24 hrs LE MANS RACE BRIEF HISTORY

Home » Recreation and Sports » Auto Racing Join Sign in EzineArticles - Expert Authors Sharing Their Best Original Articles Search Ian Hunterson Platinum Quality Author Platinum Author | 13 Articles Joined: August 23, 2011 New Zealand A Brief Guide to the History of the 24 Hrs of Le Mans Race By Ian Hunterson | Submitted On July 09, 2015 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Expert Author Ian Hunterson In 1969, Jackie Ickx pulled on his leather driving gloves and walked across the track to his race car, while the other drivers did the traditional "run and jump" start. He did this in protest, encouraging the other drivers to race with seatbelts fastened. Jackie Ickx would go on to win the 24 hrs of Le Mans in a Ford GT 40. He won this event six times. The traditional start where drivers ran across the track to their cars, was last used in 1969. 24 hrs of Le Mans is steeped in history and prestige. It is the most widely known race in the world. If you are "anybody", you race at Le Mans... if you win, you are "everybody". At Le Mans, race cars are 85% at full throttle for most of the long straights and top speeds of 200 mph are reached until knuckles become white beneath leather driving gloves as the grip on the steering wheel resembles the grip of rubber on the road, as the braking system is tested, bringing the car down to 50 mph, from the Mulsanne straight to the fearsome Porsche curves. The outcome of each curve determined the fate of the next. "The Flying Scot" Jim Clark, refused to race at Le Mans. He considered it too dangerous. The Detroit News said in June 17 1966:- "This racetrack is a cornfield airstrip in the jet age. It was built 50 years ago for cars that went 65 mph. Tomorrow 55 race cars - some of them capable of 225 mph on the straight and all of them over the 130 mph class - will get off at 10am (Detroit time) and it will be a miracle if nobody gets killed. Nobody is fearless. Some of these drivers are scared stiff". Back in the days when driving gloves pulled on leather helmets and goggles, an endurance race had a totally different meaning. When Duncan Hamilton won Le Mans in 1953 in a Jaguar C-Type, he was so drunk that when the team offered him coffee during pit-stops, he refused, saying it made his arms twitch, accepting only brandy! These days Le Mans is a 24 hr sprint through thousands of gear shifts, millions of crankshaft revolutions and constant forces on every component, you drive every lap as a qualifier. This makes the 24 hr of Le Mans the purist all round challenge in motor racing. Corvette Racing stood atop the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday June 13-14 2015 as Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor wrote the final chapter of a storybook comeback that ended with the team winning the GTE Pro category in their No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. The trio in their No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R completed 337 laps for 2,864.50 miles in a frantic battle that eventually saw the Corvette win in class by five laps. Sunday's victory goes along with Corvette Racing's wins earlier this year in the 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Ian_Hunterson/1172160 0 Comments | Leave a Comment Did you find this article helpful? Happy Face0 Sad Face0 Viewed 31 times Word count: 518 Article Tools EzinePublisher Report this article Cite this article Stay Informed Subscribe to New Article Alerts: Recreation and Sports: Auto-Racing Ian Hunterson Email Address Subscribe We will never sell or rent your email address. Auto Racing Article Feed Auto Racing Article Feed Find More Articles Search Similar Articles Chevrolet Corvette Review and Specifications Recent Articles Racing Line How to Prepare Your Car and Wheels for a Race Types of Tyres Suitable for Different Racing Conditions Motor Racing on TV: Formula One and Indycar Hot Rods On The Mississippi Gulf Coast - (1953-1957) The Early Years 2016 Monaco Grand Prix: The Fallout Formula 1 Rising Stars: Interview With Valtteri Bottas Behind the Scenes With the Sahara Force India F1 Team The Youngest Driver In Formula 1 Divides Opinion 10 Things to Know Before You Go Bracket Racing at the Dragstrip EzineArticles.com About Us FAQ Contact Us Member Benefits Privacy Policy Shop Site Map Blog Training Video Library Advertising Affiliates Cartoons Authors Submit Articles Members Login Premium Membership Expert Authors Endorsements Editorial Guidelines Terms of Service Publishers Terms Of Service Ezines / Email Alerts Manage Subscriptions EzineArticles RSS © 2017 EzineArticles All Rights Reserved Worldwide