2015 Le Man 24 Hours Thread

[steveaki13]

Have not had time to set up much, but incase anyone is interested I thought it about time to start the thread

[Ounin]

yes it is about time good idea, don't know if more forum members are interested...it's more rallying I guess. I arrived at LM yesterday, great weekend ahead looking forward to this; one of greatest line up for years

[AndyRAC]

I think this is one of the few forums were there isn't that much interest in WEC/ Le Mans. Whereas most other forums the opposite is true - and the WRC gets little interest.

I've often said that if the WRC ran Sportscar racing we'd have the 4 Hours of Le Mans on the Bugatti circuit..... ;)

[Rollo]

Neel Jani's 3m16.887s is the pole time and it looks like Porsche have a 1-2-3 lockout in qualifying. Audi have taken 4-5-6 and Toyota are 7-8.

[NOR]

yes it is about time good idea, don't know if more forum members are interested...it's more rallying I guess. I arrived at LM yesterday, great weekend ahead looking forward to this; one of greatest line up for years
This forum was originally named Rallyforum.com Just try to write it down on your browser... and will see.

[Rollo]

Wait what?

Even though the three Nissans have set times that would have put them 11th, 12th and 14th, because they have failed to meet the 110% qualifying minimum, they'll now be demoted to 30th, 31st and 32nd despite being faster than the 18 or so cars ahead of them.

This is nuts.

[steveaki13]

Here we go. Time for 24 hours of racing

Who else is watching?

[AndyRAC]

Whatever happens, Audi usually ends up smelling of roses. They can also win without having the fastest car; through reliability, know how & race management.
I would like to see either Porsche or Toyota win, I've had enough of the 4 rings winning; plus the majority of their road cars are utterly bland.

[steveaki13]

I would expect Audi to win.

I remember the days when this thread had good chat. :( All a bit point less these days.

[AAReagles]

Well as mentioned before on different sub-forums, the decline of interest is somewhat due to lack of widespread coverage (here in the states at least), and the vast forms of other entertainment. Maybe when 'Go Like Hell' hits theaters, there will be a boost... hopefully.


Don't care much for the Hollywood culture, but I'll root for P. Dempsey in his class (like I would Garner, McQueen and Newman) since that provides more exposure - possibly - to folks who have yet been bitten by the racing bug.

Other than that, I'm Porsche all the way. Hard to believe it's been 18 years since their last pole here (Michele Alboreto - Joest Porsche).

[MrJan]

Isn't technology amazing? My brother and I are sat on different sides of the Atlantic and using the same log in details to watch. Both of us have multi-screen setup, I've got the Eurosport coverage on mute (with Radio Le Mans for commentary) and then a 38" TV, a 17" laptop and my iPhone showing a variety of onboards thanks to the official WEC app :D

Good tight race at the minute with the 17 Porsche being I think the one with the upper hand, but I haven't got to grips with how the stints are working out yet. 7 and 9 Audis are running pretty close behind though...for the minute. Shame that Toyota don't quite have the pace/investment to keep up, they're almost running their own race and seeing where they end up. Even bigger shame that the Nissan isn't even close to being a quick car, I haven't read much about it but can't really understand the logic in going front wheel drive.

Not got my head properly into the other classes yet (got another 17 hours to get the hang of it) but seems like LMP2 has a car clearly quicker than the rest of the field and isn't nearly as close as normal...but Le Mans takes far more than just raw speed.

[AAReagles]

Yeah, as they say, 'slow and steady wins the race', or something of that sort. :s

Audi is making it interesting, being able to survive their off-course moments.

Dempsey Racing was third in class GTE, last time I checked. So far so good. :)

[nafpaktos]

Can sobody send me a link(libe video streaming) with english commentar?the one i found is in french and the other is live streaming without commentary from nissan car.

[AAReagles]

I would but I'm hitched off a live-blog myself.

Looks like Mr Jan has got it going w/Eurosport (muted) & Radio Le Mans (for audio)..

[MrJan]

Can sobody send me a link(libe video streaming) with english commentar?the one i found is in french and the other is live streaming without commentary from nissan car.

Not got a stream but just go to the Radio Le Mans website http://www.radiolemans.com/ . They have a live Youtube video embeded in the home page that has the time on it, so that you can pause it to sync with whatever stream you watch.

I really like the Radio Le Mans team and always listen to their coverage even when I've had good streams.

I've now worked out how to have another screen so I've got onboard coverage on a big TV, laptop, tablet and my iPhone, the main coverage on another TV and this netbook for timing...although TBH most of the onboards at the minute are just of headlights and tail lights under the safety car :D

[MrJan]

The acceleration of the P1 cars out of the slow zone is brutal.

[AAReagles]

Hour 17 update:

Porsche #19 & #17 are running 1-2 :)

#77 Dempsey Proton Porsche holding 3rd in GTE-Am class. :)

[MrJan]

Caved at about 7am UK time and went to bed for a few hours but doesn't seem like I missed too much on track.

Amazed that the Porsche has run at that pace so reliably (so far). Could do with something to spice the race up a bit, with the exception of the Jota aiming for 2nd in LMP2 there doesn't seem to be much of a battle on at the minute.

[AAReagles]

Hour 20 update:

Porsche holding 1-2 positions with #19 and #17. :)

Audi in 3rd with #9.

There have been unconfirmed reports that at approximently 02:30 EST, Fox Sports 1 had resumed broadcasting of the race. Subscribers are on standby. No further details are available at this time.

[AAReagles]

Hour 21 update:

Still Porsche's race so far. :)

Townsend Bell spins while passing Dempsey Porsche??? Yeah that's it Patrick - show em' your Schumi skills! :)

[AAReagles]

Hour 22 update:

1) Porsche #19 :)
2) Porsche #17 :)
3) Audi #7

In GTE-Am class, #77 Dempsey still in 3rd position after another dice with Townsend Bell. :)

Bell called in to abide stop-n-go penalty for speeding in pit lane. Cheater!

[MrJan]

Just over an hour to go and, barring any dramas, looks like most classes are clear cut. The real battle looks to be LMP2 where it's Jota again that are chasing down the lead after struggling in the early stages of the race.

[AAReagles]

Just over an hour to go and, barring any dramas, looks like most classes are clear cut.

That's what I'm hoping. Good to see the #64 Corvette in position to win it's class.

Right now I'm hearing Mel Gibson's voice from the heavy calvary charge scene in Brave Heart..."Hold"...."Hold!"...."HOLD!!"

[AAReagles]

#98 Aston out??

... that means #74 Dempsey Racing should secure podium finish in the GTE-Am Class!! :eek:

Ho-man! I see some changes on my chosen lotto numbers after this.

[AAReagles]

Aww chit, here comes the rain...

[truefan72]

It was a glorious event and congrats to Hulkenberg.
For the first time I think I had the majority of the race on in the background.

[steveaki13]

Great Race and brill to see Porsche end Audi dominance.

Can't believe the Aston crashed out 45 minutes from the end.

The endurance championship and now Le Man continues to upstage F1 this season.

Look at Hulkenberg's reaction. More happy probably than he has ever been in F1.

[AAReagles]

24 & Final Hour Update:

1) Porsche #19 :champion:
2) Porsche #18 :)
3) Owwdi #whatever :bones:

Dempsey Racing 2nd in GTE-Am :smokin:

And the Vette won its class. RTFO. Good day indeed.

[focus206]

Congratulations to Porsche, Hulkenberg, Bamber and Tandy!
What are your impressions on Nissan?

[Rollo]

I think that the Nissan obviously has room for improvement but I like the fact that if you give teams an open sandbox and enough shovels, they build interesting things.

[AAReagles]

The endurance championship and now Le Man continues to upstage F1 this season...

Good. Let F1 & the IRL fold like the cheap, rat-b$stard suits that run them, or ruin them more like.

Hope more fans take notice, and take action as a result. Seek and enjoy a better product, while taking their money away from those other parasite series, saying "It's been nice knowing ya and all, but hey man, good luck... and I do mean good luck."

[steveaki13]

I have to say, the Nissan's reminded me of something from years back, but I actually really liked the design. Interesting concept and quite unlike the top cars.

Hope they persist and improve.

Toyota need to do the same. Reliable but way off the pace.

[steveaki13]

Speaking of reliability. All 8 top cars finishing is insane enough, but without even one of them losing 30 laps or something.

Incredible.

[AAReagles]

Speaking of reliability. All 8 top cars finishing is insane enough, but without even one of them losing 30 laps or something.

Incredible.

Those guys running in the LMP1 class, are they running the same RPMs as F1?

[anfield5]

Great day for New Zealand motor sport. Earl Bamber 1st, Brendan Hartley second. Only second time a kiwi has won and 1966 doesn't really count, although if that finish had gone to plan Amon would have won anyway,

Add to this Hayden Paddon finishing second in Rally Italy (should have won but for a gearbox issue) a truely memorable weekend for us little kiwis

[Mekola]

Greetings to New Zealanders with the 1-2 at today's Le Mans 24 Hrs. Also to Australians, with the 2nd position of Mark Webber.

[anfield5]

Had to smile at the BBC. Headline was along the lines of Nico Hulkenberg wins LeMans from Mark Webber - odd headline as Nico didn't drive on his own.

Then there was a subheading like this 'Nico Hulkenberg became the first active Formula 1 driver to win Le Mans for 24 years as he partnered England's Nick Tandy to victory in a Porsche.'

They then gave an account of how Tandy and Hulkenberg drove the race and didn't ever mention Earl Bamber again

Buried in the story was a mention of the other driver. Well done BBC fair and acurate as always. :)

[steveaki13]

Typical BBC.

Hulkenberg gets attention as the "star" as they seem to think no one actually watches 24 hours and understands it. Then as you say make it out that he drives on his own. :rolleyes:

Oh yes and then make it all about a Brit. :p

The Kiwi barely did anything noteworthy ;) (Just won Le Mans)

[journeyman racer]

Greetings to New Zealanders with the 1-2 at today's Le Mans 24 Hrs. Also to Australians, with the 2nd position of Mark Webber.
I don't care for Mark.


Great day for New Zealand motor sport. Earl Bamber 1st, Brendan Hartley second. Only second time a kiwi has won
I forgot about that. And there I was, all day thinking that Earl was the first NZer to win LM :o



and 1966 doesn't really count, although if that finish had gone to plan Amon would have won anyway,

Why doesn't it count?

[tbtstt]

So gutted I wasn't able to get there this year. Great race though, not quite as close to the flag as I was hoping, but still brilliant to watch.

[MrJan]

Had to smile at the BBC. Headline was along the lines of Nico Hulkenberg wins LeMans from Mark Webber - odd headline as Nico didn't drive on his own.

The BBC headline that I saw was more along the lines of "England's Nick Tandy wins Le Mans....with two others". Although the story made it sound like each driver did 8 hours straight and then handed to the next one. Don't blame them for hyping up the F1 driver bit though, it helps for non-motorsport people to relate to and gives the story meaning to more people. Happens elsewhere too, if a footballer has a car crash and someone gets hurt (even if it's a lower league player) then it'll be "footballer runs over pedestrian". If it's a dentist or lawyer or construction site manager then it'll be "person runs over pedestrian". Journalism has to seek to identify with elements that will be recognisable and give the biggest audience, unfortunately that means that we'll always have to put up with F1 getting mentioned.

Great to see the reaction of Tandy after the end of the race, he was clearly blown away by it.

[MrJan]

So gutted I wasn't able to get there this year. Great race though, not quite as close to the flag as I was hoping, but still brilliant to watch.

Yeah the last 6 or so hours were just a case of Porsche needing to be reliable, up until then there was a very real chance of it going either way.

[anfield5]

Why doesn't it count?

Ford had the best failed staged finish of all time. They had two cars onthe lead lap and decided to stage a finish for the photo album. They had the second car of McLaren and Hulme pull up alongside the lead car of Miles and Amon and finish in formation. Miles and Amon crossed the line first (half a car length in front) only to be told after the race that Bruce and Denny were declared winners, due to the fact that they started from further down the grid, and thus covered more distance *by about 6.5 metres)

http://www.carstyling.ru/resources/classic/1966_Ford_GT40s_LeMans_Victory.jpg

[journeyman racer]

Oh right, I see.

On another note. If a Pom was going to get up and win, I'm glad it wasn't Anthony Davidson. That guy's a flog. 7 factory LMP1 drives at LM for 0 wins now.

Does Nick Tandy have any presence amongst British motorsport fans before this? I suspect he's unknown amongst the wider British public?

[Ounin]

Greetings to New Zealanders with the 1-2 at today's Le Mans 24 Hrs. Also to Australians, with the 2nd position of Mark Webber.

Don't forget Richie Stanaway and Mitch Evans, two shiny futures in long distance racing ahead. It was funny there were comparisons made with Danmark, so many very good drivers per 4-5 million citizens Danmark as well and in NZ.

[Ounin]

Oh right, I see.

On another note. If a Pom was going to get up and win, I'm glad it wasn't Anthony Davidson. That guy's a flog. 7 factory LMP1 drives at LM for 0 wins now.

Does Nick Tandy have any presence amongst British motorsport fans before this? I suspect he's unknown amongst the wider British public?

Saw Davidson nearly miss it coming out of Esses towards Tertre Rouge it was damn close! Tandy is very known in Britisch motorsport fans aeria, which is huge. Wider British public only knows this Hamilton guy (as I recall this lad is part of the Eccelstone show...) In order to attract a bit more attention for this 24H race than only the fans, I can imagine the Tandy headline.

[anfield5]

Don't forget Richie Stanaway and Mitch Evans, two shiny futures in long distance racing ahead. It was funny there were comparisons made with Danmark, so many very good drivers per 4-5 million citizens Danmark as well and in NZ.

You are quite correct. NZ produces many talented drivers, Scott Dixon, Hayden Paddon, Hartley, Evans, Stanaway, Chris van der Drift who was doing well in F3 two years ago before a Herbert like accident at Brands HAtch. The problem for our young stars is twofold. 1. they don't tend to have huge amounts of cash behind them, and in F1 terms New Zealand isnt a marketable commodity i.e. if they were from a different country with lots of cash sponsors available, they would progress further, faster.

[Ounin]

Chris vd Drift lives in Milton Keynes UK near friends of mine, funny to see a racing hero in local supermarket ... Funny thing is that the Dutch claim Chris as a Dutchman, at least he speaks Dutch fluently.

In that case a big credit then to Red Bull and it's worldwide development programm they have supported Evans as well as Hartley early in their careers albeit living so far away then! Don't know the popularity of Motorsport in NZ in general, TV or other public media but maybe again similarity with Damark (I'm not Danish by the way) lots of money goes to other sports like soccer... They are having good racing seats due to their talent, big wallet or a decent combination of the two. The Kiwi's are there I guess only for their huge talent, the rich guys stay Down Under.