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Wednesday 20th June 2012

24 Heures Du PistonHeads

Aside from the racing, BBQs and beers PistonHeads arranged two reader events at La Sarthe. Here's what happened



Friday Service
It's Friday AM and team PH are sitting in an overcast and empty field listening to Radio Le Mans and passers by are wondering why three cars and eight chaps are loitering with intent. Soon enough some beer is being delivered, taps are installed and BBQ grills are fired up. All of a sudden we have created a Friday Service venue from a patch of dry grass in central France.

An hour or so later and the gates are opened as we welcome a few hundred cars and a few hundred more pedestrians. Beers are consumed, burgers are eaten and the PH team become traffic marshals and parking attendants to ensure everyone gets parked up safely. The diversity of vehicles is pure PistonHeads, ranging from a Granada ‘limousine’ to a brand new MP4-12C with everything from a caravan–towing Allegro to a Diablo in between.

PH tech man Switch took this time lapse video watching the event unfold.

 

Thanks entirely to you guys we had one of the best PistonHeads meets ever with great weather, no traffic issues and no bad behaviour (bar one chap who was insistent on chewing up the grass, there’s always one…). We really appreciate your support and were amazed to see so many of you take the time to pay us a visit. Let’s hope we can do it all over again next year.....bigger and better.









Nissan DeltaWing Garage Tour


Saturday night saw Stuart and I make our excuses to the team as we begrudgingly (yeah right) made our way over to the Nissan hospitality building to take four PH competition winners over to the pitlane while the race was in full flow. Sipping a cold beer on a balcony overlooking the track, we all shared our Le Mans tales before piling into a Nissan-branded golf buggy for a ride into the pitlane.

Little did we know that while this short drive took place the DeltaWing would be cruelly knocked out of the race and we would arrive at a subdued garage and glum faces, but to their credit the show went on regardless and we were as gutted as everyone else to see the 'Wing out of the race.

Not only did we get a full talk through of how the DeltaWing was created, we were also treated to a tour of the Greaves Motorsport LMP2 garage and had a look down into the pits from the DeltaWing lounge too, before heading back to the Nissan hospitality area to watch the racing from their balcony. A tough gig for sure, but made all the more enjoyable by the excellent company of our fellow PHers and the enthusiam and hospitality of the Nissan team despite the sad circumstances.





Thanks to: 1st-Tickets. ACO, Laverstoke Park Farm, Nissan, Jardine International, Greaves Motorsport and you, the PHer.

Photos by: Dant Trent, Darren Curtis and Stuart Forrest

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Author Discussion

V8 FOU

Original Poster:

759 posts

17 months

[news] 
Wednesday 20th June 2012 quote quote all
Just lurrve the Alegro with Lambo doors..... best car there

thewheelman

2,194 posts

43 months

[news] 
Wednesday 20th June 2012 quote quote all
What's the story with the Granada limos?

Stuart

11,442 posts

121 months

PH Director Bloke

[news] 
Wednesday 20th June 2012 quote quote all
thewheelman said:
What's the story with the Granada limos?
Mourning cars in fact. Tres amusement. Particularly the one that nearly took it's front splitter off on the way out of the car park when it didn't see the mid field dip/ditch...

thewheelman

2,194 posts

43 months

[news] 
Wednesday 20th June 2012 quote quote all
Stuart said:
thewheelman said:
What's the story with the Granada limos?
Mourning cars in fact. Tres amusement. Particularly the one that nearly took it's front splitter off on the way out of the car park when it didn't see the mid field dip/ditch...
I can imagine they have a few what happens at Le Mans, stays at Le Mans tales to tell beer

Stuart

11,442 posts

121 months

PH Director Bloke

[news] 
Wednesday 20th June 2012 quote quote all
thewheelman said:
I can imagine they have a few what happens at Le Mans, stays at Le Mans tales to tell beer
Indeed. Fuelled no doubt by what looked like a beer fridge where a seat should've been.

I love all this wacky racer stuff at Le Mans. A few years ago a load of people converted all sorts of vehicles to run in Gulf colours, and I have massive respect for anyone prepared to go to outlandish lengths to be able to raise a giggle En Sarthe. More power to their elbows - this is what Le Mans is about for me.

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madbadger

9,186 posts

114 months

[news] 
Wednesday 20th June 2012 quote quote all
Nice article, but shame about that pesky fence though.



wink

Stuart

11,442 posts

121 months

PH Director Bloke

[news] 
Wednesday 20th June 2012 quote quote all
madbadger said:
Nice article, but shame about that pesky fence though.



wink
Indeed. One of mine, but the Nissan unit was just a bit too low to get a shot clear of it.

Anyway, from the length of your lens, you probably took that from the campsite ;-)

Aizle

11,920 posts

45 months

[news] 
Wednesday 20th June 2012 quote quote all
My car and I in the top picture smile

Thanks for organising the Friday Service, Stuart, Paul et al.


madbadger

9,186 posts

114 months

[news] 
Wednesday 20th June 2012 quote quote all
Stuart said:
madbadger said:
Nice article, but shame about that pesky fence though.



wink
Indeed. One of mine, but the Nissan unit was just a bit too low to get a shot clear of it.

Anyway, from the length of your lens, you probably took that from the campsite ;-)
hehe

Wammer

177 posts

58 months

[news] 
Thursday 21st June 2012 quote quote all
Did anyone else notice how long the guy in the white gulf shirt stood for in the time lapse vid. The whole car park changed while he was chatting.

Bionic Billy Nav

13 posts

36 months

[news] 
Saturday 23rd June 2012 quote quote all
My first Pistonheads sunday service was great thankyou smile

plus i even got in one of your pics with my wife standing looking at them two

ford granny hearses (bald headed looking thug yellow tee shirt) wasnt sure about

their sideways antics on leaving though!

not sure that went down well! lol...
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