What it takes to Win LeMans

[KC]

The scale of the effort required just to show up and race is an amazing thing for LeMans. This is what the Team Joest Audi Sport effort requires...

Five articulated trucks of equipment for the cars alone.
Three fully built and ready to race chassis.
Five complete spare engines.
Three complete spare transmissions with suspensions sets.
Six spare radiator sets.
Six spare nose cones.
Five spare rear bodysets and wings.
Five pairs of spare side pods.
52 spare shock absorbers.
112 racing tires mounted on wheels.
Minimum of 2660 liters of racing fuel.

The crew and team consist of 235 technical and public relations personnel.
Audi will publish 14,000 copies of Audi Express, a daily newspaper reporting on the exploits of the team.
None of this includes the foodstuffs, celebratory items should they win, and miscellaneous other support apparatus employed by the team.

[Jim Clark]

...what the point of the post may be?

[Gerard]

Information, Jim, that's what it is, information.

Welcome to the 10-Tenths forums, b.t.w.

Information that tells us there's a lot more going on behind the scenes.
Le Mans is a little bit more than what we see on television, a car driving around for 24 hours.
In order to make sure their effort is succesful, a team has to make precautions.
KC's list shows us things have to be organised in an effective way before a car can even start the race, not to mention the logistical infrastructure that has to be taken care of.

Besides, a post like this is an effort to raise a discussion amongst our members and that's what a bulletin board is there for.

Looking forward to your contributions to these forums.

[TimD]

You're quite right about the scale of operations at Le Mans. Shortly after final practice last year I found myself behind the BMW pits, thinking to myself "Surely they won't need ALL those nosecones. They won't miss a teeny weeny one, will they?"

Needless to say, I fought back any kleptomanic instincts, but the sight of all that spare equipment piled up at the back of the trucks beggared belief.

[Jim Clark]

...I knew that. However, though I understand what you're saying, let me also remind that there are those truly tiny efforts that you don't really get to know from watching the tube either. Although not quite the scope of LeMans, I was part of just such an effort at Daytona xy (yikes!!!) years ago. Big or small effort, the passion has to be there....

[TimD]

Hi Jim, welcome to the forums.

I agree - it's the minnows that give Le Mans its character. I just wish I could have afforded to make the trip this year. I will, however, be cheering on the Courages with the best of them, even if it's Panoz for me all the way.

It's also the little teams that create the best stories. There was a good one going round the circuit last year that one of the GT-3 Porsches was caught on the open road the night before the race, doing 280kph in an effort to lock down a handling defect.

Apparently, a nod and a wink ensured that no action was taken, and they started the race. Couldn't see that sort of situation happening with an Audi R8!

[TimD]

PS You were in a Daytona campaign?

Sounds like an opportunity for a whole new thread. Please tell more. There's got to be some good tales to tell there.

[fatbloke]

For me, Le Mans is about the minnows vs the works guys, the huge differences between the two - in budget and otherwise, and the way they can come unstuck and end up behind the privateers. Of course there's the fans, Radio Le Mans (listening in now on the web!), the camping, the beer, the food....

I am so gutted I didn't make it this year Next year is a DEFINATE!

[marcus]

having never been to le man i dont know what the atmosphere is like but i can hazard a gues that its electric for sure...to me le man is a struggle of man and machinery to last the distance..drivers and crew getting a chance to catch a nap here and there and then get on with the job at hand..it always amazes me how they can do it but somehow they manage it...just spare a thought for the poor soles who have to unpack ..work on the cars ..and then pack all that equipment up again...thosse guys really earn their money...i get annoyed at pulling my kart off the trailer and then grabbing the tool box and a few other things ..just to go racing ...guess i will look at that in a new light now

[KC]

I didn't mean to say that it requires that the level of commitment of Audi to win it all, just illustrating what they think it takes. I always pull for the underdog teams. I would love to see a Panoz, or Rafanelli's Lola take the win. Audi will be hard to beat without a doubt, but they are in the same position Toyota was last year.

I wonder if that GT3 Porsche had to overtake anyone? Now that would scare the hell out of some farmer trundling along on a hay cart!

[Liz]

I agree, it's the privateeers that give Le Mans the real flavour - the best part about it is that anybody has a chance to get out and try their luck, and everyone I heard had at least one Privateer team they were cheering on, even if they claimed to be supporting only the Panoz or Audi teams overall - I myself was cheering the Courage 16 car and was so glad they came 4th, as I think Nissan did a real rotten thing to keep Yves Courage out of this race - and of course for the 63 Corvette ably run by Ron Fellows, a fellow Canadian who had never run before and had to be pried out of the car with a hook and a rope ("Hey Ron give the rest of us a chance!") and was very pleased to finish 11th. In fact, everyone who finished at all, including the snakebit Cadillacs, were very proud of having lasted the distance.

I had a seat across from the Audi, Viper and Corvette pits and it was amazing to see what they could do to rebuild those cars and throw them out onto the track again. Makes the F1 boys look like sissy crybabies and I can't imagine Ron Dennis captaining one of the Le Mans teams.

Just pray every night that Bernie never gets his hands on Le Mans. Panoz is bad enough. (P.S. I love the Panoz cars.)

[Jim Clark]

...endurance racing is endurance racing and F1 is a sprint. actually there is no reason to respond to this post but if you don't think Joest rules with an iron fist as any F1 head honcho does; you need to take an alert pill.... Bottom line...they both have their places; and it looks like Audi may just join the F1 fray as did BMW. Yahoo!!!

[elephino]

As most would expect of me, I was cheering on the Brabham Panoz, but also the Audis, especially the #7 one (it's a Joest thing).

But on the privateer side, I was going for the only Australian team in the event in GT class with a Porsche, Skea Racing. They came 21st overall, not a bad effort first time out.