A report on the race from Lowdrag aka Trackside Tony
The race?
Was there one?
The LMP1 was a walkover, but the LMP 2 was interesting. I was most inspired by the IDEC car, which crashed in practice, was rebuilt, suffered a lap penalty at the start, and still finished well. I was inspired by the three girls in the Richard Mille LMP2 Oreca who finished in the top 10 in their class and 13th overall. It is time a woman was given an LMP1 seat, and raced in F1 too.The wins of Aston Martin in both pro and amateur were impressive too. But my overall feeling? One of depression, deflation, being let-down, one of seeing the end of racing as we know it, and - yes, wondering at my age if I shall be here to see it all. I have no interest in electric cars, seeing them as a stop-gap cul de sac, and hydrogen I see as the future, but neither make a noise that stirs my soul - in fact no bloody noise at all. On the aerodrome next to the circuit we have a hydrogen station, and by 2024 all buses here at Le Mans will be hydrogen powered. My time has passed, the security has made life untenable as a press photographer, and I have put my cameras away and I don't think they'll be back out again. I was refused press passes after 25 years of writing four page articles every year - because I was not important enough. One can no longer take photos at Mulsanne, not at the entry to Indianapolis, because it is too dangerous. Indeed, the holes in the fencing have been filled in to stop a camera being used and red paint is on the armco to warn us we are in a zone rouge. Gone are the days when I took photos like this, standing on the wall outside the fencing at the golf club. 70/200 at three metres or so. I shall be around as long as God wills, but the lack of interest is showing
