Apologies for not keeping you up-to speed on my exploits so far. I was a bit busy learning the circuit yesterday. And the previous two days were a complete bun fight.
300-odd horsepower, less than 1,000hp...
First off, I was adamant that I would travel to Le Mans this year in my old M5. It's the perfect car for the job: fast, comfortable and with just enough kudos for
a Friday Service
appearance. Two hours before I was due to leave the left rear brake caliper seized and I was forced to switch to plan B: a CLS 350CDI Shooting Brake. Lovely way to travel, but just not Le Mans wheels.
That's why I've just turned up on a Brompton folding bike, as did Mr Trent.
The Le Mans Legends race is a 45-minute race at 10am on Saturday morning. That's 9am UK time, which means you can watch it live on Eurosport, then grab a croissant and watch the Lions win the first test.
Testing and Qualifying were bundled into a single one-hour session. I knew it was going to be a big ask having never seen the track before, but I underestimated just how tough it would be. The Lister Costin Coupe has around 350hp and weighs 900kg. It's a light space-frame shell and the car will hit something near 170mph on the straights. It's sodding fast.
M5 crocked so Harris gets on his bike
The circuit is just immense. Four times you hit maximum speed, then the Porsche Curves loom and you can't quite believe how close the concrete walls are. I managed eight laps in the session and was just beginning to find a rhythm. The last lap of Saturday's race will probably be my fastest.
There are some very quick cars and drivers out there: hopefully we can tag on the back of them and get dragged around! We're starting 14th from over 60 cars, so there's a chance of hopefully managing that.
I just need to get a better technique on the brakes: from 170mph the car pitches and squirms around, and it doesn't like trail braking into Mulsanne. Where there is zero run-off.
170mph down the Mulsanne, stopping 'interesting'
As you can probably tell, my brain is a little frazzled by the whole experience. The history of the place, the difficulty of learning a car and a circuit simultaneously and yet with so little time. But I never thought I'd complete a full lap of this place under race conditions, and now I have I can see what all the fuss is about.