posted Jun 15, 2008

Kuz no british drivers ... deuh ...

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posted Jun 15, 2008

""Because no British drivers ... deuh ... !!

There is a driver who a lot of motor racing fans who are aware of the modern scene will have heard of called "Allan McNish", he is a Scotsman and being Scottish means he is actually also British.
He drives for the little known Audi team, which is possibly why you have never heard of him.

If you go through the entry list some time you will see that there are loads of British drivers and cars and engines.
In fact Le Mans is described as the second biggest motor race in Great Britain because something like 60,000-80,000 Brits go over every year.

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posted Jun 15, 2008

Alan McNish has also previously won the Le Mans if memory serves and he also drove in F1 for a season about 5 years back

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posted Jun 15, 2008

9 British drivers finished the race. I have a feeling that more than that retired but can't be bovvered to count.
Minnassian brilliant in the rain, McNish rained on Peugeot's 1st lap parade in a car that was supposed to be 4 seconds a lap slower.

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posted Jun 15, 2008

I counted 10 british teams starting in cars
14, 18, 19, 25, 26, 45, 007, 009, 59, 96

21 british drivers starting in cars
2, 14,19, 25, 40, 41, 45, 009, 53, 64, 96, 99

McNish won
Darren Turner first in class GT1
Oliver Gavin third in class GT1

Someone else will no doubt help out with the British manufacturers and British engines. I think one or two of the drivers live in England as well.

Vanina Icxx (Belgium) was woman of the match.

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posted Jun 16, 2008

It's not just the BBC, it appears that the majority of the British press seem to largely ignore what is one of the worlds greatest ever racing events.

I go to Le Mans every other year and stay alongside 80,000 other British fans but become increasingly frustrated by the lack of coverage over here during and after the race. All those idiots that say it's not important or doesn't involve the British clearly have no idea about this event but I suppose you can't blame them if there is no information other than through a subscription channel.

Maybe the only solution is for me to go every year. I have more chance of persuading my wife on that than seeing any coverage in the football obsessed British Media.

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posted Jun 16, 2008

As I've said before if it's not F1/Hamilton then they don't want to know. It's probably the biggest British Motorsport event - about 100,000 Brits attend - more than British GP, British Moto GP, Rally GB, etc
Absolutely scanalous - why don't the media send their F1 reporters over? They would be surprised at the access and different air in the paddock.
Rant over!!!

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posted Jun 16, 2008

I've been working at the Le Mans 24 Hours as an English journalist (for French papers as they realise how massive it is for British populus) since I was 17 (8 years). It pains me when you see how superbly organised the event is, the spirit of the whole Le Mans week and how little credit the British media give to such a prestige event. Over 250k spectators flocked to Le Mans this year and at least half were British. The French love us and our cars and the media can't wait for the Brits to descend to add some spice to the week with beer walls and paddling pools in campsites and team t-shirts.

Froggy^ your above comment leads me to believe perhaps you didnt read the starting line up, Amanda Stretton, David Brabham (although he could be classed as an Aussi), Darren Turner Allan McNish etc etc and the younger talents of Adam Sharpe and Stuart Hall who are becoming Le Mans regulars.

From an insiders point of view it is shameful. The press office is full of crews from all over the world, Denmark, Germany, the French en masse and the Japanese etc...but a country with such a tradition for motorsport should be proud of its heritage and the uniqueness that attracts so many Brits to one event. The BBC should be ashamed.1 round up report on the website. Poor show.

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posted Jun 16, 2008

OK, there are british drivers, and Le Mans is the oldest race of its kind ( endurance ).

24 consecutive hours, non stop. Too long for the Beeb.
The Beeb is not so enduring ??

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posted Jun 16, 2008

Good article. Probably one of the races that got me interested in Motorsport years back. That, Formula 1 and the Monte Carlo rally. It is a shame that one of the races synonymous historically with British and engineering achievement is largely ignored these days despite having more than a dozen channels devoted to sport.

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