Club Arnage

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Andy, did you develop these prints in your tent?
Everyone's got their shirts tucked in, so that makes it earlier than 95. Oh, go on, have a guess.........89?
H

No and no! Camera was a Kodac Instamatic using Ilford ASA10 Supa-economy film on an F-all setting.

And that flash powder is bloody dangerous too!!

Aaah, I've just got the rest of the pictures. Not that that makes me any the wiser, but what a marvellous effort from The Man on The Ground! He must surely be worth honorary membership in Club Arnage. I think it was 87 when the Fleche Rouge flew past, but I'm quietly confident that's not what he's watching.
Well done that man! Respect!
H

1990  

I'm just waiting for someone from this forum to admit that they are in fact the one laying passed out!!  :)

Yes 1990. But how did you know? Certainly, I think it was the last year before they replaced the old pits.

That was the year I bust my Grandstand cherry. We sat opposite the pits and saw a horrible pile up in one of the support races. One car was t-boned right at the start, and the flames actually singed our eyebrows in the front row. The unfortunate pilot was trapped in the car, his missus had jumped the pit wall and was running around the car screaming. It took a while to get him out, and the poor fellow didn't make it. Sad scenes indeed.
H

sh*t - don't remember that fire - this was my first year at the Sarthe - I remember sitting over the old pits in the night taking pictures of the cars below.   That was when you could basically dangle your legs over the wall and look down through the windshields of the cars.  I think the 300Zs gave the year away Andy.

dh

Remember the crash but we were still on the campsite at the time and just saw a huge plume of billowing smoke etc. in the distance. Saw a very smashed up 309 GTi (that was the support race that year) later on in the paddock and often wondered what happenend to the driver, very sad to hear that he succumbed.  :(

I thought the support race incident involved a Renault 21 Turbo.
There was also a bit of a wreckfest the year they had the Diablo SV's as a support. Christ, what year was that? It was another "Phew, what a scorcher, Missus" but they are all kind of merging into one seemless blob in my distant memory. Must be all that Grimbergen.

Yes 1990. But how did you know? Certainly, I think it was the last year before they replaced the old pits.

1990 was the first, last and only time I took 'er indoors and (what was I thinking) my 9 year old daughter. I sneaked Le Mans into the middle of a family holiday in France. It was an unmitigated disaster for obvious reasons. Sadly the presence of my loved ones did little to tone down my enthusiasm to visit planet Pissedasafart, and the consequences were far reaching. Oh dear, it's all very upsetting to recall it. Let's move on to another topic.  

You could be right about the Renault 21 Matt, must dig out the photos from that year! Was going on memory and I was well and truly on the "beer" side of the fence that year, and was probably already semi-comatose by then - the whole of 1990 is a blur and all the photos generally related to drinking exploits in those days and various things going up my nose, but definitely remember one of a severely damaged car (but not burnt out) in the paddock somewhere between MB campsite and the startline terracing.

Just checked out my Autospurt from that year and you are right!! It was a Renault 21 and the driver was Wolfgang Schutz and all the comic says is that he "was removed and taken to hospital, and, although he suffered no external injuries, was still unconscious on Monday".

Maybe it was some kind of saloon race as I'm faily sure the wreck I saw was a 309 - but then again .............

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AH! That's the bugger!

The one I saw later on in the support paddock was the one being lifted by the crane! Will find the photie at some point this weekend. It's in the archive boxes in the garage and the garage is this weekend's "honey-do" promise.

Looks like the old memory banks are fading and playing tricks on me. Mind you, given the mess of the wreck we saw, that could have excused me!! If I got something wrong about the main event, then I would be worried!!  ;)

The casualty was in the t-boned car. If I remember rightly, he didn't leave us without a struggle, it wasn't until October-ish that I read that he'd finally given up the ghost, I don't think the poor lad regained conciousness.
H

Yes.  I apppear to remember this being the year you pulled the now famous; "I've lost my keys (and mind), myself and family are locked-out of the car (having not yet pitched tents etc.) and we're now stranded in a field of madness in the middle of French countryside, and I'm too bolloxed to give a flying f**k.  Give me another 33 dumpy!"

Lesson:  Never arrive a day after everyone else (in the evening to boot) and try to "catch-up" on everyone elses' blood alcohol levels.

I think the Diablo year (and smash-fest) was 91 wasn't it?

And wasn't Oscar Lararri driving in the car that crashed in to him.
He was also the main driver for the Brun Porche that blew up with 10 minutes left (to cheers from us Jag supporters) But had knackered his ribs so it was touch and go whether or not he drove.
Or have i just had too much of my homebrew?