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Posted
Oct 01 2011, 09:00 PM
by
Linhbergh
with 11 comment(s)
The weather couldn't have been any better. The morning had a sight chill in the early hours before the race and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The cloudless sky continued even when the sun came up. There wasn't a hint of the Georgian heat throughout the day and the temperatures were more than comfortable. Not too hot and not too cold. Perfect weather for 53 race cars to thunder away for 10 hours at Road Atlanta for the Petit Le Mans. It wasn't the cleanest of races. Ten different...
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Posted
Oct 01 2011, 08:30 AM
by
Linhbergh
with 7 comment(s)
At exactly 11:30AM local time, the Safety Car drove into the pit lane, after the two recon laps, and released the thousands of horse power behind it. Fifty-three cars. One-thousand miles. Ten hours. And in those first few moments, the #7 Peugeot thundered off and gained a considerable lead from the #1 Audi. Then again, this is endurance racing and with this sort of racing, anything can happen --especially in ten hours. The race can be streamed LIVE from ESPN3.com , if you're watching inside the...
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Posted
Sep 30 2011, 09:00 PM
by
Linhbergh
with 2 comment(s)
The American Le Mans series always starts its season big and ends it big. The season starts in Florida for the 12 Hours of Sebring and ends it with a bang in Georgia at the 10 hour race, the Petit Le Mans. This year at Road Atlanta, there will be 54 cars navigating the race track while also weaving through traffic. It's always amazing to see so many race cars bunched up while hauling all sorts of rear end around a race track. This year sees the addition of the ILMC GTE class to the race grid...
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Posted
Oct 11 2010, 04:45 AM
by
John Brooks
with 9 comment(s)
Rage against the Night. McNish's Audi R15 chases the Peugeots but even he can't make up the gap. 2-0 to the French, a whitewash in China? Allez Les Blues! Who can you believe these days? I feel like a politician. I boldly make a statement, totally convinced that I am right, then it turns out to be utter tosh. A quick look at my work schedule shows that I have still to write my PLM wrap up. So here goes. Reputation shot to pieces. The 2010 edition of Petit Le Mans may well go down in history...
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Posted
Oct 06 2010, 03:51 PM
by
John Brooks
with 3 comment(s)
It said that, in life, you are judged by the company that you keep. As the above shot illustrates, the guys at Team Falken are hanging with the Big Dogs. OK, no one would pretend that they are racing the quartet of Peugeots and Audis but they fully deserve their place in the stellar field of racers that contested last weekend's Petit Le Mans. They are now an integral part of the ALMS scene. Perhaps as I am an infrequent visitor to the ALMS I see the transformation of the team more clearly than...
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Posted
Oct 03 2010, 07:20 PM
by
John Brooks
with 10 comment(s)
October arrives bringing with it the final episodes of 2010. At this time of year motorsport pulls down the shutters and prepares for the winter, and hopefully, the spring. There are still some rituals to be observed, the last Grand Prix and the Formula One titles, Macau and in North America, Petit Le Mans. This instant classic, brought to a grateful public some 12 years ago by the Don Panoz and the ACO, is the punctuation mark, the full stop, that completes the real endurance season. The 2010 race...
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Posted
Sep 26 2010, 05:01 AM
by
John Brooks
with 6 comment(s)
Even for those of us getting on a bit, ten years, a whole decade, is a significant chunk of time. Ten years ago saw the third edition of the instant endurance racing classic, Petit Le Mans. The landscape back then, both on and off the track, was somewhat different. Hell, Bill Clinton was still President of the United States of America. September 11 was just a day like any other, there was a calm before the storm. The signs of the impending troubles were there for those with eyes to see but most of...
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Posted
Oct 03 2009, 07:50 AM
by
Linhbergh
with 31 comment(s)
The sky was already emptying out its emotions when we arrived onto the track in the morning. Water literally flowed down the parking lots and access streets around the circuit, and as Rod and I hurried into the media tower, we tried our best to walk around deep rivers and ponds that quickly formed from the morning down pour. As we stepped into the dry and warm building, the sensation of wet socks was the first thing that greeted us. I looked down at my watch, and it wasn't even 7am yet.... The...
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Posted
Oct 02 2009, 11:58 AM
by
Rod Chong
with 9 comment(s)
What's up SpeedHunters – I'm Tommy Milner and I'm a 23 year old 'kid', lucky enough to have to have one of the most exciting jobs in the world. I grew up in a racing family, my dad having been in racing since the late 60's, and grew up a big car guy/race fan. Nothing has changed since I was young, as I still watch anything and everything to do with cars or racing, now I'm just fortunate to make a living at it. I started off racing 125cc shifter karts when I was 15...
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Posted
Sep 29 2009, 12:40 PM
by
John Brooks
with 7 comment(s)
"Blow,Winds and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout til you have drenched our steeples, drown'd the cocks!" I did not actually see King Lear out in the storms that hit Road Atlanta during the middle of the Petit Le Mans last Saturday but I saw plenty of candidates for the role of the Fool, me for one. Sitting in the warm, dry media centre contemplating a two hour session in the pit lane, I looked at the weather radar on John Dagys' computer and could...
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Posted
Sep 26 2009, 05:01 PM
by
John Brooks
with 11 comment(s)
" A Rainy Night in Georgia, A Rainy Night in Georgia, It seems like it's Raining all over the World" We had dodged the monumental thunderstorms for most of the day but eventually the monsoon hit Road Atlanta and turned the track into a lake in places. The lightning was also an issue as no one wanted corner workers and other personal working outside to be exposed to unnecessary dangers. Finally the track became undrivable, so the although the race was running behind a safety car under...
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Posted
Sep 26 2009, 04:00 PM
by
Rod Chong
with 9 comment(s)
Amongst the Speedhunters on site at the Petit Le Mans, I've been designated the press room worker. So while John Brooks and Linhbergh were off shooting the race, I've been sitting here watching the Speed TV feed and listening to Radio Le Mans. Out the window I can see one corner of the track, but I might as well be in my living room as I'm mostly getting a sense of the race through media, rather than direct experience. Not that I'm complaining! The weather has been pretty rubbish...
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Posted
Sep 26 2009, 07:30 AM
by
Rod Chong
with 12 comment(s)
I'm sitting here in the media center at Road Atlanta watching a very wet support race. The track is looking rather flooded right now and yesterday's extreme heat and humidity is rapidly fading from memory. But before we swamp the site with coverage from the start of Petit Le Mans 2009, I want to quickly convey what I got up to yesterday. Early start times seem to be the defacto standard for international level motorsports events and Petit Le Mans is no exception. Linhbergh and I were expected...
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Posted
Sep 26 2009, 02:30 AM
by
Linhbergh
with 16 comment(s)
There's only so much practicing or rehearsing you can to before a big day. And today is a big day for the multitudes of teams that will be competing in this year's Petit Le Mans. Come back throughout the day for periodic updates and galleries live from Road Atlanta! -Linhbergh Nguyen...
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Posted
Sep 25 2009, 08:41 PM
by
John Brooks
with 14 comment(s)
Friday dawned in Georgia with those of us sporting media track access passes dragged from our beds to attend the mandatory photo meeting. Coffee and grumbles were, as ever, the order of the day at the hot and steamy Road Atlanta track. On the circuit things had a familiar ring, with BMW topping the GT2 class during the final practice session. And still at the top of the timesheets was the #08 Peugeot. Plus ca change............... Friday at Petit Le Mans is also the day when the fans can get up close...
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Posted
Sep 25 2009, 07:30 AM
by
Linhbergh
with 6 comment(s)
Watching race cars getting flogged through a race track during the day is already a pulse pounding experience, but watching the same cars getting the same amount of abuse during the pitch dark is a completely different sort of visual, and audio sensation. All your senses are on edge as you wait for each car to fly through a corner at full speed. You start to identify the each car by their headlights and each cars' signature engine note as they pass through your corner. It is a truly an extraordinary...
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Posted
Sep 25 2009, 12:00 AM
by
John Brooks
with 12 comment(s)
Yes, it is time for SpeedHunters' Petit Le Mans coverage to start in earnest. Hartsfield International, Atlanta's airport will be Check-Point Charlie for Motorsport pros this weekend. Heading East will be Linhbergh who should hook up with a West bound Rod later today. Me? I am already here in the humid confines of Road Atlanta. The official sessions leading up to the race are now underway, so here is a quick look at what is to come. SpeedHunters will be looking at all aspects of the event...
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Posted
Oct 06 2008, 05:10 PM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 2 comment(s)
The Eleventh running of the 1000 Mile Petit Le Mans resulted in a classic Audi-Peugeot-Audi battle in the last half of the race. Andrew Jennings was at Road Atlanta taking these fantastic images for us. There was drama even before the race had started. 2nd place starter Allan McNish lost control on a warm-up lap and spun his Audi R10 TDi into the barriers. The Scott managed to get the deranged car back to the pits where the Audi crew set to repair the car. “I lost control of the Audi due to...
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Posted
Oct 03 2008, 04:09 PM
by
Andy Blackmore
with 5 comment(s)
Wow, that was a great qualifying session! Just like a sprint race. Allan McNish put in some really quick times early in the Qualifying session earlier this afternoon and with five minutes to go the Audi Engineer told Allan he could come in to the pits,his pole position was safe... However,,,,as Allan was exiting his car, Stephane Sarrazin took pole, by just 0.08 of second. An amazing performance by both teams. Given that everyone thought Peugeot would dominate qualifying, it was an impressive performance...
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Posted
Oct 03 2008, 10:00 AM
by
John Brooks
with 4 comment(s)
It is perhaps one of the most famous endings in Hollywood history, capping one of the greatest films made. With fog swirling around Casablanca's airport, Rick Blaine and Captain Renault consider their options and decide to head for Brazzaville and the Free French..........."Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.". When the flag dropped on 11th October 1998 to mark the end of the race, about ten minutes shy of ten hours into the first running of the Petit Le...
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