When men were men ...

[Hagar]

... and women were glad of it.

Look what I found while doing some research. One of my heroes Mike Hawthorn talking you round the Le Mans circuit in his D type Jag. Watch him dodge the cyclists. They don't make 'em like that any more. http://www.flixya.com/video/11262/1956_Le_Mans_-_Mike_Hawthorn_Jaguar_OnBoard_Lap

[MWISimmer]

Nice find Doug, excellent footage.  

[Craig.]

brilliant.
And might I add, that should be a feature of all Le mans practices. Could you see cyclists dodging the Audi R10's

[C]

brilliant.
And might I add, that should be a feature of all Le mans practices. Could you see cyclists dodging the Audi R10's

It's bad enough on the Derek Bell Porsche 956 DVD - going past the 180/190mph Porsche 911s on the Mulsanne straight at 240mph!

Good DVD that, worth getting

[C]

PS. The link was a bit temperamental for me - here it is on youtube:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DulNn2tlTFs

Here's the Derek Bell lap for comparison. As its the mid 80s, it's quite a good comparison, as essentially the first 3/4 of the lap is the same - there had been no layout changes to that part of the between the start/finish and Arnage (4'12 in the 1956 vid!). Only the insertion of the Porsche curves complex and the new Maison Blanche was different.


http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=f1hdwqVblUM

[Mushroom_Farmer]

 People not familiar with that era of racing need to realize that back then the Le Mans course was open public road. I believe much of it still is today. Also, seat belts weren't in fashion back then either. It was racing for the sake of racing and you knew the risks and accepted it or you stayed on the fence.
 

[todayshorse]

Excellent, excellent. More info on Mike HERE

I found that site some time ago whilst looking up info on his crash on the A31. Interesting stuff. 8-)

[Mushroom_Farmer]

 I'm racking my brain here but I seem to remember a television show a few years ago where one of Mr. Hawthorn's racing cars had been found, possibly at a relatives residence, and was being restored.
 The reason I believe it was one of his relatives is because there was a kind of memorial to him inside the house.