w00tPORSCHE

I was expecting that answer. I'm glad it exceeded your expectations.

rusnak

That V-12 looks amazing!

Tango635

Wow Ed, that looks AWESOME, every bit of it!!

Pic # 3 from the top on post # 30, what is the purpose for that cage around the brake rotor? Is it to keep water off on rainy track conditions? It is one serious looking cage, had never seen that before.

rusnak

I think it's a clamshell of sorts to force air from the duct, to the center vanes, and out through the radial slots.

Andy Kay

Looks and sounds like an awesome experience! Thanks for sharing!

Eharrison

What an awesome trip!

Ed Hughes

Precisely. That was one big hunk of carbon. I used my hand to try and give it some perspective.

Ed Hughes

We probably would've made this trip in the next 3 years, but winning a contest moved it up a bit, and gave us a perspective that would be hard to purchase without knowing someone.

A lot of people are there for the duration, with most spectators camping. There are literally thousands of tents pitched for this.

Ed Hughes

Ha, I couldve had a bidding war for the extra seat. My wife enjoyed it, even though I don't typically get her to races. I'm not sure what you are asking for with regard to the "contest winning thread"?

srf506

Ed looks like a great trip! Great pics and videos. Having been lucky enough to go as a crew member with AJR, and then twice more on my own, it is a magical place that is always a great time! I'm not meaning to hijack your thread Ed, but in answer to some of the comments from other posters, yes, you do a lot of teardown and rebuilding of the cars at the track. LeMans is very labor intensive for the crews. Wednesday and Thursday are hard practice/qualifying days and you put a lot of miles and wear and tear on the cars in that time and make a lot of adjustments. Friday is an "off day" for on-track action, but it is the pit walk and driver's parade day. Late Thursday, early Friday, the engineers have hopefully made up their minds on the race strategies and set-up. So, the crew spends all day Friday stripping the car down, checking and refurbishing what needs repair, and getting the car set for the race. By the time the pit door rolls down Friday afternoon you have the fully prepped car sitting behind the ropes ready for Saturday's start. Yes, there's actualy a lot more elevation change on the track than you can see on TV. Going up to the Dunlop Bridge is actually a pretty steep grade, as are the sweepers down to Tetra Rouge. The "hump" on the Mulsanne is now just a shadow of it's former self, and it's still scary at high-speed. I can imagine what it was like in flat-bottomed, minimal down-force 917s and GT-40s! The Porsche curves also have a little elevation change in them so 160+ through there must be a real thrill. It's also a lot of fun to drive through what is now some of the infield access roads through the campgrounds. Maison Blanch is there for example. When you see how narrow, and how deep the swales are on both sides of the old track, you realize how brave those old drivers really were. Ed, like I said, congrats on what was obviously a great visit, I hope we both can make a return visit soon!

Ed Hughes

One of the most eye-popping things I heard is some of the prototypes are flat out thru the Porsche curves.

Ed Hughes

Ok, here are a couple of professional pics, courtesy of Auto Week mag.

http://www.americanlemans.com/primar...cat=news|14902

rusnak

That's it. I think Ed is the guy they're talking about in the Dos Equis commercials.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRaTekm9Ak8

http://www.brentter.com/dos-equis-most-interesting-man/

Ed Hughes

Too damn bad I can't rewind one year!

TCM (Turner Classic Movies) is airing the film at 7pm tonight, Pacific.

Caferacer

Ed! Thank you. Just started on the East Coast!