i did not want to post this yesterday in case anyone was watching the end of the 24 of Le Mans tape delayed, but i figure today is ok.

a big congrats to PORSCHE for taking the class win in both GT PRO and GT AM. what a great battle it was with the astons. and to at the very end get the ferrari in gt am was briliant. take that marranello...

i can't wait till porsche gets back to LMP1 next year. head to head with Audi. it is going to be a battle royal. it may not happen the first year, but i can't imaging porsche will be satisfied with anyting less than second. scraTCH that. make that P1.

GT PRO
Germany Porsche AG Team Manthey
Germany Marc Lieb
Austria Richard Lietz
France Romain Dumas Porsche 911 RSR M 315
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6

GT AM
France IMSA Performance Matmut
France Raymond Narac
France Christophe Bourret
France Jean-Karl Vernay Porsche 911 GT3 RSR M 306
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6

here is a link for the full list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans

A seriously great race and I'd still like to understand exactly how the #7 car got out of the 10m driver distance restriction...

They commented that if directed to exit the car by the track marshals the car is not considered "abandoned".


KT

One of the two greatest races of the year and Autoweek leads the daily report with a NASCAR race? In fact, the results are in the FIFTH story! SHAME on them, shilling for racertainment over Le Mans.

The Cap'n

Right, I heard that but never heard that it was what actually happened.

Thanks!

i know that was such a lame moment.

i know that was weird.

i heard that too. but is was clear that the toyota drive was actually walking away already and was not directed by the track marshall. there is also a safety provision that allows the driver a to move beyond the 10 meter mark. but does not explain it either. what ever.

Yes, obviously he walked more than 10 meters away from the car but it is *possible* he was instructed to do so ..... hard to tell because the live shot cuts away for a replay. In any case, I'm sure the corner workers would defend him, and why not? The conditions were very dangerous ..... climbing out of the car and going over the catch fence to get out of harm's way was the prudent thing to do, in my opinion. The Toyota was not going to get a podium finish anyway, and there was only a little over an hour to go, so why not let it finish?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScUf7KQ4J8E

i agree, the the position was for 4th and the #1 audi of Lotterer, Fässler and Tréluyer would have moved in to that position. which is important for the World Endurance Championship, points wise. however since audi did not protest then it must of not been that big a deal to the team.

BTW

i don't want to sound insensitive in the celebration of porsche's great result. it is very sad the danish driver Allen Simonsen lost his life. aston martin and his family released a statement during the race. very classy.

Nicholas Lapierre....French driver. Special dispensation. This isn't a new deal people; the ACO bends rules whenever it feels appropriate and especially in the case of French drivers. Remember Peugeot? Pescarolo?

Several years ago one of the Corvettes broke a halfshaft out on course and walked more like 15-20 meters from the car and was disqualified.

I too was impressed to see Porsche win in a brand new car, but have to admit I was pulling hard for Aston. Simonsen was a great guy and seemed to be well liked by all.

By all accounts it seems like it was one of the most stressful races in recent memory. When it rains on and off like that over such a large course, I feel like it really must be a true test of skill, mental fortitude and cohones. I went out at Sebring last year when it was drizzling on the back part of the track, while it was dry on the frontstretch. I promptly spun the car in two laps and my lap times never came back - it scared the crap out of me being in such an unpredictable situation, both with a wet track and at night (and I was only doing 125-130 at most).

Agreed, yes, Simonsen's death was tragic. My condolences go out to the family.

Somewhere I read a report that said the combination of freshly painted surfaces and wet wet weather made for dangerously slippery conditions at the start of the race. Watching this video, you can see that several cars spin out when they put a wheel on the painted surface on the outside of the turn, the last being Simonsen (hopefully, this video is not in poor taste ..... the actual impact on the barrier can't be seen).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIVpzKqCLBE

I had said the different surfaces caused problems. I had not see this angle, but boy it is no doubt was the problem. All the other drivers spun to the inside. Simonsen pulled left and that is what took him to the wall.

They need to put tires in front of the Armco there or cut those trees down that are three feet beyond the Armco.

Did you see the big piece of bark out of the tree that he hit after pushing in the armco?

That tree was the real problem.

John

I don't know about the tree but I'm sure you're right about the tire barrier. There have been some massive crashes at Le Mans over the years, the Ferrari-Toyota crash in 2012 and Lapierre this year in the Toyota for example, where the drivers walk away after slamming heavily into the tires.

Click to view attachment

this will undoubtedly start some kind of review process in the next weeks. i don't think they will be able to cut the trees down but there most definitely should be more padded protection in these area. for that matter as many areas as possible