We made it to 4am. Having seen the sun go down at Arnage and watched the England game, Pete's expert LM knowledge took us right down to Mulsanne corner where, relatively speaking at least, there was a very small crowd.
Night time motorsport is an absorbing spectacle, isn't it? Having never watched anything more than banger racing under floodlights before, to witness sports prototypes and GTs race into the darkness and engulf the surrounding area in noise for the first time was stunning. It's a different experience once the moon is up, attempting to decipher cars from their headlight silhouette or, failing that, noise. The Ferraris are easiest, that insectile front and V8 shriek making them identifiable from a long way back. The 911s are running with further round lamps at the front which marks them out and if the ground starts to rumble beneath your feet it's the Aston or Corvette.
Under a starlit sky, watching the R18 and 919 is an eerie experience. The speed is just incomprehensible, the cars surging past the GTs as if they were stationary with little more than a whoosh. The Porsche has a little more voice than the Audi; seeing the latter tear off towards Indianapolis with little more than a whisper is very sci fi when sat in a forest in the middle of the night. Very cool as well though, which isn't something I would have said during the day.
Having made it back here just as the sun was rising, nobody is feeling particularly fresh a few hours later. But everybody is glad they sacrificed a bit of sleep for one of the great motorsport experiences. What a brilliant race this is. And having led for such a long time, the highest Toyota is now fourth with a Porsche leading and the two Audis in the podium places.
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