My Le Mans Live Blog/AMA

"sonicgabe" (gabeloewenberg) 06/19/2016 at 09:04 • Filed to: 24 Hours Of Le Mans, Sleep deprivation

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SPOILER ALERT: WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

Welcome to my attempt to live blog my way through he 24 Hours Of Le Mans. As of starting this, the current time is 4:15am EST, just under five hours until the start of the race. And I’m already awake. Actually, I haven’t slept yet. This is not a good way to get started. My back has been not happy for a few days, which makes sleep not come so easy. And we’ve got a sick cat who has to be fed my hand with a syringe several times throughout the day and night, so that’s kept me up as well.

Basically, once the race gets under way, I will be doing my best to entertain whoever bothers to read this. I’ll have race notes, crappy commentary, bad jokes, and updates on my mental state (which will deteriorate throughout the race). I’ve stocked up food and caffeine so I don’t have to leave the house for anything. I intend to stay up for the full race, but I’m old, so I’ll probably pass out for a bit at some point.

Maybe there will be a freak hail storm and the race will get red flagged for a few hours around 1am EST so I can nap and not miss anything. Maybe Lady SonicGabe will get me some nice takeout for dinner so I can eat something better than the quicky grub I bought, albeit healthy quicky grub. Though I am sitting on two pints of Ben & Jerry’s non-dairy... It might be vegan, but it sure as hell ain’t healthy!

Ok, time for a four hour nap. Don’t want to miss the start. Also, I don’t normally make predictions or pick favorites for this race. I just want a nail biter. But this year, I am pulling for the #68 Ford GT. My pseudo-neighbor, Sébastien Bourdais, is driving and it’ll be fantastic to see him and Ford win their class.

Ok, time for that nap now...

8:53am - I’m all set up! The iPad is running the WEC app going in to the tv. I’ve got my spotter guide printed out (mainly to put a big X over cars as they crap/crash out). I’ve got my Cliff Builder’s Bar (chocolate and peanut butter FTW!) and my Arizona energy something or other. Just waiting for the wet safety car start! LET’S DO THIS!

9:02am - Racing! Kind of. Apparently it’s a record for the earliest safety car deployment in Le Mans history, 0:00! Who knew? Hopefully this won’t take too long and we’ll get up to speed soon.

9:18am -Let’s have some fun and make this an Ask Me Anything, too. What the hell. Could be fun. So, go ahead, ask me anything.

9:45am -

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Corner table, for sure. It’s the focal point of the room.

10:40am -#12 Rebellion is not well, the #7 Audi already in trouble, and the #60 Formula Racing Ferrari lost a wheel on track. Surprising pace from the GTE Pro Porsches, well maybe not surprising, but overlooked. Interesting battle between Audi and Toyota, hope it keeps up to the end.

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Domino’s.

11:50am - Oh crap. I’m so tired from not getting both enough and good sleep. I feel now like I normally would around hour 20 or so. Nothing to crazy happening, so let’s answer some more questions.

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Raspberries. Every time. Raspberries are the coach built Miata Shooting Break of berries. The answer is always raspberries. In fact, I have a pound of them in the fridge right now. I will eat them all today.

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The badge with the most numbers and letters is obviously the best.

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https://www.google.com/search?q=who+i…

1:45pm - I just watched F1 qualifying. What the hell? Without spoiling it, someone was trying a bit hard and it bit them in the ass. Back to Le Mans. Cars are starting the crap and crash out. I need to catch up on who’s out. I need to eat lunch. I need a nap. No. No nap. Not going to happen. I can do this. I do it every year (except that one year where I totally passed out around 6am and didn’t watch the end of the race off my DVR for three weeks). It might be time for a Monster or Rockstar or something highly caffeinated. I’ve been hold out on starting the concentrate caffeine for as long as possible, but it might finally be time.

Also, the sick cat is doing much better. We really thought he wasn’t going to make a few days ago. Lady SonicGabe is very knowledgeable in such matters and we got him back from death’s door.

So what’s happening in this race again? Who the hell is leading? I have no idea.

2:20pm - “Kobayashi in the lead”: Words I never thought I’d hear.

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Ligiers are cool, but Oreca makes a helluva vacuum. It’s too close to call.

4:45pm - Night time. Only one car out so far? Maybe two. Highly doubtful when the sun comes up that it’ll be like that. Should be interesting.

Also, we ate our raspberries.

7:40pm -Shortly after my last update, I tried to buy ticket from Ticketmaster using one of the free ticket codes I received from the class action settlement. The short version is that their system accepted the code, adjusted the price from $64.80 down to $2. But they still charged me $64.80.

I’ve spent the last two hours trying to get a person on the phone to help me. They refunded my money and said they have no idea when anyone would be able to use their vouchers. Ticketmaster sucks so bad, they can’t even give stuff away for free without fucking it up.

Anyway, wasn’t I watching a race? Thankfully, there were lots of yellows, slow zones, and a safety car when I was dealing with the most aggravating company ever.

Sucks about the #1 Porsche.

10:30pm - At the 12 hour mark, I shamefully took a nap. It was for only 30 minutes. I have failed.

Time for a late dinner and then the push through sunrise! I’m slightly delirious and need caffeine. It’s going to be a fun night.

11:07pm - No on has really ask me anything in a while. I’m sad.

Ok, not really. Just hungry. My dinner still isn’t done. Almost...

11:40pm - Just over nine and half hours to go. Plus the Formula One race right after Le Mans ends. Damn it!

Hey look! Fan mail!

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Glad you enjoyed the pizza. Yes, you can have either or both of those. Just go to the closest dealership and tell them I said you could have either or both.

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Both Proton Porsches look fantastic. I was kinda disappointed in the lack of really crazy liveries this year.

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No. Because danger. Early 60s, I think. Because danger. The Le Mans Start was used in many other series around the world. It looks amazingly frantic, but incredibly unsafe.

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Haven’t. Sorry.

Midnight -It’s been an interesting race so far. It seems like some of the favorites are down and out, but with this much time left, if they are running, don’t discount anyone. Well, you can discount some. The #7 Audi looks to be out of contention, but stupider things have happened. Remember when all the Peugeots all blew up towords the end a few years ago (2013?)? If you aren’t too many laps down and you’re running at the end, anything can happen.

I couldn’t even guess how this will play out. Toyota is looking really strong, but all it takes is one GT car to spin across the track and it’s a whole new race. Just one little wire could come loose and it’s a whole new race.

I’m still pulling for the #68 Ford so I can have an excuse to stalk Sébastien when he’s not on the road.

(Please note, I will not be stalking Sébastien or anyone. It was a joke. But, Sébastien, if you read this, drop me a line. Let’s talk cars or whatever. Or not. It’s cool. But really, give me your phone number as I’m starting a neighborhood phone tree for emergencies. Yeah, a phone tree... Yeah. So just get that to me. Yeah...)

1:20am - Three cars out in about 10 minutes.

2:17am -Unless something really odd happens, this is going to be one helluva finish. It’s gonna be a nail biter! Time for more caffeine!

Also, a question!

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The Magic Eight Ball says “Reply hazy try again” for both.

I think Mazda is close to doing something great with their Skyactive racing engines, but they aren’t there yet. That being said, a few years ago, Ford’s EcoBoost racing engines were crap. So, Mazda will get there.

As far as $kay goes, I honestly have no idea, so i’ll $kay will bake cookies if the #68 wins it’s class.

Also, I just ate a pint of this.

2:37am - Drive through for the #68 Ford!

4:54am - Am I hallucinating? Did the #68 Ford take the lead in GTE Pro? Is this really happening? Is Audi really out of contention? Is Toyota really going to do this? I must be hallucinating.

I better drink some more caffeine.

5:55am - The Risi spins! It’s Ford’s race to loose now.

And that #6 Toyota is about to fall apart.

Can Porsche pull this off?

Do I even know how to sleep anymore?

7:35am - I think I’m hallucinating from sleep deprivation. I keep seeing the #28 Pegasus spinning off in to the gravel again and again and again and again and again. It just won’t stop!

9:00am - I made it. I think.

America. Fuck yeah?

Did that just happen?

Did Ford really do it on the anniversary year?

Did My pseudo-neighbor just win his class at Le Mans, his hometown?

Did Porsche just pull the luckiest win ever out of their ass?

Did Sausset just do the most amazing thing ever?

Was this one the best Le Mans that I’ve ever seen?

Was it all a dream?

I was going to watch F1 straight away, but I need sleep. F1 is recording on the DVR. It can wait. They’ll probably all crash in to Bowser’s Castle on lap one.

Ok, no more typing. It’s hard to see well enough to type. Need sleep.

Wheelerguy > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 05:46

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Rennsport really is dead.

VC240 > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 09:28

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Hey man, thanks for doing this! You’re awesome!

Q: How long do you think you’ll last?

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 09:37

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Do you think my cactus looks better on the bookshelf or over on the corner table?

Biggus Dickus (RevsBro) > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 09:37

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Pull the Safety car, it stopped raining here 20 minutes ago.

will_kern > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 09:38

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Are there any free video streams? Asking for a friend...

Urambo Tauro > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 09:38

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I think it’s funny how the teams are disagreeing over whether to ditch the safety car yet or not. Wet conditions really “separate the men from the boys”, particularly between drivers.

sonicgabe > will_kern 06/18/2016 at 09:44

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I’m sure there are, but I honestly don't know where to find them.

Viggen > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 10:27

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Should I order Pizza Hut or Domino’s tonight?

Urambo Tauro > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 10:58

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Not another Ford gearbox failure!

Thomas Donohue > will_kern 06/18/2016 at 11:05

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If you have FoxSports on your TV provider (or can borrow a login from someone that does) you can watch via FoxSportsGo app.

Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 11:17

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AMA? Strawberries or raspberries?

Liam Farrell > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 11:18

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‘11 9-3 convertible or e93 335i

will_kern > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 11:30

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http://www.ustream.tv/channel/SPG5Xy…

xyzabc > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 11:31

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Who’s leading the U.S. Open?

Viggen > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 14:08

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Team Ligier or Team Oreca?

Wurrwulf > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 14:39

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Spent the first 5 hours watching from the bedroom. Decided to move to the living room and crack my first beer. Got about 5 hours of sleep last night. What hour range (race wise) should I allow myself to try to nap?

sonicgabe > Wurrwulf 06/18/2016 at 15:19

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No naps! But if you must, sometimes I grab a disco nap a few hours before sunrise (Le Mans sunrise), or if there is lengthy red or safety car period, close those eyes but set an alarm or four.

Urambo Tauro > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 15:46

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#67 Ford GT in the gravel!

sonicgabe > Urambo Tauro 06/18/2016 at 16:33

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Yeah, well that car hasn’t had the best of days, so that’s fine.

Urambo Tauro > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 16:38

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It was back in business pretty quickly. Sounds like operator error...

daender > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 17:53

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What’s for dinner?

sonicgabe > daender 06/18/2016 at 18:24

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Don’t know yet. We have a few options. I’ve got a bunch of Gardien products in the freezer.

random001 > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 20:37

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Since no stream or live scoring is working for me (F you fox) how are my Corvette’s doing???

sonicgabe > random001 06/18/2016 at 20:41

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#64 is 5th in class right now...

random001 > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 20:50

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Thanks!

Viggen > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 23:11

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Can I have a 458 or 488? I got Domino’s BTW. Worth it.

Wurrwulf > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 23:13

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Grabbed a nap between 230am-330am LM time. Now, it’s on my 2 week old daughter to keep me up the rest of the way.

Matt Nichelson > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 23:18

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What’s the best livery in your opinion for this year’s race?

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 23:28

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Do they still do the running starts? If not why not? And when did they stop/why?

Urambo Tauro > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 23:29

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Ford’s earlier 1-2-3 lead had me really excited for a while, but I’m slowly lowering my expectations. Right now, the team USA GTs are behind the leading Ferrari, the closest one being a good 30 seconds behind.

Still a lot of time left, though. And magic hour’s not far away... *crosses fingers*

sonicgabe > Urambo Tauro 06/18/2016 at 23:36

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There’s still a long way to go.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 23:40

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.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > sonicgabe 06/18/2016 at 23:48

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Racing the rain, read it? Thoughts about it?

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > sonicgabe 06/19/2016 at 00:04

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Are any Ford GTs still in the running? How does LMP1 look right now, still Toyota 1-2?

sonicgabe > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet 06/19/2016 at 00:19

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The #68 is in it to win it!

Toyota has slipped behind the #2, but are looking strong.

Urambo Tauro > sonicgabe 06/19/2016 at 00:54

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#64 Corvette got a little tire-hungry...

sonicgabe > Urambo Tauro 06/19/2016 at 00:56

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Yeah. Ouch. Glad he was able to walk away from that.

Shour, Aloof and Obnoxious > sonicgabe 06/19/2016 at 01:41

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True or false: the race would be even more improved by adding one or both of the following, Mazda 4-rotor or Skyactiv Diesel.

Also, what do you think $kay will do if the #68 Ford wins it's class?

RallyWrench > sonicgabe 06/19/2016 at 02:01

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7 hours left, and the top three are separated by under three seconds!! Toyota just played their pit strategy brilliantly.

sonicgabe > RallyWrench 06/19/2016 at 02:05

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Yeah. It’s on. But there’s still a long way to go.

MikeFetters > sonicgabe 06/19/2016 at 03:54

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I’m with you, been up since the start too. Seeing double now! Muller is blasting right now.

MikeFetters > sonicgabe 06/19/2016 at 05:29

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That manor nose pop was very strange...

sonicgabe > MikeFetters 06/19/2016 at 05:50

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Yeah, they must have done something to it when they went off right before. Maybe cracked the floor. Once they were up to speed, it couldn't take the load and just snapped. That was a hard hit, too.

MikeFetters > sonicgabe 06/19/2016 at 05:58

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Must have clipped the wall on the first off. The action of the popping was unlike anything I have ever seen in Motorsport

sonicgabe > MikeFetters 06/19/2016 at 07:13

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I’ve seen some front wings buckle and pop after being damaged, but never the entire front splitter/floor. I’m going to guess that the floor broke, alowing air to flow through it and out the cockpit or under and out the upper bodywork. This could have created a low pressure area above the floor and a high pressure area underneath where the air had a new path to flow through. With the carbon fiber already broken, it finally gave and just popped. That’s the best theory my sleep deprived mind can work out. Maybe when I wake up on Monday, it’ll seem completely crazy. Maybe I won't wake up on Monday at all.

Urambo Tauro > sonicgabe 06/19/2016 at 08:21

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I think I’m hallucinating from sleep deprivation. I keep seeing the #28 Pegasus spinning off in to the gravel again and again and again and again and again. It just won’t stop!

I think I saw the same thing. Wasn’t sure if it was hallucination, coverage from multiple angles, or a supercut of all the action that corner’s been getting.

sonicgabe > Urambo Tauro 06/19/2016 at 08:39

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To be sure I saw what I saw, I had to ask the unicorn that came over after he got off work to watch the last four hours with me. Steve (that’s the unicorn’s name) said that I did in fact see the #28 spin off again. At the same corner. Steve also confirmed that the car did in fact catch fire. I don’t know what i’d do without Steve.

JR1 > sonicgabe 06/19/2016 at 08:53

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Holy Shit. Ford might go 1-2-3 now. What a dumb penalty for the Ferrari

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > sonicgabe 06/22/2016 at 14:08

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Prescient words.