Joie de vivre at Le Mans

The 77th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will no doubt be considered a classic in due time, if not instantaneously. In France, it's already being hailed as the race where Peugeot has, at its third attempt with the turbo diesel 908 HDi FAP, finally taken down the almighty Audis. The French newspaper L'Equipe declared "La griffe du lion" on Monday morning, translated as "the claw of the lion" finally snatching victory in its home race. Led by Peugeot Sport director Olivier Quesnel, the #9 car of David Brabham, Marc Gene and Alexander Wurz led home its teammate, the all-French lineup of Sebastien Bourdais, Stephane Sarrazin and Franck Montagny in #8.

#7 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908: Christian Klien, Pedro Lamy, Nicolas Minassian, #8 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908: Stéphane Sarrazin, Franck Montagny, Sébastien Bourdais, #9 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908: Alexander Wurz, David Brabham, Marc Gene cross. Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt.

Granted, Audi's new R15 TDI was not quite the challenger its predecessors, the R10 TDI and R8, had been. It was still refreshing to see a change at the top -- the first time a closed-cockpit prototype and non-Audi has won at Le Mans since 2003 (Bentley).

The race concluded what was a fascinating week. The win highlighted other first-time experiences at Le Mans, whether for drivers, teams, fans or media members. I would in fact include myself in that category!

To understand the scope of what Le Mans truly means and its place in the overall motorsport scene, look no further than what drew some of the participants to this race.

Sebastian Bourdais escaped a turbulent second season in Formula One with Scuderia Toro Rosso to race with his home team, in his home city, in his home race. A rock star in France, Bourdais was mobbed whenever he appeared.

Lord Paul Drayson of the British government missed the first meeting of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's new cabinet to survey his Aston Martin Vantage GT2 at scrutineering on Tuesday.

Prospective Formula One team bosses Martin Birrane of Lola and David Richards of Aston Martin's P1 program were focused entirely on their sportscar teams' efforts for the week. (It probably took their minds off whether they would make it onto the 2010 F1 entry list -- they didn't, at first revealing.

	Fans at scrutineering. Photo by Eric Gilbert.

And Patrick Dempsey proved to be the most popular driver of the event. If Bourdais was merely mobbed, then Dempsey was hounded both by the press and the fans at any and every point of the week. Dempsey was there both for the experience and to raise money, with co-drivers Joe Foster and Don Kitch Jr., for the Seattle Children's Hospital and the Mecenat Cardiac Hospital in Paris.

Like America's two most recognizable races, the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500, there is so much more to the Le Mans 24 Hours than the race itself. But either event could borrow a page from Le Mans in terms of maximizing its allotted time. Le Mans is also a testament to what appears to be a dying trend in America --- technical innovation and variety among four classes, all running together.

Le Mans is just one week, while Daytona takes two for Speedweeks and Indianapolis requires the entire month of May. It's a different type of event, yes; but within the week at Le Mans, you never stop moving. Scrutineering occurs Monday and Tuesday, with on-track activity for 12 hours on Wednesday and Thursday in a pair of six-hour sessions that each end at midnight.

A feature of Le Mans week is also its fan friendliness. Scrutineering is more of a concourse than an official technical inspection, and is held in downtown Le Mans, completely free to the public. As a result tens of thousands of fanatics play hooky from work and head down just to catch a glimpse of every car in attendance.

While I was there I had the opportunity to tour the old city of Le Mans, which I must admit was a welcome break from the rain and monotony of scrutineering. I have to thank Anne Proffit, who stepped aside from her own work for a few hours to play tour guide. Longtime readers of this website will recognize Anne's name from her past insightful and award-winning articles on F1 and American open-wheel racing posted on motorsport.com. Despite a distinguished 30-plus year career, Proffit only made it to Le Mans herself for the first time in 2008. She was all too happy to provide this Le Mans freshman the same experience as she had enjoyed with her editor, Ian Bamsey of Race Engine Technology, last year.

The streets of Vieux Mans. Photo by Tony DiZinno.

The old city is magnificent --- you're walking on cobblestones down tiny roads amid ancient but gorgeous buildings, with an incredible backdrop. A book penned about the French fictional character Michel Vaillant as a parody of the race (titled 24 Hours under the Influence in 2007) creates a most unique souvenir.

Another of the intentionally fan-friendly events is the driver's parade on Friday. It's a long route but throughout it the drivers stop to talk and sign autographs. Stepping back from the media perspective, I thoroughly enjoyed watching with the fans, and stood next to some "Pistonheads" who were here from the UK. These Aston fanatics were there getting their Aston Martin Racing polos signed and their drivers were thrilled to see that. Interestingly, Darren Turner of the #008 car stopped to ask what I was doing on the fans' side of the fence!

As an interesting observation from the parade, Narain Karthikeyan couldn't be bothered to sign anything for anyone as he walked through the streets, so perhaps it was karma that knocked the Kolles Audi driver out of the race? Before the start, the Indian driver tripped over a pit wall and dislocated his shoulder, leaving the driving efforts to fellow Le Mans rookies Charles Zwolsman and Andre Lotterer for the entire race.

And there was one particularly unusual autograph request. Motorsport.com's art director Eric Gilbert must have been a nice change of pace for a teenaged girl used to seeing just drivers, so she went ahead and asked Gilbert for an autograph. Gilbert was all too happy to oblige.

Gilbert and fellow photographer Rainier Ehrhardt, plus my writing colleague for the week Tom Haapanen, could not have been more hospitable and helpful in my first Le Mans experience. They did a fantastic job with their stories and photos, and I only hope mine were just as well composed.

The race itself is a bit anti-climactic after all the buildup, but that's not to say it wasn't a fantastic race. In comparison to this year's 500-milers at Daytona and Indianapolis, Le Mans was a fascinating battle of strategy and survival over a 24-hour period. It was also filled with passing --- you get that when all the cars in the field are not equal based on the regulations.

It was also a relief to hear that Benoit Treluyer in the Pescarolo Peugeot avoided serious injury following a savage accident around 4 am local time. His teammate for the week, Simon Pagenaud, was back at the media center later on and not at all remorseful about being left off the factory team. Gracious as ever, Pagenaud appreciated his opportunity and the fact that Treluyer was okay after the accident.

	Motorsport.com's Eric Gilbert signs an autograph for a young fan. Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt.

"I was in the Pescarolo because they had a Peugeot and (Henri) wanted me," Pagenaud said. "It was quite a huge shunt, and I'm just glad (Benoit) is okay. It was a great opportunity to drive such a great car in Le Mans. Gil (de Ferran) is a big part of what's happening to me now. He gave me the equipment to show what I could do. Without them, I might not be here at all."

Logistical travel issues back to the US from Paris aside, it was an exhausting but very rewarding first time to Le Mans. The French have a saying --- "joie de vivre" --- the joy of life. The Le Mans week is all that and then some, and a must for anyone who considers him or herself a racing fan.