Being there continued
The factory Corvette and semi-factory Risi Ferrari locked in battle, here in the Mulsanne corner.
A few hours into the race, our tour bus took us to Indianapolis where the cars screamed at us, the fastest cars accelerating to over 200mph, then braking hard for the 75 mph right-left chicane-like turn, for the short run to Arnage and the 200 mph start of the run back to the pits. The cars are impressively close to the spectators all around the course. Even through the 100mph sweeps of Tertre Rouge, cars starting to attain top speeds over 200mph, you can get pretty close to the action. Spectator areas are generally raised above the track to ease views over the fences. Of course, if a car got airborne....
   
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Over to the slow Mulsanne Corner at the end of the long 3 mile straight, right where the old signalling pits used to be. There are lots of catchfences wherever there are spectators, making it somewhat difficult to get a clear view over the fences. Fortunately, raised earth berms all along the viewing areas let race-goers get a mostly unobstructed view in many places. Here is where we also got our first real taste of the sounds of the cars, hard accelerating out of the corner with ferocity. The harsh, loud bellow of the GT1 and the U.S. factory GT2 Vettes, the low intensity of the Peugeots, the wailing scream of the V12 Astons, and the utter silence of the Audi R15s. Here we witnessed the intense battle waged by the Risi Ferrari and the factory Vette. These two would battle for hours until both were waylaid by mechanical gremlins.
As the race winds its way from day into night, there is much to see and do at the track. It’s easy to follow the race, with giant Jumbotrons around the circuit showing all of the action and standings throughout the race. Radio LeMans keeps you informed with lighthearted interviews and commentary for the entire 24 hours. The infield village is a dizzying array of permanent and temporary displays and shops. Audi had an enormous stage, simulator and sales area. The Gulf Ford GT40, winner of two LeMans races and one of the most valuable race cars in the world, sat on an open, spectator-friendly podium for you to ogle, photograph and touch this priceless car. Yes, there was a guard, joined in the middle of the night by a rottweiler. Like I said, the car is valuable.There are rides (including the famous ferris wheel), surprisingly good food of various descriptions, racing artworks and all kinds of apparel to buy. As an avid model car collector, I was overwhelmed by the number of vendors purveying 1/43rd and other scale race cars. Spark Models had a factory booth and sales area unto themselves, the company there also to shoot photos all of this year’s cars for later model release.
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