rF2 DRM Revival @ Le Mans 1979 - Wednesday June 15th 2011

[Dragos Haba]

If only i wasnt working... damn.

 

[David Miller]

Had a great time while it lasted.

Qualyed 6th, with a 3:34.1 which I was happy with.

Got a slow start, was being extra careful since I didn't want to look silly ... So a load of cars blew past. Down into Mullsanne I closed back up and got into a great little battle with two other Capri's and the odd M1 that caught up.

Then on lap 5 I went into the ford chicane too hot and went into the catch fencing to do some in race modifications to improve cooling and reduce weight. got back to the pits and got repairs on to do the same again next lap, car didn't survive the second hit...

Oh well Always enjoy Running at Le Mans whatever happens

Thannks to all for the meet

 

[William Levesque]

That race was pure epicness !

Q: Did alright, got 4th on the grid with a 3:32,xxx... Still lost almost a second in the last sector but oh well !

R: First few laps in traffic were mental ! I was battling mostly with Adam and David trying to get pass them... A few M1's got by, some crashes... We saw Anders, our polesitter, in a wall... Felt bad for him a little !

Anyway, at one point I was able to take David's spot by outbraking him in the 2nd corner... Adam was behind us and he was "helping" David a bit to catch me... Almost worked... Then I crossed the start/finish line and no one behind ! From there I was 3rd... Until Lee who was 1st retired !

So I was 2nd... First pitstops were on so I got by Jeff who was 1st... I pitted for fuel, no tyres... (Yes they were still alive at the end )

So I got out in front of Jeff... About 10min from the end he was less than 2sec behind me thanks to his freakin M1 !!! XD

I made it easy by spinning in the corner after Indianapolis... (He would have got me anyway before the end... ) So I was 2nd, that's were I finished !

I can clearly say that it was one (If not THE) best race I've ever had here at RD ! Driving these monsters around old Le Mans with my G27, H-Shifter, Heel and Toeing and everything was just amazing !

Thank you all for the race, it was very clean, thank you RD and Adam !

 

[Rui F. Martins]

At the start of the race my pedals got disconected from the wheel so the race started and i stood still for a bit, then at the end of lap 1 i was going to pass Leonard Mills, once i got at is side i saw Anders Nilson going slow at is side and i wasn't able to avoid contact ( once again i'm sorry for that), the rest of the race was the usual, pitted for fuel and took the car to the end of the race, i was passed by some of the faster cars almost at the end of the race, i just let them pass, i hope it wasn't to much of a trouble to pass me.

 

[Anders Nilsson]

Such a good combo just pure joy... quali went real good manage a 3.24 with my Porsche wich was good for pole . Couldnt defend from Erik´s M1 on mulsanne but i tucked in under his wing and let him drag me along passed him in the first chicane before the start "dont know the names on them " got two wheels a bit to high on the the last curb and showed him my "undertray". Overdid it tho the Holden is easier to 2wheeling with than the 935 hit a post damaged my roof and lost 12kph in topspeed . After that i struggeled back up to podium finnish well done Jeff and William .

(No worries Rui)

Thx to Adam and RD

 

[Adam Eggbeer]

Well, that was interesting.

Quali: Got a great lap in with the Capri to take 3rd.

Race: No chance of keeping with Erik and Anders down Mulsanne and ended up being side-by-side with William down the straight. Brian shot past us and then there was nobody behind. Then all of a sudden they appeared at the hill before mulsanne corner. Lee and Dave shot past before Dave went off. Out of Mulsanne and David passed me and the other cars were all queuing up. Most of them got past which left me in a 3-way battle with David and William. We passed cars that were going off and one time on Mulsanne straight, we swapped places about 7 or 8 times. Unfortunately, David got it a bit wrong in Arnage which cost us both time and then he went off at the final chicane. No idea how I missed hum but I did. William was a little way up the road so I just settled in. About halfway through I got to Indianapolis looked at the fuel gauge (already knowing I needed to pit that lap) and saw I had 2l left. Got to Arnage and it was down to 1l coasted the car as far as I could but lost power to the engine on the straight before the double chicane at the end of the lap. Rolled down the hill and made it to the pit entry at 12mph. Kudos to my mechanics though, they were there ready for me at the entrance to the pits and pushed me all the way to the far end. It took them the best part of 4 minutes but they got me there. Got some fuel in and got going albeit over a lap down. Got to Mulsanne corner and forgot the brakes would be cold so oubraked myself and went into the wall. Lost the front spoiler and the tracking was out so pitted again. And just lapped until the end. I got past one guy who retired near the end so I finished 5th.

Thanks to all those who raced

 

[Chris Butcher]

I had fun, although my race was cut short.

Didn't get a Q lap in because I didn't get a clean lap. Started 9th. The power of the M1 just dragged me past people and I entered lap 2 in the lead. Me and Lee kept changing positions but Lee just nudged me slightly at the turn before Indianapolis, which was enough to give me too much speed into Indianapolis, I locked the brakes trying to slow down, spun and backed the rear of the car into a post. Engine dead

Oh well, I'll win next time

 

[Toby Davis]

Sorry for the no-show guys, I was working on my kart until late because unfortunately, the fuel tank had decided it wanted to start breaking up so I had to find where to seal it up. Sorry

 

[Jeff Dobbing]

Terrible quali perrfpormance, dropped it through Porsche Curves to find myself head on with Chris at high speed, tried to go around him but it was too late. No time for another lap.

As such, started 13th on the grid. A little confusion on the formation lap as Wayne ended up in front of me somehow, didnt want to risk trying a move but managed to get back past him just after T4 which left us both about 1 second behind the rest of the pack as we headed off down Mulsanne. Anyway, got going and managed to close on a few of the cars in front just simply due to the power of the M1.

Up to 11th as we approached Indianaoplis with a whole gaggle of cars in front of me, decided discression here as any contact would likley be terminal so held back as we made our way through that section. Lukasz went wide coming off the porsche curves and was able to pass on the inside. Saw Anders on the left as we came out of the last chicane, thought he had just spun until i checked the replay. Seems he pulled a proper Eggbeer but almost saved it and would have had it not been for the catch fences.

Lap 2 and up to 8th, Dave looses it into T1 and spins to the inside, this left me free to chase the 2 Capri's as we headed down Mulsanne. Able to pass easily due to the power advantage. Now up to 5th chasing Brian in his M1. Spun it into The tight right hander after Indianapolis. Waited while David and Adam went through, took my moment to get back on track but it was a little unsafe so apologies to William there as I probably gave him a bit of a scare. Back to 9th with it all to do again.

Lap 4 and back up to 5th, Caught Brian and Erik having a buit of a battle, got past Brian just after Indianapolis after he ran onto the dirt and then got better drive onto the straight to take Erik. Heading into T1 and hit my normal braking spot then just before starting to turn in, get what felt like a substantial shunt which turns my car towards the barrier on the outside, I honestly thought that was the end of my race but managed to keep it going around the outside of the catch fences. Having looked at the replay it wasnt so hard and the shunt itself didnt do much damage but the contact with the wall did. It left me with both suspension damage and Aero damage. lost about 9 KPH on the straight and the car was very loose on left turns. Considered pitting to get it fixed but thought I would loose too much time so carried on.

Now in 2nd with Lee about 15 seconds up the road. Entered the Esses to find Lee on the left of the road stopped. Then it dawned on me...I'm in the lead, whats going on???? tried to keep it on the road until I pitted at lap 10. Changed all 4 tyres but decided not to fix the damage as it would cost me too much time. Should have just changed the rears but was concerned about the handling if I had done that.

Spun it on the outlap trying too hard which lost me some time to William. After he made his stop, he had a 20 second lead on me so had to push a little if I wanted the place back, it was a good battle as i would gain on the straight but he would claw it back the the twisty bits. I was still gaining 1.5 to 2 seconds / lap though and knew if i kept it on the road I would catch him in time.

Finally caught up with him on lap 15 and as we came out of the Indianapolis section he got on the power too quickly and lost the rear leaving me free to re-take the lead. Kept it consistent from there running in the 3.30's to take the win after 17 laps.

This wasnt one if my best drives to be honest and only took the win due to a superior car on the day. However there were many other M1's in the field today so I must have done something right. Only my 2nd win here at RD but what a place to do it

Good race, thx to all who participated and Thx RD / Adam for organising, enjoyed it.

 

[Wayne Morgan]

first forgot about start 4th corner

then hit someone who spun on heavey braking put it in reverse and blew the engine and i was running 5 rad

thanks adam and all that raced

 

[Jeff Dobbing]

Some screenshots from the event, click to enlarge:

 

[William Levesque]

Wow thanks Jeff

Love the airborn ones !

And you did scared me on the Mulsanne's braking zone ! XD

 

[Adam Eggbeer]

Very nice Jeff

No idea how I avoided David in picture 3