Le Mans With McLaren - The Race Action

Awesomely we were allowed in the pit lane and on the grid before the race..apparently they let everyone else in as well..

This was my first visit to an endurance race and it was really nice once the race had started to know that you had a whole 24hours. This means that you don't have to rush anywhere or fret too much about missing anything. I didn't have track access so was a bit limited on where I could photograph from but as this was more of a social occasion I was pretty happy to sit down with many a glass of champagne and watch the action. I whole heartedly recommend Le Mans to any car fan, the variety of cars and engine sounds (proper engine sounds not the poncy F1 noises you get these days) really amplify the atmosphere. Here are some race photos:

During the race McLaren put on a bit of entertainment so along with interviews with some of the Le Mans winning drivers we had Gordon Murray and Jeff Hazell telling us about the car.

CEO Mike Flewitt

JJ Lehto and Masanori Sekiya telling amusing stories about winning Le Mans in the F1 GTR

Chris Lawton interviewing Gordon Murray and Jeff Hazell about the McLaren F1

Oh yeah, and Porsche WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woop woop (Sorry McLaren but you need to enter a car to win so i'll back you guys next time)

Le Mans With McLaren - A Lap Of The Track

In order to celebrate 20 years since winning Le Mans with the F1 GTR McLaren did a parade lap before the start of the race with a selection of F1 GTRs, P1s and 650s (including the new Le Mans edition..roof scoop yo) being followed finally by some 12Cs. I have to say this really was one of the best things I've ever done. Sitting in a P1 behind an F1 GTR Longtail (driven by JJ Lehto) about to do a slow cruise around the Le Mans track really got the blood pumping. In the prior briefing there were a few safety tips and guidelines to keep everyone safe and all the cars in one piece. Firstly, no overtaking. The impression I had been given was that we were going to go for a very sedate drive around the track in a line. Apparently race drivers have very selective hearing because after a few slow corners past the crowds the pace started to increase at an exponential rate until i found myself doing 180mph down the Mulsanne straight behind some screaming GTRs! This I will never forget.. Below i've linked my snapchat which has a bit of video of the lap.

Mclaren f1 gtr

Mclaren f1 gtr

Mclaren f1 gtr le mans

Mclaren f1 gtr p1 le mans

Evo Triangle with a Speciale and GT3 RS

Let's set the scene, a Ferrari 458 Speciale and a Porsche GT3 RS to drive the EVO triangle..there have been worse days. We dragged ourselves out of bed nice and early to be greeted by a cold and damp yet sunny morning. With temperatures in the single digits neither man nor machine was ready to do anything too ambitious right off the bat. 

View fullsize

Starting cars like this up in the morning could be seen as antisocial, I think it's much more favourable to my neighbours kids running around screaming in the morning. Loud engine noises also have a similar effect to a strong coffee to clear your head before skating off on semi slicks. The RS is equipped with a sharkwerks bypass pipe running valves open all the time which creates one of the best sounds i've ever heard out of an engine. This is oldschool driving, 3 pedals, 1 stick and an engine in the wrong place. 

View fullsize

Clearly there are 2 ways to skin a cat..

The Ferrari Speciale is a very different animal; a lot more horsepower and an engine in the "correct" place. With the shift in engine placement the driving characteristics change dramatically. In the Porsche you can get the power down very early due to the monumental grip generated, driving the Ferrari is a bit more of a dance as the rear always wants to play silly buggers and oversteer all over the place. In normal driving you wouldn't really notice these characteristics as both cars are happy to mooch around town and just go about your everyday business, slacken off the traction control, put your foot down and the excitement and feedback levels go off the charts. 

View fullsize

Clearly Wales had different plans for us as after a brief coffee stop to take a few photos and shoot a bit of video the clouds came in and the rain came. It really is a testament to how great driving good roads with a friend is that neither of us gave two shits. The lower grip levels just keep your speeds more legal which isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

View fullsize

I tried to string together a video from the small bits of footage I took, definitely going to make a few more of these as it's pretty fun and I'm learning about this whole talking to a camera thing. 

I'd heard much about the "Evo Triangle" and I have to say it definitely lived up to the hype. A solid mix of open fast sections and windy technical stretches. North Wales honestly was phenomenal but you've just got to watch out for the occasional sheep or patch of slippy "fertiliser". 

After dicking around for an few hours we were joined by a McLaren 12C before heading over to Anglesey for the night. Have a look at Mr JWW's video below. 

Insert arbitrary group shots here:

View fullsize

McLaren 12C