Tuesday .. neither here nor there ..

Tuesday is a slightly strange day.. 'tis neither one thing nor  t'other!! The Teams are hard at it building, preparing, polishing etc.. the drivers are 'on parade' , all suited and booted facing their public signing autographs and telling us how fantastic their car is .. and how brilliant their team/tyres/sponsors are and so on. One feels the might have been happier relaxing back in their hotels or chateaux. The campsites are slowly filling up and the rain has calmed down a bit.

Carrying on with our Dempsey theme,  the queue to get his autograph now snakes back along the pit lane stretching past other teams who might appear to be a little peeved!

The build up continues with the sponsors 'Houses'... (as regulars will know they are not simply hospitality units they are way beyond that) are springing up at an astounding pace. The big teams do seem to have 'big' budgets and big houses... "Who lives in a house like this..?" ( Who remembers Loyd Grossman!)

The most important thing today (other than getting Dempsey's autograph!) is the recreation of the Pontlieue Hairpin.

Where might you ask is that and why is it important? In 1923 when the 24hrs of Le Mans was created, the circuit was the same one as had been used two years earlier for the Grand Prix. The 17 kms circuit ( about the same length as the awesome Nordschleife!)  actually went through the town. Spectators loved it , particularly the hairpin at 'Pontlieue'. It was a great spot to watch as  the cars slammed on what little brakes they had and then scrabbled around the hairpin before heading off down what was to become the Mulsanne Straight.

Anyway to celebrate this The ACO and the Town of Le Mans have joined forces to recreate that famous hairpin. The original cafe is still standing and great trouble has been taken to get things absolutely right. Cars from the period will be using a mini-course. Add in music, dancing, beer and costumes and it looks like it will be a great spectacle.

We have been delighted by your brilliant response to the 'What is Unique About Le Mans'  question.. you can see them as they flood in at this thread over on the forum.