Le Mans 1968

Produced by Ferodo (yes, the brake pad brand), this is a 30 minutes glimpse into the 1968 race. With footage both from the race per se and the paddocks, it gives a good idea of what was Le Mans 52 years ago. Things were a LOT different back then compared to nowadays. Almost to a point, that if I didn’t know better, I would say it didn’t look “professional”.

So if you have 30 minutes to spare, it’s a nice film. Just for fun, I tried to spot the cars that I have in the film. However I wasn’t very successful, since I only have four cars of that race. And even worse, two are stinkers 😖.

ACO and IMSA unify rules for 2021

According to Road & Track, this weekend both race bodies announced that from 2021 onward Le Mans and Daytona will be raced with the same rules. That is huge, since it means that the same car will now be able to compete at Daytona and La Sarthe, an immense incentive to race car manufacturers. Starting in 2021, Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) agreed on a new class, called Le Mans Daytona h (LMDh). There will also be LMP2 and Hypercars, and both classes will be legal in both series.

Everything is all official, so this means that starting next year things will be very interesting for Le Mans. And by that I mean more manufacturers, ergo, more variety and cool cars 🤞.

Who’s into slot cars?

I’m not. Not because I don’t think it’s ice cool, but because I don’t have the space for a nice track. I would absolutely love to see my beloved cars racing on a track in my living room. Or in my man cave, if I had one. But alas, it’s not for me.

However, if I had the space and US$ 300.000,00 to spare, I definitively would buy a track like this one featured at Petrolicious.

When Mercedes built flying cars

Yes, in 1999 Mercedes-Benz built a flying car for Le Mans. Well, in all honesty I don’t think they specifically made a wingless airplane, but that CLR took flight. Despite the horrific (and absurd) crash, Peter Dumbreck walked away unscathed, a proof of Mercedes ruggedness. Though maybe they should consider a built-in parachute.

PS: That was the second CLR to reach for the clouds at La Sarthe. During practice on the Friday of the race Mark Weber flipped car #4 🛫.