Lord of the Rings

The 24 hours of Le Mans is one the oldest, most prestigious and important automobile race in the planet. Proof of its enduring appeal is the timeless Hollywood film ‘Le Mans’. I tend to believe its lasting allure is the sport car manufacturers bringing in their new hardware for punishing endurance and reliability testing. Eventually these tested car components do find its way into their road going cars for customers. LM consequently is a high profile, exciting and competitive arena for new car technology with proven positive results. No wonder the 24 Heures du Mans lord it over all other circuit!

Starting with the new millennium, one car manufacturer has lorded over the winning circle in LM. The assault started in the year 2000 up to 2005 with the Audi R8 completely dominating the circuit. Of course interrupted only in 2003, by the Bentley Speed 8, which too is technically a revamped R8. Actually the Audi works R8 was conveniently absent from the 2003 race, to give way to its sibling in the VW Group. Thus Bentley was able to enjoy a much important commemorative victory. It has to be noted that the 5 (+1) victories came in the form of petrol powered VWAG V8 powerplant.

2006 to 2010, saw the shift from petrol to diesel powered Audi LM cars. First being the winning R10 TDi (Turbo Diesel Injection) of 2006 to 2008, a grand slam of 3 years in a row. Not bad for an oil burner! One has to mentioned that 2009, was for Peugeot, in again a diesel racer. To cap the decade, the Audi R15 TDi sealed the 9 total wins for the Ingolstat car company. Hence making Audi, the ‘4-circle marque’ tied with Ferrari in 2nd place for most wins of all time in Le Mans.

 From Paul's Model Art 1/43.

This particular model, a gift from my brother-in-law a few years back :-)


The Le Mans 2006 winner...

...AudiR10 TDi

Very first diesel powered to win in  Circuit de la Sarthe .

Headlamp, tow hook & carbon fiber detailing.

Audi Sport cockpit.

Shell & Bosch taking care of the fuel system.

A glimpse of the floor/cockpit detailing.

Rapid diesel fuel filler for 90 litres tank full of VPower.

 This is where you mostly see the competition; at the side mirrors!

O.Z. magnesium forged wheels shroud in Michelin, providing the grip for the conquering TDi...

 ....of the 4-ring margue and currently the lord of Sarthe!

General Patronage

A lot of people in my part of the woods, say it was fun to grow up in the 70’s and early 80’s. Maybe because life and expectations were simpler then: thus most were so easily pleased. At that time, pleasures can be derived out of simpler consumer goods and visual entertainment. Back then, the television was tops in home leisure. I guess by now it would be the PC/laptop/netbook/ipad or whatever one would call it; with Facebook, YouTube…and blogging constituting the shift to infotainment. But then again, that would be another story…. so back to the simpler days!

For most of us (youngster then) gear-heads, the TV was a source too of simplistic enjoyment of car-related shows. Of this genre, the Dukes of Hazzard was king of the hill! A fantastic mix of hot cars, palatable stars and car stunts made it an epic hit. Never mind that there was nary a ‘thick’ plot. With “General Lee”, Daisy, and a huge dose of wild driving week after week in it, were more than enough good reasons to waste away part of my youth in televiewing. My patronage was sealed forever!

Raw Deal

After a much needed PC upgrade,. now a DigiCam.
Been trying out shooting RAW images.
Here are some output for starters.
Life can be complex, if you wanted it that way (haha)!
I’m not sure though on the outcome. Is it better?
I’ll take a while to max the potential of RAW.

Ahh Change….

Cheers!