Canadian GP and the Le Mans 24 Hours: One hell of a weekend

Two days of action, beautifully timed

If like me you live in Europe, you are blessed with an awesome schedule of motorsport this weekend. Not only is the Canadian Grand Prix taking place in Montreal on Sunday evening, but the Le Mans 24 Hours is also starting on Saturday afternoon.

The Canadian GP is seemingly a banker for entertainment on the F1 calendar each year. Tyre degradation can often be high due to the unforgiving nature of the track surface, whilst the close proximity of the barriers and walls test the drivers to the limit.

The nature of the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve is a magnet for safety car deployments. Over the years there have been numerous uses of the Mercedes Benz after some drivers come unstuck on the exits of the three chicanes the track has to offer.

Carnage Already

Today in Free Practice 1 and 2, there were four fairly substantial crunches into the walls. Usually it's just  the rookies that make mistakes in practice sessions, but first to drop it today was none other than Wonder Kid, Sebastian Vettel, just as he did in Turkey. He launched into the barrier on the exit of the final chicane which is incidentally called the “wall of champions.” Very fitting!

In FP2, first it was Adrian Sutil to bend some carbon fibre, immediately followed by Kamui Kobiyashi who brought out the first red flag of the session. Both drivers were ok. When the session restarted it was Virgin’s Jerome D'Ambrosio who banged the wall within minutes, only to suspend the session once again.

So - a rare Friday of destruction in Formula 1. It should mean lots of track time for the driver’s come Saturday morning, as they chase the ultimate setups ahead of qualifying.

Tune into Le Mans

The Le Mans 24 Hours has a special place in my heart. This may be a Formula 1 website, but I can’t help but say how cool this race is. I attend pretty much every year, but we decided to take a year off in 2011. It means I get to enjoy the TV coverage from both Montreal and Le Mans from the comfort of a sofa for once!

In the practice sessions and Thursdays qualifying sessions, there have been plenty of accidents as well. GT cars and Prototype cars are all suffering from the unforgiving nature of the 8 mile Le Mans circuit.  It’s an event where you really have to race with your head, and not your balls. A unique challenge for many racing drivers in that respect!

F1 qualifying and the first couple of hours at Le Mans do clash which isn’t ideal, but thank fully, the 24 Hours is finished by the time the coverage starts for the Canadian Grand Prix. Have I mentioned NASCAR will be on later as well?!

Anyway, cook your roast, grab a beer, and enjoy one of the sweetest Sunday evenings of the year.

Posted by James Wilson. - Follow him on twitter @enterf1.

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Last Comment Posted »

• Plus the British MotoGP as well!

  It's a holiday weekend here in Oz, so that will make it much easier to watch motoracing at 3am on a Monday...
  by MartyP
  [ click here to read in full ]