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House
18-06-16, 10:07 PM
I love this!!

Earlier, 2 hour into the race, Audi changed a turbo on their number 7 car, in 20 minutes, they used CO2 fire extinguishers to cool the engine down then cracked on!!!

Also, this years garage 56 is a car that a quadriplegic driver can drive but also it's driven by 2 able bodied drivers aswell.

Taken from an article about him and garage 56

"In 2012, a French businessman called Frédéric Sausset scratched his finger while on vacation in the southwest of France. Tragically, the scratch rapidly led to a life-threatening infection (necrotizing fasciitis) which left Sausset a quadruple amputee.
Sausset's team, SRT41, had a tricky job. A 24-hour race like Le Mans isn't a solo effort—each car has three drivers who split the race between them, swapping in and out during pitstops. The team had to convert its Morgan-Nissan LMP2 car so that Sausset could drive it, without compromising the ability of his two able-bodied teammates Jean Bernard Bouvet and Christophe Tinseau from being able to do the same.
The accelerator and brake were relatively simple. Sausset's seat insert has a paddle for each thigh; levers connect these two paddles to the pedals. During a driver change the team also remove the Morgan-Nissan's usual multifunction steering wheel and replace it with a special adapter that connects to a prosthetic Sausset wears on his right arm."

I think that's friggin awesome, It's hard enough to drive a car fast with 2 feet and 2 hands, this guy is flat out using his thighs to accelerate and brake. Fair Funking play.

totalnova
19-06-16, 07:23 AM
I'd love to get over there and experience this one year, it's definitely on the bucket list.

House
19-06-16, 07:30 AM
It's next level!!

I was there in 2003 when Bentley took the 1-2 and again in 2007 when Audi won by 10 laps.

Planning another trip, maybe next year, have to see how things work out!!

totalnova
19-06-16, 09:53 AM
Maybe we could organise a PNG trip, hopefully my Nova will be finished by then :confused:

Mike
20-06-16, 08:57 AM
Le Mans is great every year!

Shame that Toyota lost out in literally the last few minutes this year tho

House
20-06-16, 07:21 PM
Le Mans is great every year!

Shame that Toyota lost out in literally the last few minutes this year tho

I love it Mike!! It was genuinely heartbreaking seeing those mechanics and the boss with tears in his eyes, they had the race in the bag, what a cruel mistress fate is.

mowgli
20-06-16, 07:31 PM
It was incredible. I've been 3 times over the years, and nothing compared with that last 5 mins

House
20-06-16, 07:57 PM
It was incredible. I've been 3 times over the years, and nothing compared with that last 5 mins

What amazes me is that after 8 hours of racing the gap on track from first to second was 15 seconds!! 15 seconds after 8 hours.

Rosberg did 15 seconds in 15 laps in F1 on Sunday

What was it at the end of 23 hours and 50 mins, 90 seconds?! I love how the race has become a 24 hour sprint race, they drive flat out for 24 hours, the tyres do 3-4 stints of flat out driving, and the racing is as close as ever, just brilliant.

As for garage 56 this year, was proper impressed with Frederick, lapping only 4 seconds slower than his able bodied counter parts, using his thighs to accelerate and brake!!!

Mike
20-06-16, 08:34 PM
Best way to burn up over £30k in fuel & tyres without a doubt!

I couldve been there this year as pit crew with Ford Racing, its a shame there salary package isnt all that though else i wouldve done it.

House
20-06-16, 08:49 PM
Best way to burn up over £30k in fuel & tyres without a doubt!

I couldve been there this year as pit crew with Ford Racing, its a shame there salary package isnt all that though else i wouldve done it.

The owner of the group of companies I work for, Fritz Gebhardt, had a team that competed in '85 & '86 in group C as Gebhardt Motorsport with their own car, designed and built by them the Gebhardt JC853 and also ran the MOMO Gebhardt racing team in '90 running with a Porsche 962.

Fritz loves it, he loves telling stories about how they would carry illegal fuel into the garage in cola bottles and oil cans and put it in the fuel tank breather tank that they use to have to put onto the car as the fuel went in, the breather tank would catch the vapour, so before they pumped the fuel in, which was closely regulated, they would empty extra fuel in from the breather tank first. Apparently everyone did it back then.

Mike
20-06-16, 09:39 PM
Nowadays its called innovative re-enginerring lol back then it was plain old cheating haha

Pistol Pete
23-06-16, 03:26 PM
I'd love to get over there and experience this one year, it's definitely on the bucket list.

Do it. I went last year for a stag do. Was bloody amazing. Got there friday lunchtime. Mad friday. It's 100% mad alright!! And the whole weekend is just a buzz!

mowgli
27-06-16, 09:37 PM
Nowadays its called innovative re-enginerring lol back then it was plain old cheating haha
Mike have you ever heard what Bernie ecclestone allegedly said to tom walkinshaw when he joined Benetton.....?
He told him he'd heard that his jags had more tanks than Rommel....and they wouldn't get away with it in f1.....