Truth In 24

it's always Wayans June 3rd 2008 it's just past 8 a.m. 11 days before the most famous auto race in the world a deadline is empty almost the only racing team is here the team that has won the 24 hours of long seventh the past eight years they trickle in slowly mechanics engineers drivers there is work to do we're going to do five pit stops the sixth one will be fuel only in the garage they are trained all of them have been tens 10.3 three 10.3 again for the next 12 hours the team practices driver changes tire changes a stump after pitstop they practice every scenario they can think of okay crew this next stop we fuel outside the car goes in the garage we change the tires the driver and right-hand Declan the teams begin to arrive but all eyes are on LD which in racing dynasty prepare words moment of truth twenty-four hours Paul Newman raced here and finished second Steve McQueen made a movie about it but the 24 hours of your mom is not easy to capture because it's like nothing else everything is different you there's something that you wouldn't be able to catch in your camera I think Lamont 24 hours is one of the legends it's one of the three big races in the world of motorsport you've got the Indy 500 which is very well known in North America obviously and rowing the world you've got Monaco Formula One Grand Prix and you've got the limo 24 hours began with a simple question you can drive the farthest in 24 hours Finelli accentuate has been Motorsports ultimate challenge pushing Maryland machine to their absolute limits it's distances as long as a trip from New York to Los Angeles it is driven as all hours in all weather when an AP north mile circuit mostly public roads since 1923 greatest drivers and car makers in the world have answered its call names an erase designed to test the push in technology windshields and wipers headlights boats seatbelts and disc brakes may all our debt to Lamar pricing is different and thought there's the cause are different the cars don't always see the dawn have the same engine that don't have the same I suppose attitude to the question of let's make a car go faster for 24 hours there's plenty of other people to express themselves in the designs of cars even the sound of the cars is different when you hear a Corvette Rumble by you don't even have to look over the top of here you know that's a Corvette when you hear a Ferrari screaming past same thing you know that that's a Ferrari in 1999 they viewed its alright a year later the r8 went on to win the one five times in six years but their greatest innovation in 2005 with the diesel power and r10 TDI no diesel had ever won holy Paretsky was the man charged with building the new engine for Audi this is three years of my life the red ski is crazy I think he lives somewhere in the world of the engines that's like in the good old days as he is a camshaft there are two cams underneath these are the injection lines this is the collector the air collector as the air is coming from the turbocharger sitting here from the intercooler sitting here the air is entering here through this the air is trichter which limits the power is going through this turbocharger through by the exhaust gases that the energy is coming out is all very simple at the end of the day they are 10 has a fuel efficient 650 horsepower base the belly made of paper it made me discover some of the noises that you never hear because they are covered by the engine so the transmission noise you can hear the tires you can hear the drivetrain war he gets over 120 miles an hour and the wind noise over your helmet is more than the engine noise behind it noise is a form of energy and the less you hear means the more you use propulsion it's sexy the sound sex is nothing Lucas screaming some people believe that the Paris lady more quiet but more sensitive and it's how we wanted to make this diesel the ar-10 was launched to the top speed at 220 miles an hour the grace the Heron jetted in more than held its own 2006 the diesel not only won the 24 hours it dominated there were no spirits of your mom of course it was about proving the technology of the cars and nowadays yeah it's about proving the technology of the cars only won again in 2007 tuna roll for the ar-10 this team's greatest challenge was still ad 2008 is the are tens third season and racing that's a lifetime by its third year a car has little room left for improvement and there is always a new challenger the French are making giant Persia has produced the diesel of its own this season it has been quicker than the alley the shorter races leading up to the mall Peugeot has qualified with faster lap times the gap has been significant one point six seconds that's quite a lot so if it's already show this year from the beginning we have not been the dominant car are you guys afraid of the blue Joe's not afraid of but we know they are strong you know which is normal because our cars quite some years old no and they have a brand new one so but I don't think they're gonna be able to hold up for 24 hours though to you that's what we owe Sebring Florida is a long way from France the 12 Hours of Sebring is the most important race in the run up to the mall howdy had one here eight straight years Martin struggled a bad omen from the head of a motorsport we destroyed without having one race in the last 10 days 700 thousand euros my control is amazed he asked me to change all the drivers fascinating story lines here in the 56 12 hours of sebring big fight is on the front row the opening the two Audi's in the race has only got worse the challenge from Persia is expected mechanical problems were those are DS lost time in the pits one had a faulty turbocharger the other had to replace its brake discs off way through the race and it's purely because we're we're going to run our front brakes and in my Audi history we've never done that by dusk Howdy's eight-year winning streak in Florida was over both are tens completed the rice one finished third but this is not a team that aspires to finish third winning Sebring in 2000 2001 2003 and zonas on do you think has to go to the Eternity know every victory you have to fight for it to know that as a world in Germany you're saying is a defeat is good fully correct if you take it the right way some working errors with some penalties in the bit so we to confine I think we can have a very big debrief Analia are we who can be shown that then we know we have a lot to do until the moment there is no need to explain to you how important the more this year for us is because it will be the most difficult one this is why I needed to have the best teams which I had to complete the 24 hours of Lamoure a team needs three drivers per car no driver is allowed to stay behind the wheel longer than four hours at a time it's not so easy with race drivers because they have to be a little bit selfish if you really want to be fast but also they have to be a team player that is ready to share a car with two other guys you know they always say you never share two things or women or a car so and you share one of them at Lamont addy Warfield three cars using nine drivers to line up of all-stars the elder statesman our family Piero and Frank Bella along with their teammate Marco Berna now the two-time defending champions but no driver has won the race more than miss Thelma Tom Kristensen the Danes record of seven victories stands alone in the Nelly century long history of the race when you can win once is already something special when you can win seven times it's something difficult to explain because no one's going to do it again no one is going to do it again Jacky Ickx took three times as long in terms of years and appearances two to six and he is mr. Lamont or at least was seven wins out of nine appearances is quite remarkable ruphylin or we like his personal Walk of Fame this little friends square they have put in these cool tires in Bronx with the winning drivers of of different years to say which one or to pick which one that's not really fair you can't really choose between your children it's something like that 2001 there was nineteen hours of that feels the longest one it feels like you were in a racing car for a week 2005 for me personally this is something incredible this was my seventh Rick to me and obviously it means a lot to me Kristensen is not one hair since breaking the record in 2005 for the past two years he has raised with Dindo Capello and Allan McNish the mall has not been kind to McNish The Scotsman has only one here once 1998 with Porsche it is perhaps a sign of his fortunes here but his name is misspelled on the only plac the best name in the centre of town you look at his results of Lamoure it doesn't really fit together with what I thought that could have been done always been something unpredictable happening I personally do not believe in luck I think luck is an excuse for people that have failed in their mission to do something if you do your preparation correct if you do the work if you think about things if you make the connect judgments on the risks that you T and if you stay out of the pits then you win the race and that's not like that's hard work if luck exists it wasn't with McNish and Capello this spring they have not won a single race in a bottle in another battle with Persia in one circuit away and we're lucky to lose only a race first of all I didn't realize at the first moment how big was the accident even when the car was flying in my mind my picture was the car is running and I'm able to bring the car back to the pit I was very very lucky so we came to the pits and we are basically to build a new car there is more to a race team than its drivers that was obvious in Monza when you look from the outside it looks absolutely chaotic the car goes into the garage and then all of a sudden it's or wet cloud of guys hanging over you after a certain amount of time that cloud disappears again and out comes in a bubble race car and when you stand there and watch it you realize why they have wanted so many racism I think it's quite clear in motorsport but things do go wrong and you can practice some aspects of it but you cannot practice an excellent like that and if you repair in 20 minutes and your opponent is repairing in an hour that does give you a bigger part this case we built 15 later in the race McNish narrowly missed real trouble I just overtaken a moose coming down into the first chicane which is ad right and then immediately left just have started to turn left I could see out to the kana my there's a lot of dust flying up in the air don't think I've seen such a violent accident in 25 years of racing and I just read my way through the debris up until then I had just assumed he had this accident sort of evolving in front of me but when I looked at it the next day I realized that there was a big dark shadow of a car that flew literally just over the top behind the car and was within a few inches of taking you know our car roads as well getting there a bit of a chill down the spine and a reminder of that motor racing is still dangerous remarkably we have a driver only suffered a few broken toes for McNish emerging unharmed was the only bit of good fortune in a tough spring but for another Audi tame Monza was a coming-out party I followed the visual and they don't use the curb a lot in the second chicane oh it was at least the car was in front of me yeah he goes the second chicane there - I because if you really hit them our God you have to Alexander primal I'm Mike Rockenfeller Howdy's to youngest in Italy they were also the best hope for victory against Russia when a yellow flag format Nicias near-miss went up late in the afternoon rocky was leading the 1000 kilometers of Monza buzzer number eight made its move but could not survive the tight first corner the call would have to return to the pit for a penalty but there was a miscommunication in the air deep it's rocky and the race won but he continued to battle so he kept on fighting and now you tried to overtake rocky again why can you defend it the inside line and cars made contracts was damaged we puncture to the left front time just minutes left in the rice powder or beat me again colony the error was that nobody told him clearly working don't race him just let him go go as fast as possible the end and we are going to wake it sometimes two words more hotel sometimes so much racing you can think about it and try to make it better will happen anyway somehow again it's a long walk to the podium when the destination is not the top step lamang the Circuit de la Sarthe this is the track the ar-10 was built for and the track the drivers lived for it is eight point four six miles of seduction a little bit of everything high speed sweaters tight curves or seconds long straights don't work for fastest cars if the times brave enough to paint a photo that's where we dive into the fresh UK that's the tightest of the tool it really takes a lot of energy having to break down from top speed the old days they just kept going and now we go to the most beautiful part of the track we accelerate out of a Dodge nice grass nice trees you romanticize a little bit about the circuit in this area just look isn't it beautiful they call become the energy what you take three days it's quite amazing that's the thing when you're at the mall and the car goes by you in the pit the time pops the next time you see it it's been almost nine miles right it's been nine miles across the French countryside in three minutes 35 and I mean I love that race begins 3 p.m. Saturday and ends up 3 p.m. Sunday everyone has a favorite moment the first time I came here in 1997 I didn't believe that I knew Lamar but it didn't appreciate them all and I stood at the end of the pit lane and a 7 o'clock for the start to qualify 45 cars driving out to the pilling all that you know power just driving off onto that historic circuit with the old grandstands in the background and just that whole history and emotion and the thoughts and memories of the Steve McQueen film can plug them back into me I know if I'm not driving at that moment I will always go to the end of the pit lane and stand and watch it and I get the same chill down my spine as I did that first time upwards of 30 coming across the line and I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it it solves a very special moment then I go normally up in the grandstands on the seventh floor and have a look around and see the Sun coming up it's a very quiet moment no spectators around here just the cars running the wrong of the engines or not worry if the diesel is coming it's fantastic view but really the end of the race this is 24 hours and when the guys feel across the line it doesn't matter whether you're first or last this is the place where she pains first grade in celebration tradition will work the 24-hour it's an endurance for everyone and come three o'clock on Sunday there's going to be an outpouring of emotion not just by the competitors but by the spectators and everyone around the rivers who it's that that shared experience thing everyone to tie it don't gets a little emotional but God we've got through it I think there's one thing I would definitely rather do and only one thing I definitely rather do than three o'clock and Saturday afternoon we started the research here Lamont $24 in 2008 third group and that's a fee of walking Sunday afternoon cross the line across position and then standing on the podium at 3:00 or 5:00 celebratin spraying some champagne and realizing that we've achieved something that is just immense in the worldwide scheme of things it is two weeks before the race all three teams are here car three will be driven by the youngsters Lukas Fleur Alexander primer and Mike Rockenfeller I think we all can do the job last year Lukas did qualifying and the start I did the finish but not a good one in their first 24-hour race with Audi in 2007 the youngsters learned the first lesson of Lamoure one mistake I can all be over devastation for the Audi team young Mike Rockenfeller has crashed the ar-10 heavily at ten gurus and look at the Audi team they are in disbelief this is the team they were calling the youngsters with so much talent and the day has finished before it's really begun it was the worst race in my career for sure the worst moment it was hard for me to look them in the eyes after because yeah I ruled my race I wrote their race and all the mechanics as well they said hey come on next year we come back and we win but you're just so disappointed it doesn't mean anything to me what they said really because I was just thinking of such an idiot I think what happened last year is incredibly hard on any young driver any young driver wants to impress more than anything in many teams what happened to Roger last year would have been the last thing he did to the team that's why it's something special to me to come this year again I think we all want to show that if you are young you can do good in limo and also of course we want to beat the old guys the old guys who won it the last two years back and then Wally Pierrot and Frank Peter like a team with more Cabana in car one likely for the last time of course there's so much experience in this group of drivers it would be a perfect moment to end your career on the other hand you could say it's working so well why should we stop unfortunately the nicest victory is always the next event you're right now I'm 46 so I don't know what is gonna happen with me next year I've done a lot in motor racing but from the other hand I'm not quite ready to stop so we see car two Dindo Capello and Allan McNish will join mr. limo Tom Kristensen just as soon as they can find him Tom don't know idiot have you seen Tom I haven't seen Tom at all I've no idea where's Tom if anybody seen Tom Kristensen and they sent him over here yeah but you went there you have been that you saw I was there I think that a man Willie that's it what now that's an insult in it you could say jacory where you know we're a small family you know and and you could even say you know the drivers is almost like a marriage for them this is test day it is the first time and we come off rembu team and get on the circuit and experiment with setups for the rice so we're just gonna lower the car you obviously can have more overall south tour so let me know about touching and then we'll go to the next configuration course setup is crucial a balance between speed handling and fuel efficiency but for a single lap now matching the speed of Persia as feared three seconds a lap faster on the eight and a half mile circuit from all the races leading up to that we knew where our performance stood against Peugeot compared to pursue acceleration initial acceleration reduce the rot copy that get used to it but at the test day when it rained this kind of you know showed up alarm bells to us you know for the wet condition maybe they had to do something different to bring a balance to the car red black red black Paco de Steve Farley had a rent somebody special in Portia corners there's a bump are not take a little bit for the management mark shaniyah had a huge action tear attested he's fine but they've got to now build a brand new car yeah the war is buggin it doesn't the lessons from test they are clear Peugeot is very fast yet vulnerable I already must exploit every advantage they can find that is why less than 48 hours after test day 11 days before the race the team is back at the track working on a day when no one else is you ready it's not rocket science you can spend millions of pounds develop in a car to get 1/10 but you can lose 5 10 you know more seconds every pit stop so you know it's simple Maps isn't it we considered free time I'm afraid that was a bit slow at 10.8 so we're gonna need some more practice for 51 weeks here is a quiet town then second week of June becomes a different place entirely a city around 50,000 men triples its people from below and purrs for one of the world's greatest sporting events the Legion of technicians prepares 8,000 times for the race we won't use all 8,000 but we have to be prepared for any eventuality whether it's rain cold feet the changing conditions above all choosing the right time the difference into victory and defeat this tire here is a slick tire it's used for dry running the middle tire here is what we call an intermediate it's used when the track is damp but not really wet this is a tire that's designed for running in heavy rain but it will not last very long once the track dries out the public roads that make up over half the track closed race week has begun for the teams the Week kicks off with scrutineering where the cars must pass inspection scrutineering is like a boxing when for the cause death scales for the bright lights are tested the entrance is made as she is race features a battle of heavyweights defending champions versus the talented upstart our guys seriously fast it has a lot of downforce of course a lot of torque and power from the engine so the pressure is on because we have the fastest machine when you go to the toughest race of them all there's pressure on everyone but I would say I see this race here as as a race we can win it and somebody else make it on the pit lane ways they can lose probably aperture will win the race I just hope that if I put your windows are the three / Joe's qualified first second third early fourth fifth and seventh purge you have got a set of nine drivers eight of them have got Formula One experience unfortunately they are not all experienced at endurance racing patience is a key to winning at LeMond the place where it's been difficult to predict sometimes is breaking for the first chicane you brake your digger on the outside of that I don't do that I never try not because it's dirty you on the outside I never try and I want to try Jacques Villeneuve will be driving in the number seven Persia but the more he has the rare chance to complete racing's Triple Crown he has already won the Formula One Championship and Indy 500 and I outside of Porsche GT now this year building believe me we're gonna win the race by we take less risk I please try a spell thank you Lille nerve and his teammates know the Circuit de la Sarthe but not like the Audi drivers who know it's of the top of their heads you know this is this is our backyard it ingrained into me now here you are in the pit lane this is for the drivers eye view it's incredibly law and close to the ground you see no you release the speed limiter you're accelerating other pit lane up into second third fourth fifth gear using the Carib on the right-hand side on a racing line don't into second gear for the dunlop s now this is a very tricky corner because as you can see it's uphill and also the camber of the road falls away from you third gear underneath the bridge and then down into the actual s is themselves fourth and then fifth gear braking hard here the car always wants to keep taunting rightly you need to make it turn left you need to get in the other car understeers you break fourth gear and then accelerating towards tech solution very very critical corner very very fast entry now you've got to make sure that 150 mile-an-hour 145 my line on exit is critical for your straight-line speed at the end of the street no you're on the first part of the Mulsanne know you've taken top you know you can relax now you can look at the steering wheel make sure all of the data is correct Nick shows no arms speech your engineer if you have to get some response before stealing yourself before coming up to the breaking point for this for shaking baking hard just after the 200 meter broad down into third gear now you've been doing 220 miles per hour come into this corner and you're actually only doing about 100 in the mid corner you accelerate hard again trying to get the maximum exit I let the car run three four four then fifth gear coming down towards a second to gain another point just to be very careful crossing the crown of the road you have to do there certain fight otherwise it carved rounds over if you do that for 24 hours you'll damage the bottom of it here the braking fight is tricky in the night because it's just in between two zones down into third the car always understeer you never get the front end you never feel comfortable but you have to do it precisely incorrectly every time no we're coming up to the hump now this used to be a big jump over with a car we go like no it's a little bit easier on you into the Mulsanne corner very difficult corner because suddenly you lose all feeling of efficiency you're coming from hundred miles an hour down into about 55 60 miles per hour and you don't have the sensation of the grip underneath you before he accelerates out for fifth gear going through the small kinks down towards Indianapolis one of my favorite sections on the whole circuit that is what you see at night PacSun car coming into your eyes going from the contrast of not being able to see into the darkness of the coupler the trees down into third gear for this left-hander now you came through the previous one 170 miles per hour you tiny stop the car into the way and then suddenly you come to our nose one of the hardest corners on this track because it is so slow because your brain is going so fast all the other points and then suddenly you've got to go to 50 miles but suddenly you've got to be delicate and get a clean exit before accelerating Thome towards a Porsche curves now these are real men's corners they're very very fast enough 200 miles per hour down a gear quickly in towards the apex on right-hand side cutter on fourth gear up into fifth now we're doing about 180 the rule books Betty ladder the uncle values very close keeping in towards that right hand white line don't touch the grass you'll be off into fifth year foolish you can know you've only got two Cotton's to go the Ford chicane and this is a very difficult you can gain everything or you can lose everything just by braking too late you don't a third gear run the curve on the Left run the car on the right try to keep over to the right to get between exit out the last one hit the curve on the left kick they kept on the right wide open throttle third year for fifth over the white that's three minutes 23 and over eight half miles done tomorrow the grandstands and campsites will be filled with more than 250 thousand spectators 40,000 are from Denmark here to chair their favorite son the cult of being around the among us is quite big at the moment they enjoy running in the race so my name is buddy hinten census but the Devourer get a day Oh Virgil I confirm how the third position all sorts alluded to them the ability does maybe he'll fit on the land let me then also the bigness is concealed in this camp I brought my charming Italian driver do you know your pill as a Vista sure the fastest Italian now come here July is very fast you know and but sometimes you know when you look at the Cintas you see there are you're jumping into the wind is jumping 200 these little booties is not so difficult attempting to forest you Oh after a year of preparation the day is finally in the 24 hours of bloom or 165 drivers from 24 different countries a chance to compete in the most grueling motorsport event in the world even before the race has begun we've actually been awake for 10 hours already to 24 hours themselves and then the most intense work that we do all year everybody was involved the mechanic tire people everybody has to give 100% because if if one little thing doesn't work the whole system breaks down and then and you cannot win a race in a race they've dominated for the better part of a decade now he is no longer the favorite the 24 hours of them on this year is purge yours to lose not ours to win now do I think we believes that not at all but I think we've got a real battle this year and it's too close to call to be quite honest again just under three minutes - it doesn't count who has the pole or who does the quickest lap after 24 you know the truth it's cruel it's long and I can tell you every lap you do out there every lap you have to live in exactly at the point now and be alert that's the whole name of the game not I believe in preparation and self-confidence this is yeah Oh as expected which increases my Berlin is now dropped to be ten seconds behind after three loads which is near as whatnot is $3 seconds alerts the owners gonna have to find this seconds elapsed somewhere out in Haines 4-h is the lead engineer on the number two car driven by Kristensen Capello and McNish thickness that to keep pace on Persia the strategy is simple maximize fuel efficiency and take fewer pit stops with fewer driver changes the plan was we would quadruple stin every driver I'd see if I don't think anybody else did her joke certainly didn't this is staying in the car this is a quadruple stick Nikki's been in the car for two hours stem is about 45 minutes for stints is nearly the length of the MP 500 we had reason to believe that our car was more reliable than their car so from the beginning the harder we could push them the harder we make them run then the closer they could be to having problems with their car the strategy begins to pay off the two leading pojos must pit due to faulty headlights have no operating right-hand side light version number eight as big a shoes the cars going to go in the Kenosha Nissan that's right the cars going to go in the garage I don't know why but Randy goes and back it goes so there is a problem to the transmission races early leader will spend the next 20 minutes the garage MacLeish is gone throwing the label is beginning to claim its victims but the our tenants are running strong is consistently two seconds a lap quicker than the other two and is there's no real exploration and he's driving the song I saw him doing some things from the traffic and I said I bet I don't do it if something happens to me I'm really in it you know so I kind of took it a little slower especially in traffic overtaking Kozma of course I lost some time against Alan but overall I was happy with the performance and happy that we were still in the race hello my favorite engineers you have average lap time of 27 hi fastest lap by any Audi driver is actually set by the statement mix on the primer 3:23 nine and a bright man because he didn't actually get to drive this car last year because Mike Rockenfeller crashed it before it was his turn as it were you're ready Rocky and all good everybody get clear I think the first lap I come by teto Roche I look close to the guardrail and you know it's a strange feeling let's say but then I don't think about it anymore meanwhile Capello anything with Nichkhun do competitive duties and hello doing see our in a row in the car driving at hundred percent that I tell you that it was not easy especially if you think then a few hours later you have to be back in the car I do again the same the race is playing out as expected for the number two team except when once again they managed to lose their most famous driver ed Thomas Thomas Christensen is even though you seem Tom seven laps eight that's maximum before you're in the car just let me know that you've got this message I think he was upstairs I want a massage or something you know normal racing driver stuff I guess but you know we're we're babysitter's more than engineers like sure I just panicked when I don't see someone that's correct mr. Lamont shows up for work on time the dust box window box full service by the end of Saturday change that's it you the machine of hundred and so people came to work as an old group and not as individuals and if nothing is disturbing that machine the best for the whole operation then it's a very powerful machine you see it and you feel it when it's working properly the number 2 car is right there running the perfect race that they had run the perfect race before a year ago the car of Christmasy McNish was laps ahead of the field in the 16th ow the number two car looking awfully strong they are giving their car arrived at that time in the race I think we had a three and a half maybe new for lap lead in fact it was going too well we probably run the perfect race up until over 16 that's when Lamont bit for the over in the tires we lost the rear wheel at our top speed going down to Indianapolis no chance to save the candy cascaded a very heavily into the barrier that was it the quickest how the whole race event the car that should definitely have one year normally was out of the race was a big disappointment for everybody did you see the frustration and I just they're stunned nobody knows but at one stage they could not stop crying after we lost the wheel the emotion for me was so strong because we really deserve that victory it's the same feeling like you were dancing with the most beautiful girl the whole evening everything goes according to plan and even the small tricks you put in on a dance floor it seems to work and then at the final dance you see a roller running away with this beautiful lady even if you do 20 races in Lemoore you can be sure the next one will not be the same as one of the twenties you have done every year you have to face challenges that you don't know before and this is the big secret of Lamar midnight Alamo the race continues there is a new opponent exhaustion number seven Persia has pulled ahead lead to my over two minutes the lace is not halfway over and danger lurks around every corner the night does just be none nearly everyone and to steal a little sleep everyone except the engineers out on the pit wall yeah you almost forgotten about so out there you know you're kind of you expect you to be there for the whole race and the whole thing it becomes a blur to be honest the biggest thing is trying to stay away you're looking at the live telemetry which in itself is just completely mesmerizing you know you're just looking at the same lines going over for 24 hours you know I think if I can ever sleep oh the trader anyone who knows everyone would notice the engineers the only line of communication to the drivers they have to trust everything I say overturning my lad I'm all silent another time or the place to be questioning something is it you know when you think of what we're actually doing we're in charge of pretty dangerous machinery and you've got to make the right decisions that actually could be life and death but the wrong tires on the car if they're on conditions and yet you can have a massive accident far ahead of the pack the diesels cut to quite pass through the night the two cars second place currently limited technical issues around the race they cannot match the speed of the Kujo but that's not a problem in their mind they've got a race strategy and there's meaning to it the Audi strategy has taken everything into account finding the weather because it always lines it no more you've seen it we have our own weather system there we have our own radar we can predict rain to three minutes so we knew the rain was coming the trick is to be within range of the front-running number seven car and the rain arrives 12 minutes to go it is the midpoint of the race the mom is taking a toll whole team and the car is going in the garage we didn't expect this problem with it number eight and they're swarming all over it Sammy's not the other girl it's fine all three of the French cars lose time due to a radiator problem even race leadership the own birth of car seven there it goes and it goes back into the garage did know your information in honor they can be very very tight drizzle Alys moment has arrived we know me a big advantage and we were ready for simple as that two colors in here driver change taking place Capello did about three and a half stints there and Thomason TK is in time kristensen climbs into the car the nerves ladies down to a minute maybe 500 champion is no match for mr. LaMotte it's still gonna be the same weather for the next 40 minutes at least when you think you're comfortable driving this isn't it greezy traffic going they're that slow a GT car we look up in the monitor and the pitch black and the big raindrops are coming down and you see them going via 310 315 320 it's pitch black and you just get out it's amazing it's an amazing thing at night when you are on the right tires you get into the rhythm you really feel like you're a one with the car the very fast corners you don't see the apex of the corner before you actually there so you drive really a lot on you determination to drive a lot on your confidence and at night when you're fast there's nothing better fielder is on top atop Kristensen is chasing him down again now just over 10 and so TK taking sometimes seven eight second to laugh loves League be on standby I want the teachers out that we stay on the same time as he and his Tom rolled down there the March 20 and feel there was just 2.9 seconds they pit at the same time howdy and suddenly fuel paja also changes tires and drivers by the time feel nerve is out of the car Kristensen is long gone other jobs lead TK in the position he relishes out front the simply it's simply the best for this very moment at this moment Bullock Paulette keys in his favorite place the top row of the grandstands with dawn about to break and beyond the engine of the ar-10 is pleased with what he sees beginning of a hopefully very nice day the visuals are a little bit in trouble now because they went for full speed and full risk and now in the rain it's a little bit very very dangerous with the morning light lap time click - he's looking after those really Kristensen is not the only one firing one year after the worst race of his life Mike Rockenfeller has moved into third place in the three car number three it's what we call the young Audi the youth brigade here be good for another one okay ready and felt like I was in the CAF all week it was mentally very hot and to come out of the top this was incredibly good you have to thank dr. Ullrich just grins when he sees a Christensen get out and a McNish get in yeah from this out easy it's kind of a milestone in the race we call it happy hour it's getting daylight again you know you kind of get your second wind have a good wake-up call it's psychological because a lot of cars have already gone out by then and you've made it through the night and good morning John good morning mr. just welcome to Sunday got a just over eight and a half hours to go twenty five six in the morning here so McNish on 250 laps leads for Audi marching here in the seven car the Peugeot is second then rockefeller the three car jumping off these kids he told Christensen was doing a great job he got himself a lead of a whole minute the Audi's were able to cope much better with the rain then the Peugeot has have been the rain helps us a lot yes it does but it's risky daybreak brings a new challenge it's raining Connor when the drivers driving in a wet their concentration levels have to be so high having to control the car physically and also mentally in anticipating the next oversteer it's very strange for their almost physically tensing up for the whole of the time how depresses its advantage Allan McNish stretches the lead over the number 7 Peugeot to a full lap amazing he's only won it once when he considered the core drivers that the talent al-adha as the rain begins to slow tire choice becomes a concern for everyone the question is when to switch from wet tires to intermediates ty you're gonna get this brand new standard when it's been in the oven when Capello takes her win the number two car he stays on the wets but the other two Audi's switch to modified intermediates with slicks Coco well this is gonna be the Audi cam I think right now tres now the three-car actually went to that groove slick quite early with Alexander and he struggled with it a little bit the first few laps it's like too early alex is really really having difficulties didn't work now and it doesn't look very good ten more dried wet swatch what else can we you you have to wonder whether maybe they use it this is like a guinea pig put Paco out there he's a little bit out of the hunt for Libra but I get good information back to the whole outi squad feed until Capello's next stop and what is likely the last limo for Bella pillow the old champions are running fifth where they've been almost since the start of the race we were never able to set the car up in a way that would enable us to drive really quick lap times so we were somehow lacking of speed don't ask me why because if I knew I would have done something they are probably sometimes a little bit slower they are probably sometimes a little bit more careful than perfect put a football and then at the end as we've seen in the last three years here they are this is nothing that's what we're talking about think you're going slowing up and suddenly there is zero grip it was very very difficult to keep the car on the road with almost slick tires for the given condition so he spun off and on top of that by restart the clutch just broke a significant problem in wait up thank you I was rather sad because it was in last race Frank and I would drive together with Frank we shared a lot of incredible moments a lot of incredible success and you know the last race really been really nice to end up a major result it is de clutch they are fixing is they're working like mad but I'm afraid and that is going to take it right out of the reckoning after 30 minutes in the garage the number one car invoice it out in the mine didn't know the other two now early look after that tire go to did those lead is more than a lap the gap is shrinking number seven Persia is right behind him thus two and a half miles close to college between these two guards and watching these berries doesn't do anything remember at the end of the monitor is my could have let the purge your core we had a fight and it cost him the race ultimately his dog saved indle but not kind of a steak now fighting stuff homey boy gets into the next stop this has been the perfect perfect race the one they needed to run till this point can they complete the task the strategy was really easy on the paper and no driver mistake no pitstop mistake no mechanic mistake no engineer mistake it's so easy to write all these things but it's almost impossible make it happen Allan McNish sitting quietly on the pit wall he does not want to be disturbed as though I can understand line of Gees being rocked so many times at the mall by the one they call lady like really bad loner - no McNish he is just keeping himself to himself she absolutely is the nurses that you can imagine lady Luck's got nothing now goes by I got the perfect stick another perfect pitstop well we everything is quite perfect right Christenson in the number two Bharat Z epsilon getting together we didn't go but you could really see immediately it was written back to 2007 right here check is everything okay it looks as though Kristensen on Oh drivers the strategy 30 racecar we actually go away quite lightly I think we only lost 10 seconds or something with the spin can one and three hours remain are you paid to the end their sister car is not so lucky throughout the morning a three car has been in a battle for third place we began to have some issues and we actually had to change the oil in the car and that was when it got backed into the garage so Lucas lor sits in the car to take over on the next step if and when the three gets back out on track the young guns dream of a podium finish dies in the garage they will finish in fourth pice I wanted to be on the podium first time but overall it was really important for me that we finished the race you learn a lot in the 24th so to finish force I think it's not a bad result the crowd M's and Flo's mainly around the start and finish to be here on the front straight is simply amazing at either end of this motor race tell you what the skies are looking at pretty look at those skies it looks very great slick to the moment where boy if it's a big enough some time now for there on slicks that could be very unpleasant some rain coming there is one hour left in the race but it is far from over one of the many worries dr. Ullrich is that the gap the Tom Kristensen is going down hand over fist as well two minutes less than two minutes separating first two second last lap in minutes it took five seconds off of TK that's what he needs to do for the next hour and eight minutes then that will be very tight we already know this could be a pivotal point in the race who makes the right choice remember the enters were very good nejoy ain't going to drive along at least to be drive along is it going to rain heavy we've got to come in this lap otherwise it's just imitate telemetrics by the video or something aggravated us pledge anyway the box they slam top box they slam for intermediates anyway right it's gonna get heavier he's chasing it down here the engineer wins the argument the ties are changed at the other end of pit lane closure makes a different decision seven car stays on dry slicks they bring the answers out and then take the back could be the deciding moment in this motor race either way those are decisions that we are winning or losing and it's the last-minute ones that are the worst let no hurry about them rain on the tires that you have and giving the right choice that's been awesome decision to style sleep copy that you have a two minute 43 seconds late you maybe want to tell them that sometimes some 39 minutes 39 after more than 23 hours per 0 is finally broken it's just not worth taking copy that Kissel Nicholasville a.cian has a flat tire as a deflating toys just gone through ten Rouge look at how he's fighting the car laptop box this week's leader is in here is tom kristensen with less than 14 minutes remaining his final stop of this race it is the 33rd pit stop of the day for less than Persia of a total of nine few minutes then enough to make the difference in the race they call a home pretty much alone take it very easy drive home like a tank this era is over we will remember this for decades to come the domination of Audi celebrate a victory here Lamont when you start thinking about next year he said tomorrow it takes 12 months of planning to win this race kazow exactly for me in the last lap we really understand you made it what we had done as a team what we have done for this victory look at the fans Allan McNish did no c'mon boys to celebrate with their good friend two seconds the greatest we come Christams and extend McNish I would say I don't think it was a it was the speed of the car because it drove the last library slow but to show you you get wet eyes and you fly over to check it flagon and you know that this is LeMond it has to be the best win for Audi you know we were the it was perfect actually yeah it was put your Christmas it is say for Allah big fish this time I think the three best one really they deserved it big time it didn't help my sorrow because still I wasn't there but I was really really happy for them I have to say I will remember this race as a race where the people beat the machines what we call always this all the family this time makes really make the difference Wolfgang or looking as as chunk double in emotions the spirit in garage amongst the three cars like no other that I've experienced was that any of us in the garage would have been happy for one of the cars to win I've never really felt it quite as strong as it was there it was very much the human element that won the race John much faster car but they didn't have all that well done young man how I didn't think that was gonna happen for me personally I didn't feel that kind of massive joy or happiness secret but man you know it congratulation thank you it's a fast equipment you thought they can be very proud and I'm born as well thank you very much you're physically exhausted you mentally destroyed you could say you're absolutely knackered you know all the guys you know they're all there hugging each other and year and great and I just I don't know why but that wasn't there it was yeah that that yeah difficult Oh what you know is yeah to be honest I just wanted to go and sit somewhere on my own you know and just sit down and just kind of yeah only it's done Thanks not bad thing after 24 hours the engineer finally finds a place to rest on a pile of tires at one l'amour Joe has true as a racing driver I have to say and I've won my fair share of races and championships to stand on the top step and podium at Wilmore look down see 60 70 thousand fans just below you you know that you have just been through the most grueling test of man and machine and you've won your there it's a fantastic sensation the reality is victory is victory it's winning and a finished second and third before and had not finishes when we'll be leading in everything you come away from here having tasted the champagne fine color sweet you

Channel: Grendle81

Views: 712,189

Rating: 4.891459 out of 5

Keywords: le mans, widescreen, grand prix, automobiles, motor sports, racing, extreme driving

Id: FFwoxM1MiBw

Length: 92min 35sec (5555 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 10 2011

Reddit Comments

[u/TinkeNL]

I always watch these in the weeks before Le Mans! Jason Stathams commentary is absolutely awesome in both of them, an absolute must to watch!

[u/Dents27]

I honestly wish they would do a 3rd part. This series was so awesome and knowledgeable about their old Le Mans cars!

[u/rubbergoat]

"It always rains at Le Mans..."

[u/iichel]

Truth in 24: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFwoxM1MiBw Truth in 24 II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27F26UA1i6M

[u/TheTourer]

Watched the first this past Sunday. Probably have seen it 40+ times now. Still get chills every time.

[u/brownninja97]

im quite surprised that they didnt do one on the 2014 race, with Porsche coming back and Toyota's brutality it would have been a great time to make a film/

[u/[deleted]]

Truth in 24 inspired me to watch a whole LeMans race. I will forever love it. That is all.

[u/Im_Mikefrom_Canmore_]

Is it just me, or did it seem like Truth in 24 had a different narrator in the North American version.

[u/JET0024]

These 2 films made me want to become a race engineer, thus leading to all the great experiences I have had over the past few years, winning at Daytona, being a DAG at the 100th running of the Indy 500, and I hope for more to come.