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Is the challenge of Le Mans being diminished?

The alterations to the Porsche Curves at the Circuit de la Sarthe have been completed for the 2018 edition of the 24 Hours and many of the drivers are not happy with the changes. But have they saved the famous corners from complete destruction?

Gary Watkins Jun 15, 2018, 11:44 AM

Find some old on-board footage from the Le Mans 24 Hours on YouTube, and just marvel as the cars speed through the Porsche Curves. Not just at the start of this famous sequence, but also the end. It's almost as if the drivers are racing through a tunnel.

There's no room for error. A small strip of grass is all that stands between the asphalt track surface and the concrete walls through the final right of the Porsche Curves and the following left-hander, formerly known as Karting, now named Corvette.

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Author Gary Watkins

Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.