24 Hours of Le Mans 2012 – GALLERY
One of the greatest motorsport events of the year has just come and gone. It’s a must-watch if you’re a petrolhead and if you weren’t devoted enough to watch throughout the night, here’s a gallery from the official Le Mans FB page.
I hope my preview and car guide was of use during the race but it was business as usual for Audi Team Joest as they took first, second and third at this year’s event. Sadly, the much-hyped Toyota hybrids were not able to match the rampaging Audis and all of them retired. Somehow team Audi has this event licked thanks to a deadly combination of world-class drivers, well-trained pitcrew, highly efficient hybrid racers and good old-fashioned reliability.
The GTE Pro class was won by none other than Giancarlo Fisichella (yes – the former F1 driver!) in a Ferrari 458 Italia while the GTE Am class saw Pedro Lamy bring the Chevrolet Corvette home. What’s most impressive is that Fisichella’s Ferrari was rebuilt after a crash in practise and the crew rebuilt the car in just under ten hours.
The unique Nissan Delta Wing did not finish sadly as it was clipped by a faster LMP1 Toyota which sent it into the wall. Despite the best efforts of the driver and engineers, the car was unable to be repaired and had to retire. Toyota’s Anthony Davidson suffered a horrific crash after he was clipped by a slower GTE Ferrari 458 while trying to pass at the chicane. The collision sent the Toyota flying and the resulting impact with the tyre wall completely destroyed his vehicle. Davidson suffered two broken vertebrae and is currently in hospital. The Ferrari landed up on its roof and the driver emerged unscathed.
Without going into too much of a depressive rant, I’ve noticed that the vast majority of Le Mans crashes are caused by faster LMP1/LMP2 racers trying to pass slower traffic. It happened quite a few times this year too and it’s beginning to get out of hand. Yes the LMP brigade are faster but they’re literally barging slower racers out the way and taking near impossible gaps. I wonder if any rules will change for next year’s race…
Anyways, enjoy the gallery!
