As we approach the end of the year, we’re looking back at some of the biggest races of 2024 with a travel diary series from DSC’s Australian correspondent Michael Zalavari.
Missed out on Part 1? Catch up HERE Missed Part 2? Catch up HERE
“Should we drive along the track?” Graham asks to no-one in particular, making the decision on everyone’s behalf.
We peel off the roundabout, and I notice that familiar row of trees on the left, and the stadium on my right.
Les Hunaudieres. After fifteen years of watching as a fan on the other side of the world, here I was, being chauffeured down the Circuit de la Sarthe.
I could barely believe it.
*****
It felt like I’d barely left the Nürburgring before we were on our way to Le Mans. Three days was all I had, before a 4:00am wake up on Thursday to get loaded into the back of GG’s car, squished between luggage, food, laptops, and Messrs. Graham Goodwin, Stephen Kilbey, and David Lord.
From there, it was a short drive to the ferry, before a six-hour crossing of the channel, landing near Caen and another two hours in the car before we were at Le Mans.
I had much more warning as we approached the city of Le Mans, with reminders of the race increasing in frequency on the signage and banners as we closed in. After a detour to collect our credentials for the week, it was time to head to our accommodation. But first, the crew had to show the newbie the track for the first time!
I can’t really describe the feeling of being driven on the track that first afternoon, from where Les Hunaudieres meets Tertre Rouge, through to the roundabout at Mulsanne corner, and all the way down the hill, plunging through the forest to Arnage, and even taking a small detour to follow the road towards the Porsche Curves.
It was almost a feeling of satisfaction; 15 years of watching races at this circuit had built up the anticipation beyond expectation, and yet the bump before the kink at Mulsanne felt just like I hoped it would, even at road speeds, and the banking at Indianapolis was as impressive as I knew it would be. It felt so new but so familiar at the same time.
We soon arrived at our accommodation, affectionately known as ‘The Cottage.’ The DSC crew has stayed with the same host family for 20 years, in a small property near the town of Arnage, and I was swiftly welcomed like a new addition to the family at Christmas, as Mark, Crystal and Elliot made us feel at home.
The Cottage itself was absolutely brilliant, with space to sleep, work, eat and rest come rain or shine. We settled in, and got an early night; Day 1 starts tomorrow.
*****
You could already feel the anticipation in the air as we arrived in the centre of Le Mans ahead of Day 1 of Pesage (Oh to be a Le Mans newbie again! Dep Ed.). The cozy cobbled streets were awash with fans, plenty already in race gear, as we rolled into the tiny media room adjacent to the Place de la Republique. Laptops were opened on top of backpacks or stacks of luggage, as far too many people tried to occupy the cramped space.
The Pesage timetable was circulated around the room, with the first group already not too far away, and before I knew it, I was walking across the Place to tackle my first proper media pen.
Over the course of two days, every car and driver would go through scrutineering and technical checks. Then, they’d be given the opportunity to set up for press photos as individuals, teams and driver crews. And then after that, all 186 drivers (minus a few outliers) would go through a media pen, for anyone to have a chat to. For some teams and some drivers, it will be the only clear-cut opportunity to talk to them for the whole weekend, outside of specifically team organized Meet The Team events.
It was entirely overwhelming. I’d only been in a media pen once before, and even then, it was a much lower-key environment where I’d already sorted out some clear targets beforehand. A smarter, more well prepared person would have gone in with a plan and identified a sequence of conversations that made sense with who was coming through on each day.
That person was not me; I was pretty much making it up on the spot. I did grasp onto a few ideas early on – we’d talked in the car about how many drivers were doing the three European 24 hour events in a row, for example – but I was really struggling to feel like I had a handle on things on that first day.
It felt intimidating. Watching professionals like GG whip into and out of the pen, chatting to every driver that comes through like a man on a mission, while I’m standing waiting for the next person I’ve identified and feeling way too nervous to approach someone for an idle chat. I felt out of place, and for the first time in the trip, like I wasn’t cut out for this sort of gig.
With a bit of help (and some introductions to get me started), I finally started finding my feet. I let GG and Stephen focus on the big fish in Hypercars, and I looked towards talking to the GT and LMP2 runners, particularly focussing on the debutants. It’s a very handy icebreaker to be able to say ‘this is my first Le Mans too!’ to get a conversation started.
After an overstimulating day, I had about 10 or so conversations recorded, and three features plus an interview or two to work on, and so I got to work. A check in with GG after about an hour of writing pulled me up on a mistake I was making; of the two features I had planned, one still required an interview for a driver scheduled for tomorrow, but that was the one I was currently working on. It was such a simple thing that I hadn’t thought about, but it did mean that I was now going to work later to have something to put out on that first day.
When it came time to sort dinner plans, I volunteered myself and GG for pick up, to get a chance to talk over how the day went and get some advice. What happened next is what I’ll kindly call “vigorous feedback”, but it did identify a few key areas I needed to better myself in, and those things would shape day 2 at Pesage, and the rest of the coming week.
*****
Working in the media has taught me more than anything else that drivers, team owners, engineers, and even others in the media are all just people.
Sure, it’s a little scary to go up to FIA WEC World Champion Laurens Vanthoor for an interview, but once you do it the first time, it’s easier to do it the second time. Similarly, coming across race director Eduardo Freitas at Pesage, and having a short chat about marshalling and race direction around the world was utterly terrifying… for about 10 seconds.
For the most part, if you’re respectful, interested, and understanding, most people in the paddock will be more than happy to have a chat – especially when it’s a specifically scheduled time for you to be meeting them, like Pesage!
Once I’d gotten over that hump, I had a much better time. Day 2 at Pesage started wonderfully, thanks to one unexpected interview that put to bed any insecurity I had. I managed to catch Ben Barnicoat, and after doing the customary introductions, I mentioned that I’d already met him once before. His response took me by surprise – “I thought so! The Bend, right?”
Working in the media has taught me more than anything else that drivers, team owners, engineers, and even others in the media are all just people
The Asian Le Mans Series visit to The Bend in 2020 was my first ever event as media, and Ben had been one of the standout drivers in the Thunderhead Carlin Dallara that weekend, taking pole position, and he was one of the first interviews I did at that event. For him to remember that, and recognise me now almost five years later, made me feel at home.
It was a vastly more successful Day 2 at Pesage and I carried that momentum into the Meet The Teams events over the following week. It’s extremely hard to get a hold of anyone in the Le Mans paddock – everything is closed up and secured like an F1 pit lane. So your best chances are the big Meet The Teams events, often held in the expansive team hospitality suites, with complimentary food and coffee for your trouble.
At the Cadillac and Corvette event, the team were serving burgers and fries in truly American fashion, while Thursday Morning at United Autosports was accompanied by a buffet breakfast.
While there is the opportunity for some extended conversations, you still have to jostle with other reporters to talk to your targets, and sometimes the best compromise is to work together with other outlets.
At United, both Mo Rehman from MotorsportWeek.com and myself were looking to chat to Oliver Jarvis, so we decided to work together and effectively do a double interview, over a plate of cheese and croissants. Just as we wrapped that up, and thanked Ollie for his time, I noticed Ben Keating taking a seat at the far end of the room, and made a beeline straight for him.
Having a chance to chat to Ben one-on-one was an absolute wonder; you could feel his passion and excitement in every facial expression and hand gesture, as he described to me how the LMP2 car felt different compared to driving a GT car around Le Mans. In that moment, I forgot that I had a job to do – I was just a fan lucky enough to be in that room, and having that chat.
*****
A quick exit from Pesage to beat the works for the parade on Saturday brought us to the track, to get set up in the media centre ahead of the test day, and the week of Le Mans. We crossed the bridge from the parking, walked past the groups setting up the merchandising, and stepped up to the concrete amphitheatre that is the main grandstand.
And for a moment, time stood still.
Sensing my excitement and wonder, Graham pulled me into the paddock after we’d set up in the media centre. Encouraging me to just be a fan, he took me up and down the lane, pointing out all the special sights and trivia as we walked up to pit exit. Seeing the Michelin tower at one end made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, and the Le Mans signage on pit entry – the painted lettering on the tarmac – legitimately took my breath away. It was so utterly awe-inspiring.
The media centre at Le Mans is an incredible place to be (Oh to be a Le Mans newbie again! Dep Ed). The long building, with rows upon rows of desks, rooms set up off to the side, fold-out workstations against the window, with screens in every eyeline of every direction. And just when you think you’ve gotten to the end of it, there’s a doorway hiding the whole thing, repeated once again. All in all, the media centre spans half the length of the pit building, and come race day it was absolutely crammed.
On Test Day, however, it was nearly empty. A few small groups – just like ours – dotted around, taking in the first sight of cars on track. We were right down the far end of the room, perched just above the Porsche Penske pit box, with a clear view of the starting gantry on one side and the race lights on the other. Like everything that had happened so far that week, I was pinching myself just being there.
Later in the week, I was given leave alongside Martin Little and RJ O’Connell to watch one of the night practice sessions from trackside. We worked our way up to Tertre Rouge, getting to the outside of the sweeping corner just before the green flag, and waited for the field to be released in our direction. I didn’t realise, but you can see the silhouettes of cars coming over the hill at Dunlop from Tertre Rouge, and as the headlights and engines punctuated the landscape, I readied myself for the cars whipping through my favourite corner on the track.
And gees, was that something special. Seeing the Hypercars pinned on the limit, body rolling over the left side suspension, launching over the bumps and then roaring away in the distance was a visceral experience, especially when the Cadillac came through!
As the darkness set in, we moved to the inside of the track, and tried our hand at taking some better-than-expected panning shots as the cars crossed in front of us, before watching the headlights fall down the Forest Esses in the darkness.
However, my favourite part of the whole night was convincing Le Mans and DSC veteran Martin Little, who was lukewarm at best about joining RJ and myself for our trip trackside, to come out and be our chaperone for the evening. His initial distain for taking care of two Le Mans first-timers were not helped by the long walk out to Tertre Rouge, but once the first Hypercars slung their way through the corner at speed, he was as excited as RJ and I to be out there.
Sharing the photos we were taking, commenting on little features we’d observed, and taking in every vantage point possible for the next two hours was an awesome time, and once we’d stopped for a crepe at the end of the session, the sheer joy on my face was matched by the old fellow as well.
“I’d forgotten how much fun that is!” he said to me afterwards. And to think he was almost going to stay and write a report instead!
*****
Le Mans was the first event I’d worked as part of a reporting team. To start with, it was myself under the watchful eye of both Graham Goodwin and Stephen Kilbey, with photographers David Lord, Pedro May, plus Andrew ‘Skippy’ Hall across Pesage and the Test Day.
Come race week, Graham moved on to the TV team and wouldn’t be part of DSC for the week, leaving the operation in Stephen’s hands, but we were joined by RJ O’Connell and Martin Little to form a quartet of reporters. The dynamics of working in a team environment were entirely different to what I was used to, and especially this team.
From the outset, it was clear that everyone in the group wanted to have fun. The nicknames, the sometimes not-so-gentle ribbing, and the laughter set a great platform, even as all the different personalities came out over the week. I settled very quickly into being obnoxiously excited about every possible thing, playing off the ‘experienced’ (read: jaded) complaints around me, but I also wanted to soak up every bit of everyone’s different experiences, as they shared stories like veterans around the dinner table.
From the outset, it was clear that everyone in the group wanted to have fun
A group dinner on Monday, joined by world feed commentator Martin Haven, world feed editor David “Dangerous” Smith, and Danish reporter Jens Jensen was an absolute delight, with laughs, snippets of advice, and genuinely great conversation the whole way around.
It made the environment a positive and productive one, with a great balance between work and play. The Monday between the Test Day and race week was a perfect example; the trio of photographers spent the rainy day ticking off their checklist of clients, while sharing their… maybe less professional (but hilarious) shots from around the day, while Stephen and I worked on picking apart the data from the test.
There was always an opportunity to ask for a second set of eyes, or a second opinion, always someone willing to lend support or advice, and after the investment of a supermarket kettle and the presence of Lordy and Martin, always a cup of tea on offer. Even now, I still hear Lordy’s booming voice asking if I wanted a “Cuppa splosh?” every time I make a cup of tea.
With the support of an incredible group around me, and the increasing intensity of the on-track action, I was feeling confident heading into the race week that my first Le Mans experience was going to be a great one.
And then I got sick. Le Mans was going to be more challenging than I had anticipated…
