Dave Murry's Le Mans Journal
Submission #6
"Day One At Le Mans: Hurry Up And Wait!"

It ended, but when you're this close to fulfilling a lifelong dream, the clock begins to tic awful slow.

I arrived at the track at 9:00 am and settled in for what I knew was going to be a long day. The first of two practice sessions didn't begin until 7:00 pm. But there were plenty of things for me to do, and sitting around my little room at the "Green 7" motel just wasn't making it.

So my first priority (and first attempt at keeping my mind occupied) was to work on my seat. As part of the run-up to Le Mans, I went to Weissach last week to shake down the LMP-98 at the Porsche test track. During the test I realized that I had made a small mistake with the seat. In order to give me a little more elbow room for shifting, I had cut away a small section of the seat. Going through sweeping turns, I soon discovered that I had accidentally cut away a good bit of my seat's lateral support! This puts a lot of pressure on your ribcage and forces you to hang on to the steering wheel for dear life instead of driving the dang car! Not good.

So I went about my business fixing and fitting. And re-fitting... Because now my seat wasn't going into to car number 7, but into car number 8. And while the cars are virtually identical, there are a few subtle differences: in this case, in the floor under the drivers seat.

Hmmm. Did I mention the car switch. Well, its simple, really. If you've been following the weekly motorsports publications, you've been reading about how my teammate and four-time winner, Yannick Dalmas, had broken his ankle while shopping at a supermarket (or supermarche' as they call them here). It was thought at first that he'd probably miss Le Mans. Of course, great competitors possess the kind of super-motivation that makes almost anything possible. And Yannick wanted to race at Le Mans more than just about anything else... I guess I can relate to that!

To make a long story short, Yannick mended a heck of a lot faster than even he thought possible, and it was decided that he was fit enough to drive. Yannick has been with Porsche for a lot longer than I have, and he asked to be teamed with the other prior race winners in our the line-up, Stefan Johansson and Michelle Alboreto. The team asked me if I would slide over to number 8 and let Yannick have my seat in number 7.

I can tell you that the thought of driving with the two guys who won last year (not to mention two guys with a phenomenal amount of F1 and ChampCar experience) was a real thrill for me. But the Porsche team has been good to me and I am first and foremost a team player. Heck, I'm still going to drive at Le Mans in the sister car, and I'm with two other highly skilled and experienced drivers in Pierre Henri Raphenel and James Weaver. It was a no brainer to me.

My next official duty was an all-hands drivers' meeting for the entire Porsche team. To show you what motorsports is all about for Porsche, this first meeting was not about race strategy or chassis set-up, but about what was expected from each of us as representatives of the Porsche marque. Professional, yes, but much more. We always remember the customers and fans who keep Porsche and the legend alive.

Then at 4:00 pm, finally a meeting with the Joest Team and Goodyear to discuss tires, compounds and what to do if it rains (so far, the skies seem pretty clear). After that, another quick trip to the Porsche hospitality area and then back to the pits for the start of practice at 7:00 pm.

Practice and qualifying at Le Mans are broken into four sessions spread over two days. Since the race is still run over public roads, all practice takes place at 'off-peak' hours, from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm - 12:30 am each day.

I spent a lot of time prepping for my first laps on the Le Satrhe circuit by talking to my teammates, to Porsche Le Mans legend Hurley Haywood, and by buying a copy of the "956 at Le Mans With Derek Bell" in-car video that's commercially available. I drove the sections of the track that are public roads and walked the rest. It seems the Porsche and Indianapolis turns will be the most daunting. Nothing but nothing beats good old fashioned seat time, though.

It was agreed that Pierre Henri would drive the first practice leg followed by James Weaver and then yours truly. As the green flag dropped, Pierre took off out of pit lane and, within two laps, was down to 3:52.385 - good enough at that point for third place. He disappeared past the Dunlop Bridge for the third time ...and then just plain disappeared. The gearbox had packed it in. Not only did that mean the car was parked somewhere out on the circuit, but it would have to sit there till the end of the first session!

My first lap would have to wait at least until the second session. And at that, it would have to be in the dark! Number 8 was towed in at a little after nine, and the Joest Team tore into it right away.

The added complication is that Le Mans' unique rules require each driver run a minimum of 3 laps at night. Plus we need to qualify. Plus we need to work on race set-up. A lot to do in a real short period of time.

Through a Herculean effort, the Joest boys got number 8 together and, with less than an hour left, Pierre headed out again. Remember, we're driving in pitch darkness now. And while the lights are great, there is no way to pick out your breaking and turn-in points at 180 mph with the same accuracy as during the day. Naturally, you can't drive all-out, and the times are usually much slower at night.

With about 15 minutes left to go during the first day of qualifying, Pierre handed number 8 over to James. Then we had a decision to make: It's 10 minutes to 'closing time'. I've never been out on the track in a state of anger in my career. I don't have any braking or turn-in points scoped out, and the car isn't handling well under braking. To top it off, I have to turn a time within 125% of the pole time, and I'll only have time enough for about three laps. Hmmm.

The alternative is to punt: let it go for tonight and save it all for tomorrow. And that's exactly what we decide to do. We let James finish the session working on fuel consumption calculations, and I get to do my first lap the right way - in broad daylight! I'll take it. The only downside is that if number 8 breaks again and I don't get any night driving time, I'm seriously shafted and I won't be allowed to drive. It's a chance we think we should take.

So we close up shop for the night and I head back to the lovely "Green 7" for 'a good night's sleep'. Fat chance. I guess I'll just have to dream about my first lap of Le Mans one more night. That is if I can fall asleep at all...