Motorsport

Tough questions for Kimi

Alan Henry — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:01:51 GMT

The European Grand Prix at Valencia might not have been the most absorbing of races, but the harbour front circuit was a testament to the city’s great organisational skills and the result underscored just what a complete performer Felipe Massa has become.

The Brazilian never putting a wheel wrong in his Ferrari F2008, coming home just over five seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s charging McLaren.

So can Massa finish the job and close down Hamilton’s present six point lead? Doing so would make him the fourth Brazilian world champion, and put him into some very distinguished company - Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna.

Well, with the patriotic caveat that I think that at the end of the day Lewis will just squeeze home, I certainly wouldn’t bet too much against Felipe.

Yet if Massa has been the revelation of the season so far, I’d have to say that his team-mate and current title holder Kimi Raikkonen has been the most erratic – and baffling – disappointment of 2008.

Raikkonen has now had three poor races in succession and for some unfathomable reason seems to be finding it very difficult to get the best out of the current generation of Bridgestone tyres in qualifying.

Some engineers who have watched his driving technique closely believe his abrupt steering input going into the corners tends to overheat his Ferrari’s front tyres, causing them to lose grip, but, whatever the reason, the team’s sporting director Stefano Domenicali made it clear that the Finn still retains their total confidence.

“It's easy when things are going well, that everyone close to you puts your arms on their shoulders to say ‘you are number one, number one, number one’ and then suddenly when you have a difficult situation, then you say ‘ha ha, this is already a boiled driver,’” said Domenicali, and of course he is correct.

What Ferrari urgently needs to do is rehabilitate Raikkonen, one of F1’s greatest raw driving talents and a man whose $34m annual contract lasts through to the end of next season.

Valencia proves Spain's passion for F1

Alan Henry — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:15:20 GMT

The frenzied sprint for the F1 World Championship finishing line starts what promises to be a hectic seven race schedule this coming Sunday, with the inaugural European Grand Prix staged on the new waterfront circuit in Valencia.

Not only is this one of two brand new races on the 2008 schedule – the other one being next month’s Singapore fixture – but it is a reflection of how Spain has consolidated its position as a commercial and sporting force within Europe over the past few years. Not bad for a country which had something of an on-off love affair with this high octane business right up to the emergence of Fernando Alonso just five years ago.

The country first hosted a Grand Prix on the now long-defunct Pedralbes street circuit in Barcelona in 1951 and ‘54, after which there was a 13-year break before the country’s next F1 fixture with a non-championship race at the newly completed Jarama track just north of Madrid.

Jarama hosted its first championship Spanish GP in 1968, after which the fixture alternated between there and Barcelona’s spectacular Montjuich Park track until the latter was abandoned following a tragic accident in the ’75 race when Rolf Stommelen’s Hill-Cosworth suffered a rear wing failure, vaulted the trackside barrier and killed four onlookers.

The race was then held at Jarama through to 1981, then dropped from the schedule again until ’86 when it popped up at Jerez , then switched to its present home at Barcelona in 1991. A tight little track at Valencia, outside the city, was subsequently developed as a winter Formula One testing venue, but this weekend’s race is being staged on a totally new track down on the waterfront.

“The thing you’ve got to remember about Spain is that there was no real F1 interest there prior to Alonso because they’d never had an F1 driver of any consequence,” said John Hogan, for more than 20 years the vice president of sponsorship for Philip Morris who masterminded the Marlboro cigarette brand’s multi-million dollar investment in the McLaren and Ferrari teams.

“Spain was always a motorcycle racing country. Until Alonso arrived there were only patchy crowds in the grandstands at tracks like Barcelona, but when it came to the MotoGP events there was so much support from the Spanish riders that they would be staging three or four events a year simply to satisfy the huge demand.”

The Alonso effect is reflected in Banco Santander’s move to sponsor the McLaren team last year. And the fact the bank is widely tipped to switch its support to Ferrari in 2010 gives added weight to speculation that Alonso will be joining them at the famous Italian team.

Technorati tags: Formula One, Alan Henry, Fernando Alonso, Spain, Jarama, Valencia, Lewis Hamilton

Where Lewis got his start

Alan Henry — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:06:39 GMT

Dropped by at the ZipKart factory in Hoddesdon last week where the boss, multiple kart championship winner Martin Hines reminded me just how his sport has developed from a self-contained pastime in its own right into the most crucial lower rung on the motorsporting ladder.

"When I started competing as a boy in 1962 it was all pretty unsophisticated compared with how things have developed today,” he reckons, “the karts we were racing were, I suppose, little more than bedsteads fitted with lawnmower engines. And we had no great plans to make it into Formula One.”

Yet Hines's close friendship with McLaren boss Ron Dennis also brought him a handful of rare test outings in a McLaren-Mercedes F1 car back in the mid-1990s. He was invited to try one of the '96 MP4-11s at the Idi-Ada test facility in Spain. Unfortunately this outing went rather less well than expected with Martin rolling it into a hidden ditch.

The car was very badly damaged indeed and Martin recalls the ensuing telephone to Ron as “the worst day on my racing career.”

It said much for the relationship between the two men that once Hines acknowledged that his was the error, the matter was forgotten. This was about the time that Hines's ZipKart company was developing the McLaren-Mercedes champion of the future karting series which would help accelerate the emergence of Lewis Hamilton as the most exciting rising star of his F1 generation.

Martin had first noticed eight-year old Hamilton racing his own cadet kart at the Rye House circuit close to the ZipKart headquarters. He was clearly carrying a novice plate, but the expert manner in which he handled himself belied the fact that he was actually competing in his very first race.

Martin added; "This was around the time that McLaren were going through their short-lived relationship with Nigel Mansell and was trying to persuade Ron (Dennis) that he really ought to give some consideration into putting all McLaren's resources into backing a young kartist, even if it was a ten year programme.

"So he asked me for my advice as to whom I might think was the best youngster and I told him Lewis. He thought it all through and eventually took my advice. And the rest, as they say, is history."

Technorati Tags: McLaren Lewis Hamilton Rin Dennis ZipKart

One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

Alan Henry — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:29:27 GMT

Fernando Alonso's lingering bitterness towards the McLaren-Mercedes team spilled over again in Budapest over the weekend as he said he didn't think he would be allowed to win if he was still driving for the British squad as their whole approach was slanted towards supporting Lewis Hamilton's efforts.

Alonso, who won the World Championship in 2005 and 06, was speaking on the first anniversary of his acrimonious split with McLaren in Budapest, a breach which ended with him rowing with chairman Ron Dennis and his right-hand man Martin Whitmarsh.

McLaren sources have since revealed that the Spanish driver was almost fired on the spot after deliberately blocking Hamilton during qualifying for the 2007 Hungarian grand prix, earning himself a five place grid penalty which dropped him from first to sixth in the starting order.

"If I was driving there for them this year it wouldn't make any difference because I would be in just the same situation as [Heikki] Kovalainen and not allowed to win," he said churlishly. "But I am much happier this year [at Renault] for sure."

Dennis, questioned on the matter, showed great dignity and restraint while at the same time letting it be known that all parties had agreed to a confidentiality clause precluding them from debating the matter in public.

And if Alonso couldn't keep his trap shut then the McLaren boss most certainly could.

Technorati Tags: McLaren-Mercedes Fernando Alonso Lewis Hamilton Heikki Kovalainen Martin Whitmarsh Ron Dennis

Mosley: no going back

Alan Henry — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:36:33 GMT

So Max Mosley has insisted that there is to be no going back on his decision to quit the role of FIA president at the end of 2009 when he will not be offering himself up for re-election, news which has inevitably triggered a firestorm of controversy and speculation over just who might succeed him in this crucially high profile role.

It could be former Ferrari F1 sporting director Jean Todt, of course: assuming that the Frenchman doesn't mind working for nothing. This has been an expenses-only appointment ever since multi-millionaire Mosley was elected to the job and immediately declined the offer of a salary. It was arguably a grand gesture, but one which Todt might not feel inclined to accept.

"I think there are a lot of potential successors and if Jean Todt were interested in doing it, and I am not sure he is, he would obviously be very capable," said Mosley.

"But someone like Jean Todt could command a huge salary in F1. He could go anywhere he wanted, you know he could go into any of those companies to make it work. I think he would be tempted by a role other than the FIA because the FIA presidency is an unpaid position. There are several people who, without naming names, would be competent to do it. And the actual president doesn't have to be from the club."

Mosley says he will spend his remaining 15 months in office working to enhance F1's green credentials while at the same time slashing costs to make life more affordable for the independent teams and sorting out a new Concorde agreement to guarantee a more equitable division of the sport's commercial rights income.

And you certainly won't have heard the last of Mosley. Retiring FIA presidents are guaranteed a position in the governing body's influential senate as of right.

Silverstone Classic: it’s a classic

Julian Rendell — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:54:03 GMT

Pre-war Brooklands used to have the motto ‘the right crowd and no crowding.’ And, after a great Sunday at the Silverstone Classic, I reckon it should be brought back as an apt description for this rejuvenated celebration of the car.

New promoter Motion Works, which also organises the London-Brighton Veteran car run in November, has breathed life back into an event that lost its pizzazz a few years back when Goodwood burst onto the mid-summer calendar.

As friend Andrew Frankel lined up an Alfa GTA for the Jack Sears Trophy Race, I sauntered over for a casual chat while my five-year old lad slipped into the driver’s seat for his best moment of the day — sitting in a real racing car!

Cleverly, the organisers had banished motor homes and transporters to the infield leaving the pits clear for race machinery and enthusiasts.

I reckon the new Silverstone is unfairly maligned, too. Maybe the pit garages are a bit of a squeeze for today’s bloated F1 operations and the stands might not match government-funded circuits in less democratic countries than our own.

But it’s a huge improvement on what it was and is still a friendly and evocative place on a sunny day when the main backing track is the crackle and pop of a DFV on the over-run.

Something else to remind us that motorsport is special: while I was queuing up to buy a ticket, a gent with a spare thrust it into my hand. “No point me taking it inside, you use it,” he said. Whoever you are sir, I salute you.

Remember, the right crowd and no crowding – Silverstone Classic 2009 weekend July 24.

Technorati Tags: Brooklands Silverstone Goodwood London-Brighton Silverstone Classic

Heikki faces up to Hamilton’s genius

Alan Henry — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:38:01 GMT

You would have to be made of stone not to feel ever-so-slightly sympathetic with the plight in which Heikki Kovalainen seems to be grappling with in his role as Lewis Hamilton's McLaren-Mercedes team-mate.

The last two races, Silverstone and Hockenheim, have seen Hamilton take two dazzling victories, propelling himself into the lead of the World Championship, while circumstance and a degree of misfortune ended with the genial Heikki posting no more than a couple of fifth places.

Frankly, the situation at McLaren puts me in mind of the situation which developed in the Lotus-Renault squad when Ayrton Senna arrived on the scene as running mate to Elio de Angelis in 1985.

Elio started the new season with fresh optimism after his former team-mate Nigel Mansell switched to Williams, but the pleasant Italian had reckoned without Ayrton's towering genius behind the wheel. The Brazilian swept into Lotus and immediately took command - as indeed he very nearly did three years later when he joined Alain Prost at McLaren.

In a sense, you can see much the same scenario developing this year at McLaren; Lewis currently seems to get better with every racing mile he covers and, over the Hockenheim weekend, he made a remark which was surely calculated to send a chill down the spine of every other driver on the grid.

"A lot of people ask me how I do what I do," he commented. "I say I don't know how I do what I do. I just do it."

The last time I heard a quote like that was from a bloke called Michael Schumacher.

Technorati Tags: Heikki Kovalainen Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes Ayrton Senna Hockenheim Michael Schumacher

F1 to go down to the wire?

Alan Henry — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:40:02 GMT

Expressing sentiments calculated to delight Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 commercial rights holder, not to mention just about every television company on the planet, Lewis Hamilton has predicted that the world championship contest will go all the way down to the wire and not be resolved until the Brazilian GP at Interlagos on November 2.

The British star was talking this week at Hockenheim where he had been continuing his Silverstone-winning form by setting the pace during testing in preparation for the forthcoming German GP.

"The last race. I can only guess, but I am sure it will be a lot like last year,"said Lewis in response to questioning on the subject. "Last year it was just as close between the top three drivers and there was one point separating us at the end. So I can only assume it will be at the last race again. I hope it's not, but..."

Meanwhile Kimi Raikkonen, who made the wrong tyre choice and wound up being lapped in the British GP, predicted that there was still plenty of time for Ferrari to counter-attack and see off the McLaren across the season's remaining nine races.

So yet again the F1 world looks as though it revolves around a Maranello-Woking contest. But the betting odds you really need to consult are not whether Hamilton will win the title - but whether the British GP moves to Donington or not in 2010.

If you can get some really fancy odds on that, it might even be worth half a bar on the strap. Let me know what you think.

Donington GP won’t be easy

Alan Henry — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:41:01 GMT

The promoters of the proposed British grand prix at Donington Park may have pledged to invest £100m to bring the Derbyshire circuit up-to-date, but those who recall the facilities available when the 1993 European Grand Prix was staged there in bitterly cold conditions will appreciate just how much work needs to be done.

Ayrton Senna memorably won that race in champion style, but the paddock facilities looked like something out of a Club meeting at Snetterton, with gravel strewn in all directions.

Thankfully, the appalling weather and the fact that it was Easter day ensured that only around 25,000 fans braved the elements to savour the spectacle.

Everybody in the business was happy that the track's popular owner Tom Wheatcroft escaped with his shirt, but there was no question of his risking a financially ruinous repeat performance.

The pits were cramped, their bare bricked walls in dire need of a lick of paint and the track was too short and narrow by today's stringent safety standards.

At a time when Silverstone was looking to invest around £30m to upgrade its facilities in a bid to secure the Grand Prix, the feeling is that Donington will need more than just a huge cash injection if it is to become the state-of-the-art circuit it needs to be in 24 months.

Goodbye DC, you’ll be missed

Alan Henry — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:27:30 GMT

David Coulthard had lunch at McLaren last Wednesday. No, we don't have an exclusive that he is signing up as Lewis Hamilton's test driver, but he'd bid for a prize at a recent charity auction - and he’d won a trip, with lunch, around his previous employer's huge technology centre at Woking.

Two days later DC announced that he will be calling it a day and retiring at the end of the year, one more of F1’s good guys calling time on a long and distinguished career.

Most of the current crop of F1 drivers were still wearing shorts when Coulthard made his race debut in Spain in 1994, promoted to Williams’ second race seat after the tragic death of Ayton Senna. His subsequent career has been long and distinguished – with 13 victories to his credit – and it’s a shame that it wasn’t topped off by a World Championship. Considerably less talented men have claimed that ultimate accolade, after all.

David has always been a gentleman. I once asked him whether he thought he might have won the 1996 Championship instead of Damon Hill had he stayed at Williams rather than moving to McLaren.

His response put me in mind of golfer Doug Sanders who, having lost the 1970 Open, was asked 25 years later whether he still dwelled on the disappointment, replied; "Not at all. Some days I can go three or four minutes without thinking about it."

Damon defends Silverstone

Alan Henry — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:38:36 GMT

The thing I like about Damon Hill is that he manages to call a spade a spade without ever over-exaggerating for dramatic effect.

So when, as President of the British Racing Drivers Club, he admits that it is far from certain that the club will be able to conclude a deal with Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 commercial rights holder, to secure an extension of the British Grand Prix beyond 2009 then you are bound to listen. And listen hard.

"I would say 50/50 was probably about right," Hill said last week, "I am not going to assume anything when it comes to Formula One. My experience is you should never make some presumptions, so it would be prudent to consider it a 50/50 figure. But, I am 100 per cent confident that we have got what it will take and we can deliver what F1 will be proud of, and the UK will be proud of."

Hill acknowledged that the talks were stuck in a state of limbo at the present moment - with a new commercial deal unlikely until the track redevelopment is started, and the track redevelopment unlikely to start until a commercial deal is sorted.

"I liken it to the Aladdin's cave: the genie says give me the lamp and Aladdin says get me out of the cave and I'll give you the lamp."

Rumours that Ecclestone wants to open negotiations with Donington Park as a possible alternative venue for the British GP prompt a flicker of a smile on Hill's familiar face. But he picks his words carefully, neatly side-stepping the issue and instead offering some observations on the much-discussed prospect of government financial support being offered to help the GP survive.

"I think we're in an interesting phase in terms of the whole recent history of F1. I think the notion that F1 will achieve recognition in financial terms from the British government is fanciful. I just can't see any way that the government can pay directly to support a sport like F1 from taxpayer's money, and indeed I find it difficult to get my own head round it. But I can see more of a case for supporting somewhere like Silverstone as a state-of-the-art F1 circuit."

So what about private finance? Hill is equally forthright:

"I think there is a political problem in investing in F1 if it could be construed that this would go to private equity. I think there would be outrage. Add the fact that the FIA is a bit of a controversial organisation at the moment which makes the whole issue even more of a hot potato. "I think what we're trying to do at Silverstone is fulfil some of the government's ambitions for education and tourism by using the circuit's global brand to boost those initiatives."

Let's hope he is right.

Lauda offers Hamilton some good advice

Alan Henry — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:54:44 GMT

Lewis Hamilton must learn to handle his racing misfortune without worrying what is written about him in the press - and he needs to clear his mind in the run-up to what promises to be a psychologically crucial British grand prix at Silverstone, the next round of the Formula One championship on July 6.

Not my words – this warning to the 23-year old McLaren-Mercedes driver came from former triple world champion Niki Lauda after Hamilton completed a desperately disappointing French grand prix at Magny-Cours on Sunday in 10th place after incurring a drive-through penalty for straight-lining one of the corners.

After the race, Hamilton ignore requests for television interviews as the stormed back to the privacy of the McLaren motorhome, his obvious disappointment raising inevitable speculation that he was finding it difficult to deal with the pressure generated by his failure to score championship points in either of the last two races.

"Lewis needs to get his relationship with the press firmly in focus and keep in mind that anything which is written in the papers the morning after a race, whether he does well or badly, isn't going to alter the fact that he is one of the very best Formula One drivers of the current generation," said Lauda, who won two titles for Ferrari in 1975 and ‘77 and a third for McLaren in 1984.

“He needs urgently to realise that he has to keep his emotions under control under every circumstance in order to retain his focus and perspective. The Lesson I learned early on during my time at Ferrari was to keep my feelings suppressed when I won races. I would go to the podium, collect my trophy and shower the champagne, then go away and make sure I never read the next day's papers. Once you've learned to do that when you're a winner, it becomes correspondingly easy to handle when you don't win."

Although Lauda acknowledges that Hamilton's mistakes in the Canadian and French Grands Prix have potentially damaged his chances of winning the World Championship the Austrian veteran believes the young Brit can still achieve his ambition.

"But Lewis must not make anymore mistakes," said Lauda. "When I was driving we always kept within the performance potential of the car, because if we went off the road there was an ever-present risk that you might hurt yourself.”

"Today it is different. Improvements in car safety and track design have created a situation where competitors are almost invited to over-drive, OK so mistakes don't cost lives anymore, but they can cost championships."

Le Mans revisited

Steve Cropley — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:12:20 GMT

Went to Le Mans for the eighth time in 28 years - and had the best time at La Sarthe I can ever remember. The thing you find yourself liking instantly about this place is that it is run on entirely different lines from the park-in-straight-lines-because-Bernie's-watching ethos of F1, a nice change.

At Le Mans, ordinary people seem to be in charge. There's chaos at times, but mostly it's short-term. Things work. (Mind you, I wasn't thinking this yesterday afternoon when some clown of an official decided he needed to back up the departing traffic by scanning every pass-holder's barcode...)

The racing was brilliant. Aston versus Corvette was close and ended well for the vast British contingent, even if the Vettes will always win our affection and respect for their fabulous exhaust notes. I was beside the circuit for all but six hours' slumbering time, and found something interesting to watch at all times.

The listening, however, was more problematic. Two Yankee commentators on Radio Le Mans spoke in platitudes for most of the race, and seemed unpleasantly to have "colonised" it. Let's go back to French and anglo-Saxon voices, please, and most of all, let's learn how to pronounce "Peugeot"...

The Audi-v-Peugeot battle gave the 24-hour classic its best competitive spectacle for a decade, and carried nerve-jangling tension right to the finish. You only had to scan the face of VW Group chief Martin Winterkorn, depicted frequently on TV, to know how true that was. Truth is I wanted Peugeot to win, but must say I'm not unhappy with the Audi victory.

They earned it with great strategy, consistency a refusal to panic and some brilliant driving by Allan McNish, who has progressed from a new boy in that team to the bloke who best combines stamina and speed. Nishy once wanted nothing but to be an F1 driver (and had a sojourn testing and racing Toyotas) but this long distance stuff is truly his metier. Audi wouldn't happily start a race these days without having the tough-minded little Scot on the team.

It's amazing to think that in such a fast 24-hour race two three-car teams 'outright' can finish the first six finishing places. I was also fascinated to see a race won in the pits: the lead Audi's winning margin was less than three minutes, and each Audi spent around 10 minutes less time in the pits that its Peugeot rival. Best of all, the whole thing sets up a fantastic competition for next year.

The rules are due to be tweaked for the 2009 race to make things easier for petrol-powered cars, but given the success of this year's race, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (not history's fairest-minded race organiser) is unlikely to do anything to spoil next year's titanic Audi-v-Peugeot battle. Le Mans '09 is going to be fantastic.

Le Mans: Arnage at 4am

Will Powell — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:08:00 GMT

Wanted to share some 4am pictures from Arnage, at the bottom end of the le Sarthe circuit, where we were sat among hundreds of other (mostly British) spectators during the very early hours of this morning. In the rain.

Everyone there was looking for the same thing – glowing, burning brake discs as the cars decelerate hard into the sharp right-hander at Indianapolis. The speed difference between the high-downforce LMP1 cars through this complex, compared with rapid-in-the-real-world race tuned Ferrari and Lamborghini GT1 cars gives you an idea just how fast these strangely silent Audi and Peugeot diesel racers are going. Our photographer Stuart managed to get some good shots to show you what I mean (below)...

Just now we had another reminder of the vast performance difference between the classes, when the LMP1 class-leading No 2 Audi with Tom Kristensen at the wheel collided with a slower LMP2 backmarker in the Dunlop Curves. He’s still in the lead though, with the second place No 7 Peugeot more than a lap behind. My money would be on Audi for the win, but nothing’s certain with the changeable weather conditions here - those Peugeot’s are much quicker when it’s dry (as it is right now). And Audi’s Alan Mcnish is worrying saying: “Peugeot's speed in the dry is insurmountable. I'd like us to get enough of an advantage so that it can dry out and we'll still be OK.”

Elsewhere in the GT1 class, Prodrive/Aston Martin’s 009 DBR9 is doing very well, with a lengthy lead after Englander Darren Turner put in some seriously consistent lap times. David Richards and his Prodrive boys are looking strong for the win when 3pm comes around.

I’ve wandered up to the slightly warmer surroundings of the press room and the paddock to post this. The place is full of shattered looking mechanics - one just fell off his paddock scooter in front of me, he’s so knackered.

Been chatting to the guys from Team Modena, whose DBR9 is running eighth in GT1, and who had a two-hour gearbox rebuild to cope with at 5am this morning. Like many other teams, Modena’s mechanics deliberately don’t work shifts - everyone has to work through the 24 hours. Why? Well I’m told it’s good for consistency, to have the same guy doing the tyres at every pit stop, for example, because he’ll be more likely to spot any problems - even if he’s exhausted. There’s fantastic camaraderie in the pit lane at Team Modena and elsewhere, plenty of backslapping and smiles, even though the race isn't going there way. And there fighting on to the finish too. What a feeling it must be to be part of a team that finishes an endurance event like this…

As for us, yes, Autocar really are making us stay in tents and we have the pictures to prove it. All part of the fun. But could someone please pass the coffee?

Read part one of Will's Le Mans blog here

Le Mans 2008

Will Powell — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:38:43 GMT

Welcome to the Le Mans 24 hours 2008. Most of Autocar’s team are here, joining the pilgrimage of British petrolheads who come in their thousands every year to witness motorsport’s most gruelling race. This year, organisers reckon around 70,000 Brits have made the trip. And we’re doing it properly too – camping out in Spay, which is a small town near the Circuit de la Sarthe, and we’ll be blogging on the race throughout the weekend to try to bring you a taste of the fantastic atmosphere that engulfs the entire event.

Let’s talk about the start first, which has only just happened at 3pm local time. If there’s a finer sight in motorsport than a full bore Le Mans rolling start, I’m yet to see it. The enormous sound’s phenomenal; more varied and overwhelming than the shriek of an F1 grid launching.

OK, so the chief LMP1 contenders (Audi’s R10 TDI and Peugeot’s 908HDi) are near-silent diesel racers. But the raucous LMP2 and GT1 cars, like Aston Martin’s DBR9, and Chevrolet’s Corvette C6R are more than vocal enough to make up for it.

I reckon it’s a crying shame the drivers aren’t allowed to run to their cars from the pit wall these days, but the Le Mans field is so vast that by the time the lead LMP1 cars are hitting 240-odd mph on the Mulsanne Straight on lap one, the trailing GT2 racers are only just crossing the starting line.

As it stands – and we’re only half an hour in – the three Peugeot 908s are leading having got the jump on Audi at the start. Alan McNish’s Audi R10 TDI is fourth. Oh, and the British-run Lola 25 car in LMP2 class had the first accident of the day, careering into the barriers with Tommy Erdos at the wheel, but it looks like they’re able to carry on.

Right now I’m writing this in the paddock by the pit straight, perched in a quiet(ish) corner of Prodrive/Aston Martin’s garage, surrounded by towers of spare tyres, Gulf-liveried body panels and mechanics buzzing backwards and forwards. I think they’re wondering why there’s a bloke in shorts hanging around tapping away on a Mac, but they’re too busy to be bothered about me. It’s fantastic, how close you can get to the action at Le Mans.

Yesterday’s drive down was an entertaining experience. We borrowed a stunning Lotus Exige S for the journey and, not wanting to miss the Friday night campsite pre-race parties, stuck to the faster motorway routes all the way. Despite it’s lack of sound proofing, rear visibility or luggage space, our white Exige proved a surprisingly comfortable companion on the way down. Although noisy, it was far from unbearable, not least because the Lotus’ low-down bucket seats are snug but incredibly supportive.

The Exige also sparked plenty of animated conversation with other enthusiasts en route to Le Mans, which is a big part of the whole appeal for me, particularly on the P&O crossing from Dover. The ferry was packed with groups of car nuts, plenty of them already on the booze or in fancy dress, with designated drivers giving bluff chat about how quickly they intended to drive in France. Then some bloke rolled up in a fantastic Del Trotter-modified 1980 Bentley T2 (see picture), which was just hilarious.

Don’t tell the blokes on the ferry but in the end we had a pretty restrained cruise down to Le Mans. The French police were out in force. The Exige S’s relentless, raw shove of speed in sixth gear, although dangerously addictive, could only really be deployed when I could see far enough down the road to be sure the Gendarmerie weren’t hiding in the bushes. It must have been a bonanza day for them – most of them could be found tucked behind shrubbery with speed guns and outriders to catch the British hoards. A supercar trio – Aston DB9, Audi R8 and Lambo Gallardo – romped past us and were surrounded by rozzers on the hard shoulder a couple of miles later.

We’ve resolved to take the back roads on the way home to properly enjoy the Lotus. For now, we’re settling in for the night….