Has Jenson Button Already Signed To Race For Audi At Le Mans/WEC?

Three interesting pieces of information came out today:

1 - Joe Saward reckons McLaren will not announce their driver line-up until 1 December

2 - Tom Kristensen will retire from endurance racing, his last race with Audi is 30 Nov in Brazil

3 - McLaren is having a sale on replica team wear

Put two and two together and Jenson has been told he's leaving McLaren, and Audi have signed him. In order for the focus to be on Kristensen in Brazil Audi has requested Jenson and McLaren that they delay the announcement until Monday 1st December.

McLaren know this will filter out so are flogging Jenson teamwear cheap in order to get a load of it sold before nobody wants it anymore.

The timing of these announcements is too perfect for it to be anything else, isn't it?

Best book the Le Man tickets. It's going to be a humdinger. Webber in a Porsche and Button in an Audi?

By Matt Hubbard

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Here's A Great Film About Porsche At This Year's Le Mans

Michelin has produced this film about its exploits at Le Mans this year.  It focusses on Porsche's entry with the 919 Hybrids, the race and eventual disappointment as the cars ground to a halt.

Audi went on to win the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, but they were shod in Michelin tyres too as was every car in the LMP1 field.

Matt

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Up Close And Personal With The Le Mans Cars At #Goodwood #FOS

At the Goodwood Festival of Speed I was in the race paddock as the various Le Mans and sports car prototypes were assembling, ready for their run up the hill.

Porsche 911 GT1-98

I'd just watched the F1 cars barrel up the hill and decided to wander down to the paddocks.  I'd unsuccessfully tried to get in to the final holding paddock (where the cars gather before they're sent down to the start line) when the F1 cars were there.

The marshal had said only those media representatives with special F1 tabards could go into the paddock then but that I was welcome to come back later.

So I did, showed my pass and wandered in.  The paddock was pretty empty.  Only a Sauber-Mercedes C9 and Bentley Continental GT3.

Then they started to trundle in.  A Porsche RS Spyder, McLaren F1 GTR, Toyota TS010, Porsche 917-16, Porsche 917K, Porsche 917/30, Lancia Beta Montecarlo and more that I can't remember.

And then, dear lord, the modern Le Mans sports car prototypes.  Porsche 919, Toyota TS040, Audi R18 and then a Porsche 962C and a Porsche 911 GT1-98.

2014 Audi R18 e-tron quattro car number 2

I'd died and gone to petroheaven.  There wasn't anywhere else in the world I'd rather have been at that point in time.

Engines rumbled, cars moved clumsily around the small area, mechanics buzzed around, drivers chatted to their crews, TV people, other drivers, marshals.

For half an hour I hung around and watched. I stood next to Derek Bell and heard him give advice to Brendon Hartley about how to deal with the media, I watched Anthony Davidson chat with various people, I soaked up the detail of the awesome prototype machines surrounding me.

And then a buzz ran through the paddock. Drivers jumped in their cockpits and engines were fired up.    One by one the cavalcade made their way out towards the track.

Some needed to do three-point turns for a simple 90 degree corner - these things weren't made for manoeuvring in close quarters but for barrelling down the Mulsanne straight at 240mph.

It was an epic experience.

I captured the entire field driving out to the track on video.

Porsche RS Spyder and Audi R18

McLaren F1 GTR

Derek Bell and Brendan Hartley

Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR

Porsche 911 GT1-98

Porsche 911 GT1-98

Anthony Davidson with Derek Bell's helmet in the foreground

Porsche 962C

Porsche 911 GT1-98

Porsche RS Spyder

Porsche RS Spyder

Chevrolet Corvette and Sauber Mercedes C9

By Matt Hubbard

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Le Mans Cars At Goodwood - #Goodwood #FOS

Amongst the shiny new machinery, polished F1 cars and cherished classics at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed lurk the endurance racers.

Audi R18 e-tron quattro.  This thing won the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans

These cars have raced at Le Mans and many have come straight from the track wearing the patina of 24 hours of racing.  These cars, with their tiny, uncomfortable cockpits, big wings and tyres and engines hidden away under bodywork are, to me, the most beautiful cars on display at Goodwood.

There are plenty of Le Mans cars at Goodwood.  These are my four favourites.

Audi R18 e-tron cockpit. It's tiny!

Toyota GT One - The coolest Toyota ever made

Toyota TS040 Hybrid no.8 as driven by Anthony Davidson 

McLaren F1 GTR

By Matt Hubbard

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#LM24 Here's A Pictorial History Of Porsche At Le Mans From 1951 to 2014

Porsche will compete for the overall win as a factory team at this weekend's Le Mans 24 Hour for the first time since 1998.

Porsche built its first road car in 1948. In 1951 Ferry Porsche entered a 356 at Le Mans with drivers Auguste Veuillet and Edmond Mouche behind the wheel.  They finished first in class and 20th overall.

Fast forward to 1998 and a GT1 driven by Allan McNish, Stephane Ortelli and Laurent Aiello won Porsche's 16th overall Le Mans.

Now in 2014 Porsche will try and win its 17th overall victory with the 919 Hybrid.

Here's a pictorial history of Porsche at Le Mans.

1951 - Porsche 356

1953 - Porsche 550 Coupe

1966 - Porsche 906

1968 - Porsche 908 LH

1969 - Porsche 917

1970 - Porsche 917

1971 - Porsche 917

1977 - Porsche 935 Turbo

1977 - Porsche 936

1980 - Porsche 936

1982 - Porsche 956

1987 - Porsche 962

1987 - Porsche 961

1998 - Porsche 911 GT1

2014 - Porsche 919 Hybrid

By Matt Hubbard

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#LM24 2014 Le Mans - Detailed Guide To Every Car, Driver And The Race

Le Mans is upon us. Here is a complete, downloadable, guide to Le Mans with hi-res images and details for every car, every driver, a track map, timetable and a guide to the various classifications of cars racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Each page is a hi-res jpg image and can be downloaded and viewed on smartphone, tablet or PC.

Check out our 2014 Le Mans live stream

By Matt Hubbard

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#24LM Watch A Porsche 936 Lap Le Mans in 1977

This onboard video shows a Porsche 936 lapping Le Mans during qualifying for the 1977 race.  You may have 'driven' the track on a games console, or viewed a modern Le Mans as a spectator but seeing the 936 doing 217mph down Mulsanne, without chicanes, is an awesome sight.

And then, at 2 minutes 16 seconds, you're with the driver as he comes up behind two much slower 934s on the fast section headed down to Indianapolis.  Easy on an xBox, terrifying when watching it for real.  What are the slower cars going to do?  They're side by side, when to make the move?

Porsche 936 stats and image below the video.



Porsche 936 introduced in 1976
Engine - 2.1 litre turbocharged flat six, air cooled
Power - 540bhp
Weight - 700kg
Top speed - 217mph
Results - won Le Mans in 1976, 1977, 1981

By Matt Hubbard

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#LM24 2014 Le Mans Live Streaming

This is an embedded link of the official Le Mans Live TV feed.  Obviously it will come and go as practice sessions and the race itself take place over the coming days.

Below the feed are some useful Le Mans links and a live #LM24 twitter feed.


Live - 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours by lemans-tv

Le Mans live timing - opens in a new tab
Spotters Guide - Huge, downloadable guides to each car and the circuit - opens in a new tab
2013 Le Mans Results and Summary
Beautiful tribute to Allan Simonsen who lost his life at Le Mans 2013
Pictorial history of Porsche at Le Mans from 1951 to 2014

Tweets about "#LM24"



By Matt Hubbard

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Le Mans 2014 Is Ages Away But We're Already Excited

Speedmonkey was created after I came back from a trip to Le Mans 2012, got home and wrote up my account of the trip.  Once the ball had started rolling it never stopped.  The 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans starts on 14 June.  Here's a quick look at the main contenders in LMP1 - with lots of photos.

Toyota TS040 Hybrid

The Toyota is powered by a 513bhp 3.7 litre V8 and a 473bhp electric motor. The combined power from its hybrid system is a stonking 986bhp.  Despite this enormous power LMP1 cars will have to use 25% less fuel in WEC races in 2014, including Le Mans. It looks pretty unusual too.

Porsche 919 Hybrid

Porsche's Le Mans racer adopts a lighter, more efficient stance than Toyotas.  The engine is a 2 litre V4 which revs to 9,000rpm.  It's also got two hybrid systems - one driven by the front axle and one from the exhaust gases.  The 919 weighs only 870kg.

Audi R18 e-tron quattro

Le Mans differs from F1 in its variety.  Whereas Porsche and Toyota are using petrol engines, with hybrid systems, the Audi's engine is a 4 litre V6 turbo diesel.  The R18's electric motor harvests energy exclusively from the front axle.

By Matt Hubbard

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