Le Mans - Favourite Era / Year ?

[rev-erend]

After a article in the TVR Car club magazine - entitled 'Has Le Mans lost it's magic' .. I got to thinking ..

What is everyone's Favourite Era / Year for Le Mans..

I've been going on and off since about 1992 .. and remember those all those races .. and there sure have been many changes .. mainly for the worse.

It's now all Corporate and concrete and glass. A lot of the fun has gone.

I just missed out on the Jaguar late 80's wins in the XJR12 etc..

The early 1990 Peugeot 907 wins were fantastic..

Derek Bells last race in an open top Porsche .. with only around 36 entrants was fantastic..

Jaguar xj220 winning and being disqualified was fantastic.

The best year for me was the Maclaren F1 years - these were most like road car with no prototypes .. easy to relate to and fantastic races and a superb time to go to Le Mans..

The latest Diesel year's have been a bit dull .. you can hardly hear the things and Le Mans is not the same as it was ..

Starting to sound like a real old timer..

What is your favourite year ?

Edited by rev-erend on Monday 13th August 17:01

[JulesV]

I think my favourite years must be the Group C era with the 956/962s, TWR Jaguars and Sauber Mercedes. It has always been great though but I wish they would even out the petrol and diesels otherwise everything will be a bloody diesel.

[tucker20]

rev-erend said:

The best year for me was the Maclaren F1 years - these were most like road car with no prototypes .. easy to relate to and fantastic races and a superb time to go to Le Mans..

Edited by rev-erend on Monday 13th August 17:01

Aren't the ACO gonna make LMP1 / LMP2 cars conform to a more road going style body from 2008 or 2009? Remember reading something about this.

[moffspeed]

Well I've been at them all since the late 70's and Ok the Jag win of 1988 has to hold a special place in your heart if you were lucky enough to be there.

But, wind the clock on a further 10 years and, look at the entry for 1998, I reckon it takes some beating when it comes to "proper" manufacturers squaring up to one another. Serious works entries from Porsche,Mercedes, Toyota,Nissan and BMW's (Williams)V12. Supporting cast included the earth-moving Panoz's and the drop-dead gorgeous Ferrari 333SP.

Happy days and I'm sorry to say the current breed of prototypes don't float my boat..with the exception of the Pescarolos that atleast make the right noises and remind me just a tad of those wonderful Matras....

Edited by moffspeed on Tuesday 14th August 20:12

[rev-erend]

Yes - the Ferrari 333 was a wonderful car ..

[The Leaper]

Good choice, moffspeed. The looks and sounds, plus the cometition, was great. I also think of the 1960s when Ford took on the Ferraris...wish I had been there then. The Le Mans Classic is a reasonable substitute. R.

[Lamboandy]

pre 2005 before the chav's started attending!

Andy.

[rev-erend]

Lamboandy said:

pre 2005 before the chav's started attending!

Andy.

Very true

[Mark B]

rev-erend said:

Derek Bells last race in an open top Porsche .. with only around 36 entrants was fantastic..

Jaguar xj220 winning and being disqualified was fantastic.

The best year for me was the Maclaren F1 years - these were most like road car with no prototypes .. easy to relate to and fantastic races and a superb time to go to Le Mans..

Edited by rev-erend on Monday 13th August 17:01

Likewise, Bell's last race was my first and I had a ball, ended up chatting with Derek's daughter on the ferry back to Portsmouth too.... Very memorable..

My favourite has to be 1995 with the weather which was appauling but JJ Lehto (Macca F1) lapping 28 seconds quicker than anyone else in the middle of the night in turrential rain was a site and sound to behold...

By far my greatest year...

I am more of a CLM man now, the modern cars are too quiet, competition is weak and the campsites are full of to$$ers...

At CLM, 50's onwards are all fabulous to watch.. I just wish I was around to see the BMW M1's and 935 race for the full 24 hours...