2013 24 Hours of Le Mans

Entry List:
http://www.24h-lemans.com/wpphpFichiers/1/1/ressources/Pdf/2013/24-heures-du-mans/entry-list-24-heures-du-mans-2013.pdf

Some notes:

- Looks like the Toyotas have the same (or close to it) driving lineups... any bets on to which GTs they wreck being idiots?

- Lucas di Grassi in an Audi. Hmm...

- Rodin Younessi is racing in the LMP2 class. He was in Indy Lights and he was bad. Hopefully he'll do better here than he did in Indy Lights. The name of the team that Younessi drives for hints that it might be owned by Thierry Boutsen.

- LMP2 looks pretty wide open on paper. Bertrand Baguette, Mike Conway, Ryan Briscoe, and Alexander Rossi will all be competing in LMP2, as well as a guy named Simon Dolan...

- No Jean-Denis Deletraz.

- Keiko Ihara is back with the #28 car in LMP2. Ihara is only of interest because she is a grid girl turned racing driver... and from what I've gathered, she isn't all that great as a driver, but interesting background nonetheless...

- GTE Pro has Vipers. I would expect them to give the Corvettes a headache, but the Corvette driving lineup is pretty stacked. The 73 Corvette has Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia, and Jordan Taylor, while the 74 has Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, and Richard Westbrook. Tommy Kendall, however, is driving one of the SRT Vipers, sharing it with Jonathan Bomarito.

- As if GTE Pro couldn't get better, Bruno Senna in an Aston Martin and Kobash in the #71 Ferrari. Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni share another Ferrari.

- GTE Am has Wolf Henzler and some guy named Patrick Dempsey. It also has Jason Bright in a Ferrari.

Also:

Milan655 wrote:Also:

wat

Which Ferrari will wreck a leading car then?

Also, the Grand-AM Road Racing founder and NASCAR Vice-Chairman Jim France will be waving that French flag to start off the Le-Mans 24 Hours.

Cynon wrote:

- Looks like the Toyotas have the same (or close to it) driving lineups... any bets on to which GTs they wreck being idiots?

The 8 Star Motorsports Ferrari.

I should be able to watch much more of the race this year. I'm pretty pumped.

Metro 6r4 wrote:Which Ferrari will wreck a leading car then?

To add on to this.

Which LMP1 gets sent flying by Ferrari? Since it's becoming tradition i guess.

Alta wrote:

Metro 6r4 wrote:Which Ferrari will wreck a leading car then?

To add on to this.

Which LMP1 gets sent flying by Ferrari? Since it's becoming tradition i guess.

Maybe it will be the same guy (Piergiuseppe PERAZZINI) considering that he's entered again in the same car.
AND Kazuki NAKAJIMA is running again?
LMP2 and GTE-Pro should be good though.

Milan655 wrote:Also:

Am I the only one that sees this and automatically thinks of the old WR?

Perrazini wrecks the No. 8 Toyota at the top of Masion Blanche.

I wish I could watch it at my camper. But we don't get Speed.

However, it should be a great race!

Tracy Krohn wrecks a GT Ferrari......anyone else not surprised by this?

Pretty big hit as well

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Ready for the race  

The Toyota's are fast and aggressive this year. Audi is on upset alert.

Big accident about 20 minutes in involving the #95 Aston Martin GTE AM car driven by Alan Simenson. The armco was heavily damaged and we are still under saftey car. We also havent gotten a clear update on Simenson's condition and he is being flown to a nearby hospital for further treatment. The reporter in the Hospital tried interviewing someone from Aston Martin and they couldn't comment on the situation. Keep him in your thoughts.

Come on, OAK Racing!

Allan Simonsen dead from injuries sustained in Lap 3 crash.

link

Unfortunately, Allan Simonsen has passed away after his accident.

FlashRod4 wrote:The Toyota's are fast and aggressive this year. Audi is on upset alert.

Big accident about 20 minutes in involving the #95 Aston Martin GTE AM car driven by Alan Simenson. The armco was heavily damaged and we are still under saftey car. We also havent gotten a clear update on Simenson's condition and he is being flown to a nearby hospital for further treatment. The reporter in the Hospital tried interviewing someone from Aston Martin and they couldn't comment on the situation. Keep him in your thoughts.

Unfortunately, they just showed on the broadcast that we've lost him...

RIP Allan Simonsen 1978 - 2013

Uh damn. RIP Allan Simonsen. One death is bad enough, but TWO in one week? 

R.I.P A truly great racer, first fatality in the 24 Hours of Le Mans since when?

BWardboy88 wrote:R.I.P A truly great racer, first fatality in the 24 Hours of Le Mans since when?

First fatality at the event since '97, and the first in the actual race since '86.

Terrible news to hear. Thoughts go out to his family and friends. 

R.I.P. Allan Simonsen

Definitely not what I wanted or expected to hear. This is going to be a depressing 20 hours ahead of us

R.I.P. Simonsen. That was a pretty vicious wreck and i was worried by the sheer damaged it caused

Le Mans is one of the most dangerous races in the world. These drivers put everything on the line to win the biggest race of the year.

Hoping the Aston's can pull it off in their class..It be an awesome thing to see.

My worst fears came true. I knew it was bad when they wouldn't say if he was conscious or not.
R.I.P Allan Simonsen

RIP Allan Simonsen. Never even heard of the man, but you never want to see a life taken in such a way.

We've lost another one. I heard he was conscious and talking but unfortunately this is another tragedy. RIP Allan Simonsen.

Sorry if I'm being a douche to say this, but I think 2013 is becoming such a tragic year in Motorsport. First Dick Trickle, then Jason Leffler and now Allan Simonsen.

BWardboy88 wrote:Sorry if I'm being a douche to say this, but I think 2013 is becoming such a tragic year in Motorsport. First Dick Trickle, then Jason Leffler and now Allan Simonsen.

It's just how life is. It's very fragile. The worst is you don't know what's gonna happen. But you always need to sure that you live it like it's the final minute of your life. And that's how racing goes, but still another tragedy is just tough to take in.

Absolutely terrible that we lost Simonsen. I was hearing reports before they announced his death that he was fine and just a little shaken up so when I heard he passed away, I was shocked.

BWardboy88 wrote:Sorry if I'm being a douche to say this, but I think 2013 is becoming such a tragic year in Motorsport. First Dick Trickle, then Jason Leffler and now Allan Simonsen.

To be fair you are kinda right. We've also lost Ryan Lawford, Josh Burton, Christian Devereaux and the Marshall who was killed at the Canadian GP. Personally, over the last three years I think deaths have been slowly rising and I think five or six of these people have died over the last two/three months which is a little dis-concerning.

Metro 6r4 wrote:

BWardboy88 wrote:Sorry if I'm being a douche to say this, but I think 2013 is becoming such a tragic year in Motorsport. First Dick Trickle, then Jason Leffler and now Allan Simonsen.

To be fair you are kinda right. We've also lost Ryan Lawford, Josh Burton, Christian Devereaux and the Marshall who was killed at the Canadian GP. Personally, over the last three years I think deaths have been slowly rising and I think five or six of these people have died over the last two/three months which is a little dis-concerning.

When people are getting injured in Nascar. You know things are getting scary.

It must have been tragic living during the 60s and 70s, this feeling is horrible. I believe that's the first fatal incident I've seen since 1994, and it's something I wished I would never have to review. Been much to many deaths in recent years, and I'm glad FIA and other governing boards continue to improve safety standards.

Two fatalities in one week. Motorsport is dangerous, but we've experienced a lot of tragic event in recent years. R.I.P. Allan Simonsen

R.I.P. Allan. Best memory of him was him getting on the Bathurst 1000 podium with Greg Murphy in 2011. Pretty sure he was returning too. What makes it worst is he leaves a 14 month old daughter behind.


Well, on a lighter note, Audi 1 and 3 have encountered trouble, with 1 most unlikely to win, and Aston Martin Racing which the team Simonsen was in is currently leading GT Class.

Pat Long doing a epic stint, leading GTE AM in the Dempsey Porsche. Great moment passing the car to McDreamey, acting like a bouncer with much press wanting to get a look at Dempsey before he goes on his run at night. They are currently P2 in class.

SpeedDemon37 wrote:Two fatalities in one week. Motorsport is dangerous, but we've experienced a lot of tragic event in recent years. R.I.P. Allan Simonsen

Which was the other fatality?

Milan655 wrote:

SpeedDemon37 wrote:Two fatalities in one week. Motorsport is dangerous, but we've experienced a lot of tragic event in recent years. R.I.P. Allan Simonsen

Which was the other fatality?

Jason Leffler

#30 LMP2 crashed really hard. Split in half. Driver is okay

Unfortunately, #99 Gulf Aston Martin of Fred Makowieki is now out of the race from the lead. This is the same team as the previously mentioned Allan Simonsen. The #97 remains in 2nd on the leaders lap after 19 hours. Allan McNish leads by 1 lap now, with Audi #3 closing on the #7 Toyota for 3rd place.

Those guardrails are absolutely awful.

Looks likes Audi gonna be victorious unless something drastic occurs.

I think it's time to see SAFER barriers installed. I don't care how much it's cost. You can't put a price on drivers' lives.

Aside, it's been a good race overall.

Kinda bummed to wake up and see the 7 car in the tire barrier. Looks like another Audi win.


Made this last night before I went to bed:

Well done Audi #2, lovely to see Tom Kristensen and the other podium sitters to dedicate this race to Allan.

bigdc48 wrote:Looks likes Audi gonna be victorious unless something drastic occurs.

I think it's time to see SAFER barriers installed. I don't care how much it's cost. You can't put a price on drivers' lives.

Aside, it's been a good race overall.

You don't need SAFER barriers, just get tire barriers!

f1fan12 wrote:

bigdc48 wrote:Looks likes Audi gonna be victorious unless something drastic occurs.

I think it's time to see SAFER barriers installed. I don't care how much it's cost. You can't put a price on drivers' lives.

Aside, it's been a good race overall.

You don't need SAFER barriers, just get tire barriers!

The area where Simonsen went off was an area where it is rare to see a car off. Unfortunately, the section of the guard rails were significantly weaker in this section due to the presence of trees nearby. The ACO are expected to cut the trees around this area now, and I think a tyre wall and possibly gravel in this area could be more helpful.

Milan655 wrote:

f1fan12 wrote:

bigdc48 wrote:Looks likes Audi gonna be victorious unless something drastic occurs.

I think it's time to see SAFER barriers installed. I don't care how much it's cost. You can't put a price on drivers' lives.

Aside, it's been a good race overall.

You don't need SAFER barriers, just get tire barriers!

The area where Simonsen went off was an area where it is rare to see a car off. Unfortunately, the section of the guard rails were significantly weaker in this section due to the presence of trees nearby. The ACO are expected to cut the trees around this area now, and I think a tyre wall and possibly gravel in this area could be more helpful.

Seems like it would be easier to just reinforce the barriers (or, heck, put some tires down) rather than take out a bunch of trees.

Porsche used the previous generation engines based on those from the 90s and won. That's German engineering for you.