It probably won't have escaped your attention but there's a 24-hour race going on this weekend somewhere in France. On site and back at base we'll be bringing you all the stories, be that from the campsite (Garlick and the boys) or sharp end of the Carrera Cup support race (that man Harris). Keep in touch with the action on Twitter and share your own Le Mans moments via
- we'll be showing them on the site - and keep in touch with the blog updates too.
Meantime, back at the M5, things weren't looking great. The UPS tracking screen appeared to show nothing beyond Paris. The package hadn't moved in two days, and even if it could be dispatched, the chances of it arriving at Le Mans the night of the 24H race in anything other than a helicopter were zero.
Faulty fuse fixed and the M5's cooling returns
Still fuming with that French pillock who ruined my weekend, I went off to fiddle with the car to see if it was heading home on a flat-bed. The water system seemed good – the car started first time then ran well with a clean exhaust.
I then casually pushed the air-con button and it didn't engage. Strange. A nosey in the fuse box showed a blown fuse, so that was replaced and now the heater fan worked. I left it idling until the water temp needle climbed in between halfway and the red zone and the small fan ahead of the air-con condenser cut in with perfect timing.
Clearly it had been working all the way down, and the fuse had blown at the last minute – heater and cooler clearly working from the same fuse. It's a point of genius really – all E28 M5s with air-con (was it standard?) have a kind of back-up engine cooling system. It was 28 degrees, and I left it to idle for five minutes and the little fan was coping.
This is what a high speed dash home will do!
After that, I went and drank a skin-full of beer, chatted to lots of friendly PHers and other people, watched the emotional rollercoaster of Porsche's adventure from close quarters, gawped at the LMP1 cars through the Porsche Curves, cooed at the glowing brake rotors, and observed a slick Aston Martin pit stop in the small hours before falling asleep.
On Sunday the M5 zoomed home at high speed, relaxed in its intended role. I should never have doubted it. What a car.
One question remains – does it actually need the viscous fan re-fitted? In serious heat, the little fan can cope, and I suspect I'm enjoying quite a bit more power with the big one missing! I've always thought this car was suspiciously rapid, now I know why.
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