no reason to drive Rocky off the road.

It gets worse: Rob Kauffman is one of those Master-of-the-Universe hedge-fund managers who borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars against YOUR money invested in "his" fund to pay himself fat dividends that he didn't have to re-pay when his fund (and your investment in it) tanked. Now he's on an ego-trip at Le Mans. Bethany McLean on the Fortress Group | Politics | Vanity Fair

Here's what Rocky's co-driver Romain Dumas had to say about this clown at: 'Maybe it needs a catastrophe to make them react' | Page 1 | Le Mans News | Jun 2011 | Crash.Net

Dumas, for his part, was rather more forthright in expressing his views on the matter, bluntly rebuffing any notions that visibility difficulties for the Audi drivers contributed to the two shunts and arguing that competitors should be of a certain standard before they are passed fit to compete at La Sarthe.

“I spoke about it at the start of the weekend,” the Frenchman railed. “There's not even any question. Rocky has been the victim of an accident with an amateur, who hit him on a straight at more than 300km/h.

“Normally, when you're more than 35 seconds-a-lap slower than your team-mate, you start to have nothing to do with being here. When the gaps are so narrow [between the front-runners], you can't afford to risk losing too much time, and when someone hits you like that, Mike couldn't do anything; the other driver turned into him on the straight. Happily, he got out of the car and for the moment, he seems to be okay.

“It's not a problem of visibility. If someone turns into you on the straight, what can you do? It wasn't Mike's fault; it's simply a problem of the level [of ability]. The trouble is, clearly, that at those speeds, the track is unforgiving. Perhaps we need to wait for a catastrophe to get something done about it.

“The race is spoiled, but there's still an Audi in the fight. It's a shame, because the cars are quick, but bad luck seems to be on our side. These kinds of situation are definitely not due to driver error from our drivers, but that's racing.”

Kauffman was subsequently disqualified from the race for ten times failing to observe flashing blue lights to indicate that he was about to be lapped.

[TSR]

I could not agree more with Romain. LeMans is NOT a place for amateurs, and unfortunately, many truly unqualified clowns are second or third drivers in many GT cars simply because they can write a check.

It is grand time for the ACO to qualify EVERY driver instead of the lead driver in the GT class.

I hope that Mike Rockenfeller will recover from what could be a nasty concussion.

Both Rocky AND Allan McNish are true professionals and never put a wheel wrong in those two accidents, they were simply the victims of, in one, an incompetent amateur and in the second, one fairly good driver who forgot for a few seconds where he was.

[Ron Hershman]

Allan had already passed the Ferrari when the right front of the GT car hit the left rear corner of the Audi.

Two wheels below the white line trying to make it "fit"... didn't work.

Looks about identical to when Senna passed Prost at Japan and Prost hit the left rear of Senna... taking both out.

[flem1959]

The first Audi crash was clearly questionable, but the second crash was obvious that the guy in the GT Car moved over.
He should have stayed on the left side of the track, the Audi was flashing his lights.
The guys on TV said the GT Car had no reason to early apex that turn.

Just lucky nobody, including a track marshall or photographer got killed or paralized.

It must be tough for all the drivers when they are running 3 different kinds of cars at the same time.,

[Terry]

Not exactly. The driver of the Ferrari GTE said on the French TV that he got a bit wide in the right hand corner after the Dunlop bridge, never saw McNish coming and closed the door trying to get back on the correct line to negotiate the following left-hander leading to the Tertre Rouge corner. The rules of conduct at Le Mans are very clear: once you chose a line, stick with it.
Allan had already passed the Ferrari when the right front of the GT car hit the left rear corner of the Audi.
Allan McNish is not a cowboy and has an incredible history of success in endurance racing, with very few "offs" over the past 8 years. It was simple bad luck complicated by too much of a speed difference between the prototypes and the GT cars. Simply a racing accident.
The second Audi that crashed driven by Rockenfeller ran in exactly the same situation, with a Ferrari GTE suddenly appearing on front of him with a 40 MPH speed difference. Mike got on the grass to avoid a direct punting that would have been worse.
These guys are true professional and take no undue risks, but luck must be part of the deal when you effectively have three races into one.

PdL, surely this is not how you viewed these incidents? If so, you might want to make a visit to your optometrist for an eye exam.

[Rotorranch]

It is the overtaking drivers responsibility to pass cleanly. The (admittedly) slower driver IN FRONT has the line. I saw no fault from either slower driver as to the incidents.

The Audi drivers, (McNish and Rockenfeller) IMHO, caused their own demise. Trying to dive bomb another car to the apex at that closing rate is just stupid! I don't fault the GT drivers at all, but blame the Audi drivers for their mistake.

As to the issue of the driver DQ'd for not "OBEYING" a passing flag or light... I was taught you do not slow down or change what you have been doing, but maintain YOUR line and go as fast as you have been... IF they are that much faster, it's the overtaking drivers responsibility to find a way past safely. A blue flag (or light) does not mean pull over or slow down or drive off line to let the faster car by.

Maybe it does in vintage "racing", but that is more of a parade of cool old cars like I used to watch as a kid, and not real racing.

The driver in front has the line... it's his track. It's up to the overtaking driver to make a clean pass!

McNish and Rockenfeller BOTH screwed up, IMHO.

In the end, it didn't matter as Audi still won with their "Farm League" team. Heck, I could have won LeMans with that car!

Rotor

[TSR]

We will agree to disagree, but most authoritative and respected journalists appear to agree with me.