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Melissa McCormick18 Jun 2004
NEWS

Le Mans 24 hour: The world's greatest race

CarPoint wanders around the 2004 Le Mans 24hr race chatting to fans and fanatics in search of the real story. Race? What race?

For many, motor racing's mecca is the Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar race, held in northern France every year since 1923. It's a convergence of technical and human endurance that punishes the weak and commends the brave in one of motorsport's toughest arenas.

The fact that current ruler of sportscar racing Audi has dominated the event for a long while (paddock talk included debate whether the R8's supremacy rivals that of the Porsche 917's dominance in the 60s and 70s) and was likely to whitewash the event in a 1-2-3 sweep is a non-issue.

The majority of those that made up this year's 200,000-plus crowd didn't come from places all over the world to fly any flag for any particular team -- well, apart from those patriotic (to a fault) English -- but had come for, unquestionably, the grandest spectacle in motorsport.

The cooler night-time temperature spirits the cars to faster speeds -- clearly the opposite of what they should be doing in near total darkness -- and the late evening sky backdrop reveals mechanical marvels that would otherwise go unnoticed in daylight.

Streams of sparks from undercarriages sweeping close to the track surface and glowing brake discs shows fans just how hard the cars work, especially after 24 hours on the job.

BRIT PACK
Our new mate Andy crossed the channel with a group of supporters for the TVR team. Without the 'Bentley Boys' on the grid this year, sportscar fans from the Old Dart were left with that other marque, from Blackpool, in its second successive attempt at the GT class, and Morgan -- the only all-Brit teams, and both destined to be backmarkers in this event.

"Just to finish this year would be really good -- there's a reliability issue with the engines again. I think in the next few years TVR will do better... I'll keep coming over, just to make sure!"

Andy tells me to wait, returning quickly with a TVR cap that he asks me to "wear around Le Mans and back at home, whether we're able to win or not!"

Whether it be cricket, rugby, or motorsport, the English seem to cop disappointing results on the chin, masking poor performance with loud, lager-laced revelry and working on the 'safety in numbers' principle.

CarPoint counted eight different groups of 'lads', identified by t-shirts spruiking various suggestions: "Drink hard, play harder with Brits Abroad", and at least three 'Barmy Armys'.

The Union Jack had a far greater profile in the bars around the track, than on it.

Other groups included TWATS (Two-Wheel All-Terrain Stars), and Team Shambles, a representative of which explained that the name epitomised their lack of organisation and their behaviour that "gets worse every year".

"This is our annual reunion. Some of us have been to every event for 27 years. We'll be lucky to even see a car this weekend," said one of the Shambles over a plastic flute of Mumm Champagne. "I heard last year was a good one for us, but I don't remember it!"

There certainly is enough trackside activity to take attention away from the racing on the circuit. Nearby is an incredible automotive museum paying homage to the event's history and the cars involved.

Created in 1961 by the Automobile-Club de l'Ouest and the Department de la Sarthe, the museum houses a vast display of both road cars and examples of race cars prominent in past 24 hour events, models and dioramas.

The cars have been sourced primarily from the ACO's collection, private owners and local manufacturers, including those from de Dion and Georges Durand -- generally regarded as the creator of the 24 hours of Le Mans race.

A carnival atmosphere pervades the Circuit de la Sarthe, complemented by an incredible Sideshow Alley that includes Disneyland-type rides, and of course, the famous ferris wheel. And don't expect to have to suffer hotdogs and chips: stalls offering baguettes, Grand Marnier crepes and potato au gratin abound. There's even an Hermes store.

At yet another table laden with empty Mumm bottles (at 45 Euro or $80 each) Chris and his company tell me this is the 10th time they've been to Le Mans for the race.

"We're just a bunch of friends that all get together, some from the 'States, mostly English though, and we've come over basically just to get pissed," he admits, laughing.

BUT SERIOUSLY
It's not all just a drunk and disorderly weekend for everyone. Parisian Anne Levanent and her sons have travelled the two hours to Le Mans every year as soon as her "babies could walk around the track", and we spoke with flag marshall Eduord Frechette who'd been working the Arnage point since 1972.

Real motor racing fans were out in droves, sporting t-shirts from events such as the World Rally and Formula One championships. CarPoint even unearthed a V8 Supercar fan from Norwich, England, who'd been to last year's race in New Zealand and had become an ardent supporter of the Holden Racing Team, identified by the Jason Bright team cap that he wore.

American Merrick Pratt, team manager and owner of two Chevy-powered Intrepids that made their Le Mans race debut this year, said: "They're car crazy here in Europe. The kind of questions you get from the people: they want to know serial numbers, all kinds of detail. It's great. We try to give them all the information they want. That's what they come to these events for: to see these cars and for a bit of history."

With more than 70 races under its belt since the first in 1923, no one does history like the 24 Heures du Mans. And history will show that Audi again managed a 1-2-3 finish, relegating Bentley's race win in 2003 to an automotive anomaly and giving the German marque three of the last four victories.

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Written byMelissa McCormick
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