Conference terri::cars_uk

    
    Still can't decide about going.... FFr310 this year I believe.
    
    Richard.
    

Results ...

Mario Baldi 1st in a Porsche, Eddie Irving 2nd in a Toyota. He led
most of the way (about 18 hours or so) then lost 12 minutes because
of a gearbox problem, finished 1 lap down. And a Nissan 300 was 5th
... :-)

    One of the closest finishes for some time, with the 2nd and 3rd placed
    cars seconds apart just one lap behind the winner. Irvine snatched 2nd
    place from Boutsen as the two cars started their last lap.
    
    I wish I'd gone too...
    All power to the ACO and may the 24 hours continue and flourish.
    
    Edward.

    1. Dauer 962	Baldi, Dalmas, Haywood
    2. Toyota 94CV	Irvine, Martini, Krostoff
    3. Dauer 962	Stuck, Sullivan, Boutsen
       .....

    Because of a new French law that prevents 'interference of a sporting
    event' there was no track invasion this year. So I finally saw the
    winning car plus most of the remaining field actually cross the line
    for the first time in years.

    After the official finish all the gates and barriers where opened and
    the normal 'invasion' happened, just 5 minutes later. The invaders with
    12 months liberty and 10,000 FFr better off.

    The last couple of hours had some cracking racing and for the final 20
    minutes or so Derek Bell drove round the circuit in his open top
    porsche waving at all the fans as this was his last driver ever at Le
    Mans. Ironically Derek was involved in a mix up with 2 or three other
    cars that almost caused Eddie Irvine to lose 2nd place to Boutsen on the
    final corner.

    Good performances by the American cars (Dodge, Corvette ...) which will
    hopefully mean they return next year, bringing along some more American
    GT racers.
    
    The Bugatti EB10 was superb at night, with all four disks glowing on
    braking and both exhausts howling a flame that looked like a jet engine
    on afterburn.
    
    Ian.

    
    re -1
    Care to explain what you meant by the invaders being 10,000 FFr and
    12 months liberty better off. after the invasion ? or am I missing
    something.
    

    RE: .6
    
    From .5
    >>After the official finish all the gates and barriers where opened and
    >>the normal 'invasion' happened, just 5 minutes later. The invaders with
    >>12 months liberty and 10,000 FFr better off.

    Gary,
    
    A new law was passed in France concerning "interference of a sporting
    event" which for a motor racing event meant that if you went onto the
    track before the event had officially finished you could get carted off
    by "le flic" and put away for upto 12 months and/or upto a 10,000 FF
    fine. 
    
    Dave

    
    Ah , it should've been 'were' not 'with', I thought some sort of prize 
    was given out for the first invader.
    

    .7�    by "le flic" and put away for upto 12 months and/or upto a 10,000 FF
    .7�    fine. 
    
    ... and there were big signs everywhere reminding of these fines. I
    have no problem with this. I can't understand why people suddenly need
    to break the fences and run on the track. It's both costly to the
    organisation and dangerous (for the crowd and for the racers). People
    are most welcome to walk on the track before or after the race. 

    .4�    1. Dauer 962	Baldi, Dalmas, Haywood
    
    Just a little bit on Dauer vs Porsche for those who don't (yet) know
    the difference.
    
    ACO have allowed several categories this year. The fastest cars were
    supposed to be in the LMP1 category: the Le Mans Prototypes, which are
    basically the old Group C cars with some more restrictions compared to
    previous years. Most visible restrictions were: fuel tank limited to 80
    litres, weight, etc ... New categories this year are the LMGT1 and
    LMGT2. LMGT2s are "standard GT cars" ie with minimal preparation.
    LMGT1s are fully developed GT cars. The definition of a GT car is
    something like this: any car for sale somewhere, at least 1 must have
    been sold. The LMGT1 regulations allow tanks of 120litres.
    
    Porsche AG recognized this mistake and informed ACO that they would
    enter as one of their 962 custom resellers (Dauer, Schuppan, Koenig,
    ...). The only catch was: rear tyres are limited to 14" in width which
    caused a number of problems when cornering. Apparently the tyres worn
    in less than 10 laps so the drivers had to be very careful. This is
    basically the reason why Irvine (with the Toyota suffering some gearbox
    problems) passed Boutsen in a corner. The Toyota with its wide tyres
    was much better than the Dauer when cornering, but it did not go any
    faster in the straight(s).
    
    So, it's a GT than won Le Mans 1994 !
    
    Needless to say: ACO are revising their GT rules for 1995. Group Cs
    won't be allowed any more.

    I just read that McLaren (in chaoots with Gulf) are entering a team of
    F1s at Le Mans and several other sports car races this year.
    
    (...or did I see that here already?)

    McLaren will field F1 cars at ten events in 1995, including Le Mans,
    according to the radio news this morning (29-11-1994)

    .12�    McLaren will field F1 cars at ten events in 1995, including Le Mans,
    .12�    according to the radio news this morning (29-11-1994)
    
    Are you sure its McLaren who will enter the cars? I've read about a
    number of McLaren F1 cars sold to individual customers or teams who
    will prepare and enter their cars (most probably with some basic
    support from the factory).

    What I've heard (From "Motor Sport") is that McLaren will be developing
    a variant of the F1 (The F1-GT I think) which will conform to the
    Sports Car Formula (No active aerodynamic aids, <1000kg weight, reduced
    size air inlet, roll bars etc) This will cost about �65,000 more than a
    std. F1. McLaren will also offer a parts / service facility at the
    european events for a cost of �50,000 with any remaining moneys being
    refunded at the end of the series. Apparently a number of people have
    bought both an F1 and an F1-GT - me I'd be happy with just an F1
    
    	Rik

    The F1GT, although more expensive, is slower and handles less adeptly
    than the 'standard' F1.
    
    Now THAT'S marketing for you :-). We could do with those McLaren market
    dudes working for DEC, I can tell you.
    
    "You don't want an AXP, you wan't a nice old MicroVAX II, you do..."
    
    :-)
    
    Dan