|
Sights and Sounds |
| Practice, Saturday, Sunday, Sounds |
|
Saturday: Night |
|
For some teams, all there is to do is wait.... |
|
...for others it's frantic activity. |
|
If you've ever wondered why no one makes a helmet mounted searchlight and siren attachment... |
|
Repsol. For all your lubrication requirements. |
|
Saturday: Afternoon/Evening |
|
As night closes in and the spectators move on to find food or entertainment the riders' work continues. |
|
Early evening, and the sun finally breaks through. Stephane Mertens on M&P Phase One's GSXR750 chases a stocksport competitor through La Chapelle. |
|
Saturday: The Start |
|
|
The riders sprint to their machines under a leaden sky. Despite the weather, the grandstands have been steadily filling up for the last four hours.
|
|
Jehan D'Orgeix put the Chinese Zong Sheng team onto ninth place on the grid. |
|
For some reason, understood by the ACO organisers and no-one else, the riders are being paraded in front of the grandstands on a succession of trikes. Only at Le Mans... |
|
Saturday: Warm-Up |
|
As if the rain wasn't enough, a bitter wind is howling down pit lane. This Motorrad Action team member is putting on a brave face, but this picture was taken five hours before the start of the race... |
|
Stephane Mertens about to take the M&P Phase One bike out in the "Warm-Up" session. |
|
Dunlop wet weather tyres will be in short supply - priority will go to the factory teams, and having enough of the right tyres will be crucial as the race develops. |
|
Motomax's almost completely stock and barely run-in R1. |
|
Police Nationale ZX9R - almost 7 seconds faster than the next quickest ZX9R? Hmmm. |
home