Houx are ya, Houx are ya?

It gives me great pleasure to announce that this year's tickets for LM have now arrived by Special Delivery as usual. As last year, we have had to buy four general admission tickets (you have to buy two tickets for each campsite) and three grandstand tickets. My plan, again as last year, is to sell the fourth, unwanted, general admission ticket on EBay and use the proceeds to feed into the beer/food fund to offset some of the costs.


It's all new at Houx!
I did have a minor shock in that the two pitches we have are not consecutive numbers - after a quick email to Just Tickets they confirmed that they are physically adjacent and I could breathe a sigh of relief.

In order to celebrate I have provisionally booked Houx again for next year (two pitches again of course) and the usual general admission and grandstand tickets.

More Blog updates to follow (including this year's 'Lady' in photographs) as I'm aware that I've been particularly quiet in sharing our travelling companion this year - there is a reason for that which I'll explain later.

Le Mans Test Day

Morning
The new Audi R18 TDI topped the times in the first session of the Le Mans Test Day.

Romain Dumas ended the first four-hour period on a 3m27.900s lap, which was just over half a second quicker than team-mate Benoit Treluyer. The three Audis blocked out the top three positions, with the first Peugeot 908 HDi on a 3m30.516s in the hands of Anthony Davidson.


The best petrol-powered LMP1 was the Pescarolo Team entry. Christophe Tinseau's time of 3m37.640s put him just over a second ahead of Neel Jani in the best of the Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota coupes.

The two new Aston Martin AMR-Ones both ran into problems. Darren Turner set the best time for the British manufacturer on a 3m51.568s.

The British Greaves team's Zytek was fastest in LMP2 with Tom Kimber-Smith driving. Allan Simonsen was quickest in GTE aboard the Farnbacher Ferrari 458 Italia.

Afternoon
Tom Kristensen ended up fastest in the best of the new Audi R18 TDIs.


The eight-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours set the best time of the day with a 3m27.687s in the four-hour afternoon session. That was just two tenths ahead of team-mate Mike Rockenfeller in the second Audi and a further six hundredths of a second ahead of Stephane Sarrazin in the fastest of the three new Peugeot 908 HDis.

The fastest non-diesel LMP1 was the Pescarolo team's Judd-powered contender. Emmanuel Collard's best time in the car was nearly nine seconds off the overall pace.

Aston Martin Racing took no part in the afternoon session. One of its new AMR-Ones suffered a major engine problem early in the morning and the second was withdrawn in anticipation of a repeat of the problem.

The Signatech team's ORECA-Nissan headed the LMP2 times in Soheil Ayari's hands. Allan Simonsen was the fastest in the GTE class aboard the Farnbacher Ferrari 458.

Audi reveals R18 Le Mans colours

Audi has revealed the colour schemes that its three new R18 TDIs will race in at Le Mans this year ahead of this weekend's pre-event test day.

The three cars will again feature the marque's traditional black, red or yellow markings to differentiate them from a distance. The black-trimmed scheme, which took victory last year, will run a different livery to the other two R18s.


Audi has gone back to a more traditional silver paint scheme for this year, while it has left several parts of its cars in bare carbon fibre to promote lightweight technology.

Team Joest technical director Ralf Juttner said that he was delighted to see the return of the Le Mans test day ahead of the 24 hours after it was dropped for two years.


"It helps to save the teams some unpleasant surprises otherwise encountered during the race in June," said Juttner. "We will be able to get through a lot of work there.

"The track is unique and the circuit cannot be used permanently. Every kilometre is worth its weight in gold."


Juttner added that having the test in April rather than its previous June date increased the importance of the event.

"The new test day has another meaning," he said. "This event was held for years only two weeks before the actual race. In this period it wasn't possible to change much now there is more time to react."

All three of Audi's factory R18s will be in action at Le Mans on Sunday.

Darth Vadar Jr - Lotus Evora

Another serious looking competitor in this year's race.


The new Evora developed for the GTE class (formerly GT2) was given a shakedown at Lotus's Hethel test track 10 days ago. It continued racking up the miles at Snetterton last week and again at Hethel early this week.

The car that will take Lotus back to the Le Mans 24 Hours has completed more than 1,000km of testing ahead of its public debut at this Sunday's Le Mans Test Day.

Tickets now on sale

The tickets for ROC 2011 are now available for both days. Our normal standard of seating is, as usual, around 80 euros per day.

Pie Boy has declined to attend this year's event as I believe he's trotting off to spend some time in sunnier Florida climes.

So, as both KL and Chadders are confimed (and obviously I am) that just leaves Joey the Philanderer to confirm or deny.....

I'm back in the UK this weekend so the plan was that I'd book the stadium tickets as soon as I get back and also sort out my flights (Friday to Sunday).

I await your comments.......

Razorlight to perform during Le Mans 2011

Chart-topping band Razorlight will head the bill of free concerts provided for Le Mans 24 Hours ticket holders during the week of this year's race.


The gigs are held on a stage by the Dunlop Bridge, and begin with Sarah Bessie and Raphael on Wednesday 8th June, Mia Wallas and Julian Peretta on Thursday 9th, and then Concrete Knives and Razorlight as the finale on Saturday 11th June, when the race itself will be underway.

"The free concerts have now become part of the Le Mans 24 Hours tradition," said a statement from the organisers.

"They are certainly among the biggest organised in the Sarthe in terms of spectator attendance, and they are held inside the circuit during the race week.

"With the programme concocted this year combining national and international talents, and with Razorlight topping the bill, this ongoing festive tradition will move up several steps in intensity."

Frankfurt to host 2011 Race Of Champions

The 24th Race Of Champions will be held on the weekend of December 3-4, 2011 at the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, Germany.

The stadium, one of the settings for football’s 2006 World Cup, will be the second successive German venue to host ROC following last year’s event at Düsseldorf’s ESPRIT arena.

Home heroes Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel have become the first drivers to sign up as they bid to win the ROC Nations Cup for a record 5th year in a row.


German motor racing superstars Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel are celebrating again at the news that the Race Of Champions will return to their home soil in 2011 at Frankfurt’s Commerzbank-Arena.

The annual end-of-season competition brings together the world’s greatest drivers from all motor sport’s disciplines – including Formula 1, world rally, touring cars, Le Mans and NASCAR – and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery. Drivers pair up for the ROC Nations Cup, this year scheduled for Saturday 3 December, before the individual Race Of Champions takes place on Sunday 4 December.

In recent years the Race Of Champions has visited the Stade de France in Paris (2004-2006), London’s Wembley Stadium (2007-2008), Beijing’s ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic Stadium (2009) and Düsseldorf’s ESPRIT arena (2010). Now ROC 2011 will return to Germany and the city of Frankfurt, to the delight of the pairing that has all but made the ROC Nations Cup its own.

So, fellow travellers - who is up for it or need I ask?