We arrived at the Le Mans track and parking area P13 (where we left the cars last night) at 6:30a this morning.

The cars weathered the evening just fine though the parking lot is gravel and the cars were dusty. What the heck, we'd have a way to blow the dust off on the track!

We staged the cars near an entrance ramp to the Le Mans track.

If you haven't been paying attention, please remember that the track is 8.45 miles long -- and we had just twenty minutes.

I can't describe the thrill adequately in words and even the pictures don't do it justice. We ran the straights at more than 110mph (my personal best was 123) and down as low as 40mph in some of the sharper turns. We were all on the track at once; we all thought we could all go faster if we were spaced a bit but we only had twenty minutes.

After the first lap we pulled over and there was an opportunity to exchange drivers and passengers. Most did, some didn't -- and off we went again. Awesome, awesome, awesome!

Every element of this trip has come together perfectly. Would we have liked to stay closer to Le Mans to reduce the driving/busing? You bet; but Curzay is fabulous and we led the 68th Annual Parade and had a couple of hot laps on the most famous road race course in the world. It doesn't get any better than this.

After putting the cars back into lot P13 (the smell of overheated brake pads and transmission fluid added just the right bouquet to this perfect morning) we headed for the joys of the Le Mans experience.

We began with breakfast hosted by GM just for us in their hospitality building. Jim Campbell (GM Corvette/Camaro Brand Manager)

and Lisa Stanich (GM Corvette/Camaro Assistant Brand Manager) were there and they were beaming just as broadly as we were about the Parade and the hot laps. Jim said he was waving his arms off as we went around the track but we were all tightly focused on the driving and nobody noticed him.

After a nice breakfast we were on our own for the balance of the day. Le Mans Village was dominated by this huge inflatable (in case you didn't know that Corvette was here...)

We wandered, shopped, watched practice laps and familiarized ourselves with the VIP facilities that GM set aside for us. We had passes that let us everywhere but into the pits themselves. But the GM Pit Lounge was directly over the Corvette and Cadillac pits and we could look down on all the action. We were so excited about the hot laps, the race, our great viewing area that Buzz called his friend Gary in the states to tell him all about it -- forgetting that it was 5:15am on the East Coast. I understand that Gary was glad to hear the update (regardless).

Several of us simply walked into the pits as if we knew what we were doing. No problem. Perhaps the great white Registry Le Mans shirts helped.

There are literally hundreds of great places in the Le Mans infield from which to watch the race -- and that's not even counting an enormous grandstand (only partly filled three hours before the race; it was absolutely full at 4pm):

Gael, Buzz, Jackie and myself (after scoping out the place) decided we would camp in the Pit Lounge for the start of the race. To ensure we were able to get prime seats, we started camping out there at 12:30p; by the time the race started at 4pm we had the best seats in the house.

We watched as the crew rolled out the C5R #63:

Here's a familiar face:

It's John Cafaro (Chief designer of the C5 Corvette)! And another:

.. Ron Fellows (lead driver of the C5R #63 "tall" team).

While waiting and watching we also saw Beth Cafaro, Dave Hill, Jim Campbell, Chris Kneifel, Andy Pilgrim and a bunch of other Corvette celebrities. Here's the C5R#64 "short" team just before the race:

At the start of the race we were joined by the president of GM Europe. He told us how the race would start so we were prepared.

I didn't know this but the famous "Le Mans Start" was discontinued twenty years ago. Up until then, the cars would be lined up on the grid in order of qualification; then the drivers would run across the track, jump into their cars, crank 'em up and hit the road running. Not sure why they stopped doing that but I think there were often collisions at the start and cars often wouldn't crank -- so they do it differently now.

The way it's done now, is the cars start on the grid about 15 minutes before the 4pm start time. They take a lap or two to warm the engines and tires. Then, at precisely 4pm the first car hits the starting line and we're off to the races. I was surprised to see both C5Rs re-enter the pits BEFORE the race started to top off fuel and change tires. Apparently the track was hotter or colder than they thought and they decided to change the tire setup before the starting gun.

Everyone in line and at 3:59:59 you could have heard a pin drop as 250,000 race fans and 45 race cars held their collective breath. Then --- the roar of 45 race-tuned engines turned the track into bedlam as off they roared. The GM Pit Lounge is about 100 yards past the Start/Finish line so when they passed us they were all going Wide-Open Throttle. It was just beautiful to see and hear...

Some housekeeping: The C5Rs qualified #2 and #3 behind one of the Team Oreca Vipers and they held their own until our eyelids came banging down and we had to leave to drive the three hours home. One of the Cadillac LMP cars got smashed up pretty badly just before we left and at this writing I still don't know how the driver came out; hopefully just fine.

Oh, and this was fun. Standing next to us were a very nice English couple, Tom and Iris. They stayed right with us when there were plenty of opportunities to sample the other benefits of the Pit Lounge. They paid particular attention to the #64 C5R so I asked their last name. Seems they are the Mum and Dad of Andy Pilgrim the lead driver for C5R#64 (the "short" team).

Iris was happy when the car changed drivers just before we left; seems she's happier when Andy isn't driving. I had a Mom like that....

Most of us scattered by 6pm and headed back to Curzay (remember it's three hours before we can sleep...). Some will return tomorrow and some will have other daytrips.

But wait!There was more excitement today! At about 11:30p tonight a helicopter landed on the back lawn of the Chateau. I know because it landed right outside our window. My camera batteries were dead so I couldn't get a picture but I understand someone did and I'll post them here when I get 'em.

The helicopter occupants were Registry Member Mark Rodino who helped organize the details of the Registry invasion of Europe. The other passenger was his friend (and Corvette enthusiast) Nicolai Bulgari. You often see his name in jewelry and perfume ads as "Bvlgari". He's a famous car fancier and particularly likes American sports and muscle cars. I think there was an article on him and his collection in a recent NCM Newsletter.

At any rate both Mark and Nick were in the Pit Lounge with us for the start of the race. I didn't know who Nick was (at that time) so I failed to take a photo. Mark's 2000 Yellow Roadster had been driven to the Chateau by someone and the plan was for Mark and Nick to fly in last tonight by private plane. There was a mixup at the Le Mans airport so the plane failed to show. No problem; they just chartered a helicopter for the trip from Le Mans to Curzay! They spent the night at the Chateau and were off early this morning.

The other excitement was the ambulance that came at 3:00am for Allen Clark. Seems that Allen has developed a kidney stone and was rushed to the hospital at Poitiers (about an hour and half north of here). Present report has Allen in fair condition with no decision on how to deal with the stone at this moment. We're all holding the good thought for his quick recovery.

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