The sun isn't shining over the Circuit de la Sarthe, but only because of the cloud cover. This is always a weird part of the Le Mans 24 Hours, the dead of night here in sacred Michigan even as a new day dawns in France. "Happy hour" is one of the many splendid facets of this greatest of all motor races: after the long night, the rising of the Accursed Sun is greeted with joy & renewed vigor, as the boundless potential of a new day creates the impression that the long task is nearly complete. Spirits are then crushed anew when everyone realizes that there are eight or nine hours left—a longer duration than the entire of any other round of the W.E.C. So close & yet so far!
My body tells me it is time to sleep, even as my mind says that there are many hours left to race. I didn't always remain awake for the whole of the 24 Heures, neither of the first two years I watched Le Mans, & on both occasions I regretted missing any of the action. I've stayed awake since. It's a challenge, it isn't always pleasant, but it is always worthwhile.
In the last few hours, my praise of Fox Sports Go's performance (check the FaceSpace, it's there) has been rewarded with decreased reliability, increased malfunction, & a complete lack of rhyme & reason as to why it sometimes works & sometimes does not. This circumstance is not as ideal as in years past when the whole race was on television, but it is better than listening to the brilliant commentary on Radio Le Mans without access to live video of the cars on circuit. There's some old saw about beggars not being choosers, but for the moment it escapes me.
The great race barrels on, inexorably. Fortitudine vincimus, By endurance we conquer.
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