24 Hours of Le Mans, 2011

Guest Blog by @MrWebbi: 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2011 (all words are author's own)

June has not only been a classic month for Grand Prix racing, but it was also a classic for endurance racing too. The infamous Le Mans 24 hour race was an absolute blinder this year – It genuinely had everything – Big-time, life endangering crashes, glamorous machinery, international flavour and the closest finish in decades!

I made the journey from Manchester to my first ever Le Mans this year having wanted desperately to go for the last 10 years or so and never quite managing it. After a very clumsily booked package deal was hastily cobbled together, a friend and I embarked upon the 1200-mile round trip in a diesel van and a Eurotunnel train, hoping to find the amazing sights and sounds this legendary race is famous for.

Well, what we found was an experience I have already pledged to repeat as often as I can. Right from the moment we arrived the fun began (well, perhaps just after we arrived and had some deranged French teenager on a bike - staff - take us to the wrong campsite). 

The camping grounds were instantly recognisable as an international affair, with Danish, German, French and British campers amking the majority, but plenty of Dutch, Belgians, Spaniards and Swiss intermingled too. They were loud but friendly, orderly too, with festival-style facilities in non-festival style conditions (read CLEAN!). A perfect crowd to immerse yourself in to soak up the anticipation. 

The race itself was a classic, with exception to around three hours in total behind safety cars – including one stint where they had to bring out a spare while the original refuelled! 

Audi vs Peugeot was the big rivalry again, with both manufacturers once again running diesel power, and there was extra interest thrown in with the Aston Martin team running in the top class. Resplendent in the all-time great Gulf livery and carrying the numbers 007 and 009, they were by far the best supported team. Unfortunately their two cars managed only six laps between them before retiring.

Le Mans AUDI Safety car, 2010

Lower down the classes, Signatec Nissan had a driver line-up that included a Spaniard by the name of Lucas Ordonez. He had won his place via winning a competition on the Playstation game Gran Turismo 5 and coming through the Nissan/GT5 drivers academy; quite a story for one of the most promising young drivers on track, finishing an impressive second in class in the Playstation sponsored Nissan.

PlayStation stall, Le Mans

Corvettes won both of the GTE classes, and in close proximity they sound like angry thunder (video), providing a soundtrack to the night time that made it almost impossible to fall asleep. A Ford GT, entered by husband and wife team Robertson Racing, managed to finish 3^rd in class, despite it being by far the slowest thing on track. It must have been terrifying to have been overtaken constantly for 24 hours solid, but they earned their place on the podium for fantastic reliability and composure on track.

There were two huge crashes, both involving Audis that provided heart-stopping moments. Both Alan McNish’s and Mike Rockenfeller’s involved clipping a slow GTE car whilst overtaking, sending them hurtling into the barrier, both left wreckages that it looked almost impossible that a human could walk out of alive, but both did exactly that, a testament to the amazing safety structures now mandatory in the sport.

So Audi won overall by just 14 seconds from the chasing 3 Peugeots. Staggeringly close considering how long the race is. Dr Ullrich, team boss of Audi, showed just how much the race meant to them with his outpouring of emotion after the chequered flag had fallen.

Le Mans pit lane, after the race

Crowds flood the track after the gruelling 24hour race

And as for my experience? Well, much beer and broken sleeping patterns mean I can’t coherently explain what it was that made my Le Mans 2011 so utterly compelling and satisfying, beyond a great race, and awesome venue, wonderful people and an atmosphere you wish you could bottle. Worth a week’s camping in changeable weather, worth the marathon drive and even – dare I say it – worth the horrific queues on the Eurotunnel!

Try it yourself, you will be glad you did…

  

Photos from 2010 Le Mans by @duskyBlogF1. For more photos, check out http://twitpic.com/photos/duskyBlogF1

European GP: Race Summary

General concensus from the F1 watching public is that the European GP lacked any real excitement. In fact, it is currently being recommended on Twitter as a cure for insomnia. So I hope you will appreciate my lack of enthusiasm to write at length about a snoozeFest.
Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso driver Main highlights (the ONLY highlights) were (1) an impressive drive by Jaime Alguersuari to finish 8th from 18th which should stall talks about his imminent replacement by Toro Rosso & Red Bull reserve driver, Daniel Ricciardo and (2) a fantastic F1 concert with David Guetta headlining. The most 'interesting' stat of the day was that it was the first race completed by ALL 24 runners, the highest number of finishers ever. Yes, that's how dull the race was. Results were: VET, ALO, WEB, HAM, MAS, BUT,  ROS, ALG, SUT, HEI, PER, BAR, BUE, DIR, PET, KOB, SCH, MAL, KOV, TRU, GLO, DAM, LIU, KAR. Next race is Silverstone, now THAT definitely promises be an exciting race.

European GP: Qualifying

A harbour-side street circuit in a dry, hot Valencia was the venue of Qualifying for the European Grand Prix.

Drop-Outs from Q1 were the usual suspects of ALG, KOV, TRU, GLO, LIU, DAM, KAR (Alguersuari, Kovalainen, Trulli, Glock, Liuzzi, d'Ambrosio, Karthikeyan)

Q2 got underway shortly afterwards with Ferrari's Massa first out on track. Session was RED FLAGGED when Maldonado stopped in the middle of the track with 8 minutes to go - due to what seemed to be mechanical or electrical failure. At this point, Buemi and Petrov hadn't set a time. Session restarted soon afterwards and all 17 drivers got a time on the board.

However Sutil pushed Petrov out of the top 10 in the last few seconds of Q2. This also means Sutil outqualifies his team-mate for only the second time this season since Turkish GP; partly due to di Resta's lack of running on Friday (Hulkenberg crashed his car during FP1) and a wobble in the last few seconds of Q2. Sutil was later fined €18,400 for 2 incidents of pit-lane speeding in Q2. Mike Gascoigne of Team Lotus suggested that was perhaps for an error in his pit-lane limiter.

Out of Q2 are PET, DIR, BAR, KOB, MAL, PER, BUE (Petrov, DiResta, Barichello, Maldonado, Perez, Buemi) leaving Vettel, Hamilton, Button, Alonso, Webber, Schumacher, Rosberg, Massa, Heidfeld and Sutil to battle it out for the top 10 positions.

With 2 minutes left in the session and with Vettel on provisional pole (Imin36.975), all the front runners went back out including Schumacher who hadn't set a time yet.

Top 10 are: VET, WEB, HAM, ALO, MAS, BUT, ROS, SCH, HEI, SUT

Top 3 Drivers (courtesy BBC.co.uk)

Lewis Hamilton and Tony Stewart 'Car Swap' Mobil1 Event

Few days after another sub-par performance at the Canadian Grand Prix, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton took part in a 'car swap' event on June 14th with NASCAR Racer, Tony Stewart. (This event was initially scheduled for July). 

Both drivers expressed admiration of each other's skills and seemed to enjoy their time in their 'borrowed' cars. Here are videos of the event (via TheNARLtv YouTube channel)

Canada GP Race Summary: The Tale of Two Races (and Two Winners)

Rain was forecasted for Sunday afternoon at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit so the race started behind the Safety car and all drivers were on extreme wet tyres.

Once the Safety car withdrew and real racing began, the first casualty of the race was (unsurprisingly) Lewis Hamilton who tried to overtake his team-mate along the pit straight, but had a collision when Jenson Button swerved to the left suddenly. Hamilton suffered rear-puncture and some suspension damage and was forced to retire. Button later explained that although he looked in this mirrors, he didn't realise his team-mate was there.

By lap 25, the rain was too heavy to continue racing due to lack of visibility and the race was red-flagged. At this point the Top 3 were VET, KOB, MAS. If the race had been called off at this point, half-points would have been awarded. Vettel would have won and have 155.5 WDC points. However the cars stayed on the grid and waited for the rain to stop.

At race re-start, there were more collisions and the second top team casualty was Alonso who tangled with Button and got beached on a kerb. With 20 laps to go, a dry line was appearing on the track and dry tyres were coming into their own. Button's 2-lap-old tyres were at the perfect operating mode to catch the drivers in front of him and he set the fastest lap of the race with 1min16.956. On the penultimate lap, watched by his team-mate in the hospitality area, he closed the gap to race leader Vettel and pressured him into making an error. Button pounced on the opportunity and took the lead and kept it till the waving chequered flag.

Kobayashi who had been running 6th was overtaken on the finishing line by a DRS-enabled Ferrari driven by Massa. Top 10: Button, Vettel, Webber, Schumacher, Petrov, Massa, Kobayashi, Alguersuari (first point scoring position this season), Barrichello and Buemi.

No penalties were awarded after the race so the results stays. Button celebrates his 'best career' win and his first win since Chinese Grand Prix last year. The 'second' winner of this race is now second place in the standings. Vettel 161, Button 101, Webber 94, Hamilton 85, Alonso 69

Rosberg receives Bandini Trophy.

As reported in March earlier this year on a post on this blog (#111), Nico Rosberg, Mercedes Petronas GP racing driver is the 2010/2011 recipient of the Lorenzo Bandini trophy. He joins the ranks of other Formula 1 greats such as Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who have been presented the same trophy in the past.

Nico's ceremony was earlier today Sunday 5th June 2011. The Mercedes GP driver posted this photo on his Twitter/Facebook page. Congratulations Nico!

A (small) taste of Monaco...

The MONACO Grand Prix is a special event: not just for drivers or teams or the locals, but also for the spectators and F1 fans. The famous punishing circuit lets F1 drivers demonstrate the best of their driving skills: perfect handling, adapting to bumps of the street circuit, avoiding the barriers along the narrow street (which protect the fans and the pristine facades of the designer shops) AND seek out impossible spots to overtake on this narrow track.

View of Monaco from Secteur Rocher

So unsuprisingly, many drivers dream of winning this race and many fans save up for the chance to experience it. And when my friend suggested going to the Monaco GP, I initially laughed off the suggestion as I hadn't recently won the lottery and there was no chance of me being able to afford it. The friend in question has 'connections' in a leading racing team so got a free ticket. Yes, just ONE FREE TICKET.

After several weeks of mulling over the suggestion, I decided to do some research on what it would ACTUALLY cost to have a taste of the Monaco Grand Prix. Turns out a 3-day pass and Return flights from the North West of England just three weeks before the Grand Prix would INDEED cost a lot more than I could afford, so I set myself a challenge and a budget of £300. Whatever that could get me, so be it!

It quickly dawned on me that Monday flights back to the UK would be as rare and dear as gold so my return flight would have to be Sunday - which means missing the race. Painful but at least I'd get to see Qualifying and the support races. So I booked my flights, and a cheap hostel in Nice (20mins & €7 by train to Monaco), and a Secteur Rocher ticket for Saturday's Qualifying session. If you don't know where Secteur Rocher is, here is a description of my experience this weekend.

Secteur Rocher

Secteur Rocher (SR) is a part of the Monaco GP track; it is effectively a steep vertical cliff, which Monagasques and foreign avid F1 fans, brave enough to hang onto a cliff edge, would watch the race from. It used to be free to view from there (i mean if you are brave enough to hang off a cliff edge, you deserve a free race, right?). 

 

But now, Monaco GP organisers have found a way to 'police' the area and can cordon off part of the hill to check tickets. One still has to hang off a cliff, perch gingerly on the edge or hang off a tree, but now there are toilets, First Aid teams and stalls selling food in this area.

Fans watching the Qualifying session perched on a tree!

I caught the first train out of Nice on Saturday and arrived at 7am. I had heard horror stories about not getting a good spot on the hill and watching the race from behind someone's head. Plenty of time to look around to find a good spot, i thought. Unbeknownst to me, the more experienced Secteur Rocher visitors had arrived on Wednesday and chained their camp-chairs to the small flat area on the hill top, and taken every shaded area over looking la Rascasse and the pit lane entry. A massive Alonso banner had also been planted on the hill top. Higher up was the British camp; it wasn't an official title, it just happened that several people sitting there were British and supporting McLaren. Amongst them were a scattering of Germans, Russians and a Lithuanian lady. The atmosphere was VERY FRIENDLY and inviting so my friend and I decided to watch Saturday's session from there.

We were made to feel at home by the other members of this group, everyone offered food, drinks, advice and suggestions about having a good SR experience. Perhaps because this was only Quali but people respected your spot, and your 'new friends' would ensure it was still vacant after you returned from a comfort break.
As drivers made their way from their motorhomes across the bridge to the pit-lane, we caught a glimpse of them and with the help of BILLY - who must be the biggest character in Secteur Rocher - and his megaphone, we caught the attention and got a few waves from the drivers.

BILLY had started the morning with friendly taunts to the Red Bull drivers. "We [Mclaren] are coming to get that trophy"; he shouted as the Red Bull engineers strolled in on Saturday morning to prepare for 3rd practice. He may sound obnoxious but this 'stunt' netted him a free pass to the Red Bull Energy Station by Christian Horner!

Billy (right) and friend

Settled down to watch 3rd practice, understandably we were buoyed up by Hamilton's times and were a bit astonished by Rosberg's crash. Little did we know, worse would befall Perez during Qualifying. 

Qualifying

The session started on time, and the mood on the hill remained positive through Q1 and Q2. Maldonado (a Monaco expert) drove brilliantly to get into Q3, so did Perez. However with less than 3 minutes to go, the session was red flagged due to a massive shunt after the tunnel by Perez. The whole track and grand-stands fell quiet as we watched the rescue and emergency teams work to recover driver and car from the wreckage. 

Ambulance taking Sergio Perez to hospital

We later learned that Perez was conscious and speaking and the session would restart. At this point, only 7 drivers had posted a Q3 time and with less than 3 minutes left, the remaining drivers would only get 1 flying lap. Which partly explains why Lewis Hamilton (despite the good pace shown in practice, Q1 & Q2 sessions) could only manage 7th on the grid. His fastest time was later deleted because he jumped a chicane and this demoted him to 9th.

Top 10 drivers were: VET, BUT, WEB, ALO, SCH, MAS, ROS, MAL, HAM, PER

Post-Qualifying

After F1 Qualifying and the GP2 practice, the track was open to the public and one could walk (or run the track) and visit the area outside the motorhomes. Red Bull's was the BIGGEST and most extravagant with a terrace area, and the likes of Horner, Alguersuari, Marko etc chatting to corporate guests. Alonso tried to evade autograph hunters by slipping through one of the back gates, but he was spotted and chased for autographs. He didn't give any autographs and was ushered away by his minders. 

Think they've spotted me!

Newey's new BFF, until Geri Halliwell arrive on Sunday

Lewis Hamilton, Nick Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger enter the F1 pitlane

Helmut Marko at Red Bull Energy Station

Buemi was much better value for the fans, stopping for photos and autographs. Vettel was as cheeky as usual, but in his attempts to evade the 'hunters', he almost fell into the marina. He later stopped to give a select few what they had been waiting for. 

Going for a swim, Seb?

Other F1 personnel spotted on Saturday were Anthony Davidson, Rob Smedley (speaking fluent Italian) and Adrian Newey (who stopped for photos with EVERYONE that asked him, TOP GUY!)

All in all, it was a great experience for me and I would recommend Secteur Rocher at Monaco to everyone. Even if you can afford a Grandstand seat for Sunday's race, spend Qualifying at Secteur Rocher; you'll be glad you did, and while you are there, say Hello to BILLY from me.