As Porsche factory driver Jörg Bergmeister said when interviewed by Justin Bell, the death of Allan Simonsen less than ten minutes into this 81st running of the 24 Heures du Mans, "…took all the fun out of this." There have been a record number of full-course yellow-flag periods run behind the safety cars in this year's race. The big problem is that cars keep crashing all on their own, as opposedto earlier years when cars would be punted off track when sideswiped by another car. I suspect that much of the chaos has been due to the cold: the ambient temperature around Circuit de la Sarthe is only a wee bit above 50° Fahrenheit, & racing tires are highly sensitive to temperature & pressure. Lower the temperature of the air inside a tire & the pressure changes, changing the road-holding characteristics of the tire. Change the road-handling characteristics of the tires & a sudden application of power or a sudden change in direction can send a car careening into the barriers, causing a safety-car period, further reducing tire temperatures & pressures, making more of the cars that much more squirrely on the next restart. 'Tis a cold, gray day at Le Mans, the gloom both matching & reinforcing the prevailing attitude in the wake of Simonsen's tragic demise.
The contest 'twixt Aston Martin & Porsche for G.T.E. Pro, class honors remains fierce, with the Corvettes simply unable to make any inroads into the deficit. Victory by either leading contender would be fitting, as this year marks the centenary of Aston Martin & the semicentennial of the Porsche 911. Victory for Aston Martin would be more fitting, though, as a tribute & triumphal counterpoint to Allan Simonsen's death behind the wheel of an Aston Martin; so, if Corvette cannot carry the day, then my hope is for Aston Martin to earn the brass ring.
The № 36 Alpine (Nissan) is running in the lower half of P.2, but they are still running eighteen hours into the event, no small feat. The Bleu de France livery is as beautiful on television as it is in the image below.
No comments:
Post a Comment