The Story Behind the Pictures

For many years my brother Ian and his wife Bina have been making the annual pilgrimage to the Le Mans 24 hour sports car race on the Sarthe circuit just outside the Northern French town of Le Mans.

Whilst I had been tempted many times work, family, money and various other things had always got in the way. However late in 2004 circumstances finally allowed me to plan the trip I had always promised myself. Having contacted my brother to find out where he stayed for his trips, I was assured that the redoubtable Madame Bordeaux would be able to accommodate me. After a scare over M and Mme Bordeaux selling their Chambre d'hôte, which they didn't in the end, accommodation was arranged as was transport.

We were to fly RyanAir from Luton to Dinard and then rent cars to drive the 134 miles to Le Mans. It was decided that we would have separate cars to give us more independence when we arrived at our destination.

Eventually it was all organised and on the morning of the14th June I drove down from Stoke to Luton to join Ian and Bina before departing for the Airport where they both work. We duly arrived in France at around 5.30pm local time and after collecting bags and hire cars set of for Le Mans eventually arriving around 9.30pm at Mme Bordeaux’s Chambre d'hôte. I really don’t remember what we did for food that first evening but I am sure we ate something. It was probably picked up from a supermarket on the way and prepared by Bina whilst Ian and I consumed wine and whisky.

The morning of Wednesday the 15th dawned dry and clear although rain was forecast for later on. Down to the circuit to get my entrance and car park tickets whilst Ian and Bina completed their press registration. They then had to pick up press packs and I explored the village and behind the pits. After lunch, a trip to the supermarket for provisions, before returning to the circuit for 1st practice.

I was now left to my own devices, as Ian and Bina with their press credentials could go to places I could not. As the clock ticked towards the start of practice the skies got progressively darker, until shortly after practice started the rain came making life difficult for drivers, photographers and spectators alike. I persevered until shortly before 11pm before returning to the Gîte, where I arrived shortly before my companions. After ensuring that all the photos we had taken had been safely stored we settled down for a late evening meal.

Thursday dawned more promising, dry and warm. Since practice did not start until early evening, I had a chance for a bit of local sight-seeing and shopping. Even with the thousands of people descending on the circuit the local area around where we were staying were relatively unaffected and the traffic reasonably light. We returned to the circuit for the second day of practice. The weather was now being to get very warm which boded well for the next few days. Both practice sessions remained dry and relatively incident free. I return home warm dry and tired at around 11:30pm shortly followed by Ian and Bina, another late meal and so to bed.

Friday is a rest day for the drivers apart from the parade in Le Mans town centre in the evening. However the spectators get the chance to wander down the pit lane and get a closer look at the cars. After this I went into the town to meet Ian and Bina have something to eat and have a general wander round. We ate out at a reasonable hour and then to bed after a few wines and whiskys.

Race day opens with the legend race entries for which range from 1955 Jaguar D types to 1935 MG K3 and Aston Martin Ulster. Johnny Herbert won the race at his leisure throwing his D Type around with great aplomb.

Finally with sun now beating down the clock finally ticked round to 4.0pm and the race was on. History tells that after one of the hottest races in history with spectators seeking every little bit of shade available, it was Audi beating Pescarolo for the outright victory, Corvette doing the same to Aston Martin in the GTI class. A car with a Lola chassis a MG badge and a Judd engine won the LMP2 category despite being next to last after the first hour and a Porsche almost inevitably won the GT2 class.

What are my memories of my first Le Mans 24 hour race? After a wet first practice it was very very hot and noisy for the rest of the time. Taking good photographs of fast moving sports cars from behind the spectator catch fencing is not easy. In spite or maybe because of the amount of alcohol that flowed the spectators were very amicable, friendly and well behaved. The organization is very slick, given that there were at least 200,000 people there, getting to and from the circuit was not a real problem.

Would I do it again, given the chance? Definitely! If I don’t get the chance at least I have the photos to look back on. With my Canon 10D, a Sigma 28-300 lens and a monopod bought in Le Mans I took a total of 1673 photographs, 581 of which are shown here. They are not as good as I would have liked but they do give me the incentive to go back and do better.

David Briggs