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Matt Harper 5/06/08 - just prior to his LM return!
Before I get stuck into this, I ask forgiveness for my indulgence.
It's been quite a long time since I have written one of these.
The history of these missives goes back quite a long way and they were originally intended to act as a 'warm-up' for the relatively small party that attended the race through the 80's and 90's. Not only did I enjoy writing them, but the feedback I got was that the recipients liked them too. Originally I wrote them to give the less race-interested members of our group a bit of a layman's overview of what to expect out on the track, during the course of the 24 Heures. You see, strange as it may seem, there was a time when a few of us actually gave a rat's ass about what was happening on the other side of the debris fence.
Times have changed. Our party has got bigger - we even bring our sons and daughters with us - but the basic premise is, I believe, the same. At risk of getting a little mushy at this point, there is a fraternity that has developed and endured, that has this race as its back-drop. It's a fraternity that has formed naturally. It's still as warm and welcoming today as it's ever been and I'm very proud to be a part of it.
My first attendance at Le Mans was in 1983. Richard and Michelle Thain had visited the race as day-fags in 1981 and invited me to join them and their small party in 1982. The 82 race weekend was too close to the projected birth date of my daughter, so I had to wait until the following year for my initiation. It's worth noting that several people in this year's party were on that bus in 1983. Aside from Rich and Mitch, Nic and Julia were also present all those years ago.
A whole coach-load set off from Knaresborough, N.Yorks on that Friday afternoon, including me - fresh faced, innocent and half-pissed from the preceding DTS (Dinner Time Session), not really appreciating that this would be the start of something big, for me.
In terms of preparation for the weekend to come, I had a rucksack containing a denim jacket, a spare pare of pants and socks, a toothbrush, a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap. No tent, no beer, no food, no waterproofs. I think my entire race budget was a hundred quid.
The bus pulled into the car park (spookily close to where we'll be camped this year) less than four hours before the race started. It left precisely one and a half hours after the race finished. The bit in-between was a bit of a blur. What I do remember of it got me pretty much addicted to the event, even though it was pretty much unrecognizable from the way we do things these days. I arrived home skint, sunburned and hung-over - and planning for next year's trip.
That was the only time I ever 'did' Le Mans on a bus. I went in other people's cars in 84 and 85 and I was forced to step-down from attending the 86 event due to plain old lack of money. Pissing away grocery and rent money wasn't really an option, so I cleansed myself over the race weekend by producing a range of watercolour renditions of some of the cars in the 86 race. I ended-up giving them to my father and I'm proud to say that they now decorate the hallway of their home in Jumelles - just 70kms south of the circuit. They're not particularly good pictures, but every time I see them, it brings back to me how difficult it was, not to be there, that year.
In 87 I took my new company Vauxhall Belmont and we stayed-over in Rouen on the Friday night. The hang-over I had as we entered the track on Saturday morning was indescribable and I really have no idea how I made it through the '87 race. I do recall that this was the first year that Tim McKenzie announced, "I've done my wedge" on Sunday lunchtime, just prior to the wristwatch smashing incident. This was also the year Richard created the metaphorical "Le Mans Roller-Coaster" - that mythical thrill-ride that depicted all of the mood-swings we encounter during the course of the weekend - a measuring guide that is still in use today.
I nearly didn't make the 88 race, due to work commitments, but at the last minute, I managed to wangle a brand-new Renault Espace from a client. All I needed was a co-pilot for the late drive down. Enter one Brian (Fat Stan) Hackford. This was the first of several appearances by Stan - who was always fun to have around (and pretty handy if things got unruly).
Something pretty awful happened in 1989. My brother Paul, who was planning to drive to Le Mans with me and younger brothers, Mike and Stephen, died less than 6 weeks before the race. The whole family was still a bit numb from this and our trip south was more subdued than normal. By this point, we had taken to celebrating the start of the race with a glass of Champagne each. As the car's roared into the Dunlop curve, we raised our glasses as usual - and then something special happened. Michael shouted, "Here's to The Wildman!" (a tribute to his older brother, Paul). We all just stared at each other for a moment and then raised our glasses and tearfully/joyfully remembered our beautiful brother. It was a fucking amazing moment that was very tenderly handled and appreciated by our friends who were with us - and has become a very important part of the whole event for some of us.
Today, we remember at least one other very special person at the beginning of the race. I first met Cliff Dawson on that bus, back in 1983 and saw him at least once, during every 24 hour race I attended until his untimely death. He was a very warm-hearted man. He helped me figure-out some difficult business worries and he was hilariously funny too.
1990 is probably best forgotten by me. I made a terrible error in judgement and coerced my wife into including the 24 hour race as part of our family holiday in France. I subjected my wife and then 8 year old daughter to a display of complete selfish irresponsibility which probably scarred them both for life. We're all allowed one monumental balls-up and this was mine. I think 90 was Dave's first trip to the race and he presided over my un-doing......
91 was the first of the RV trips. We began meeting the Joormunz and finally getting a bit more organized. This was the year a few of us made it onto the Mulsanne Straight during the night, which added a new dimension to the whole experience.
92 and 93 - it rained. We organized a 'touch' Football game that nearly turned into a full, four alarm riot (The fabled Garage Vert Superbowl) and Nic brought Jez along for the first time. It was pretty obvious back then, that the youngster was bitten by the bug, just like the rest of us. The year previous Dan Wireman came, but the bug somehow failed to bite Dan......
I'm recalling this all by remembering my mode of transport to each race, so after the RV trips in 91-93, we did a bit of a weird one in 1994. We rented two old clunkers of camper vans - one was kinda OK, the other was a bit of a turd and was referred to as "The Camper of Death" This was the year we spent the night in an empty car park in Dieppe both on the way - and on the way back. We also met a man who was trying to cadge a fag off us, who had a full-on and recent (by the look of it) tracheotomy, who David very sensitively christened, "Throaty".
In 95 I borrowed a work-mate's Toyota Previa, so that was the year we parked/camped at Tetre Rouge and Graham H rode down on his big Yam with "The Dust Warrior" on the back.
That means that 96 was the year I borrowed a work-mate's Ford Galaxy and Fax came for the first time - strangely, I don't remember a whole helluva lot about 96.
In 97 I borrowed a work mate's (bit of a trend here, eh?) Volvo T5 Estate and Dave brought Fax back for more. We seemed to drink quite a lot in 1997 - I believe Champagne was the tipple of choice.
Dave rather irresponsibly booked his honeymoon to coincide with the race weekend in 1998 and was a no-show as a result. This was the introduction of Stewie and Critchett and a sassy chick called Donna. It was rather hot as I recall.
I drove my Range Rover with Stewie and Critchett in 99 - and remember almost nothing of the entire weekend. Ditto for 2000 - only this time accompanied by workmate Chris Roper. I do have flash-backs concerning a child's bicycle and watching the end of the race at Tetre Rouge and suffering from heat-stroke and Dave's wife Tonya getting rather saucy. My windshield got shattered when we hit a pigeon on the way home - I remember that too.
In 2001 we had fancy cars and it pissed-down like I'd not seen before at Le Mans. This was the year we erected the "Rain Amplifier" and attempted a Jonestown style mass-suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, during the shrimp-frenzy. Irresponsibility was rife.
I missed 2002 and 2003. I returned in 2004, older, wiser and relocated to the USA. Dave, heavily preggers Tonya and I rented a little RV that had it's own shower, shitter and comfy beds. It was the future. It was civilized. I couldn't fit in the shower cubicle. I met "The Boy" for the first time - we exchanged headwear.
I'm not entirely certain, but I think I came back in 2005 - yes, I'm sure I did. Dave and I did the camper thing again - only minus Tonya this time. I believe this was the year that we moved one of our cars shortly before a wall collapsed onto the parking space - or did I dream that? I think we also had some champagne malfunction, in that we filled our cool-boxes with totally undrinkable shite.
My visa situation has prevented me from attending in 2006 and 2007, but since that has been resolved (in no small part due to Dave) I'm back again for the '08 edition. It's going to be pretty special to see you all again and to meet folks who've become part of this event in my absence. For me, the social aspect is now more important than the race. The chance to spend time with people I really care about is precious and far too rare for me. Doing an 8000 mile round-trip to spend 4 nights in a field in North Western France could be viewed as slightly eccentric - but I'm sure it will be worth the effort. Why? Because this is a gathering where laughter is spontaneous, where our ability to entertain each other is almost telepathic and where we can perpetuate a tradition of fun together.
Finally, let's not forget, there is a motor-race going on in the background too. For those that have even the most rudimentary of interests, the LMP1 battle between reigning champs Audi and local garlic-munchers, Peugeot will be much closer this year. I'd be quite pleased if the Pug effort prevails. LMP2 has Porsche written all over it. GT1, dominated by Aston Martin and Chevrolet in recent years, remains the focus of the race, as far as I'm concerned. As you all know, I'm totally un-biased, but painting the DBR9 that particularly gay shade of powder blue will not make it any more likely to stay with the 'Yellow Juggernaught' on race-pace (not qualifying). I think this could be the last year that GM will run the factory/Pratt & Miller Corvettes, because they don't fit in with GM's Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (Google GM-CAFÉ for more details) mandate. This in addition to the fact that outside of Le Mans, the Corvettes no longer have anyone to race against. I suspect that they'll be very keen to win this one.
