I found a tape; Le Mans 1990

After finding a home-video tape, I found myself on a nostalgic journey, and felt compelled to portray my childhood memories of my times at Le Mans, specifically my first time in 1990. The 24 hours of Le Mans is an annual endurance motor race held near the French town of Le Mans. The noise, the smells, the banter, the beer, the craziness, it was carnage and a lot to take in for a 7 year old. Perhaps those times hanging out with my dad and his mates had an impact on me that goes beyond just my enjoyment of drinking beer. They created lasting memories of friendship, laughter, fun and a little mischief. In the article The Filth and the Fury of the 24 hours of Le Mans, Mike Guy writes ’The weirdest drama at Le Mans often unfolds on the unwashed side of the catch fence.’ And goes on to say…’unlike a Formula 1 race, Le Mans isn’t about hotels and caviar. It’s a carnival, a bacchanal, a free-for-all. It’s a place where it’s okay, really, man, just do it, to piss in public after a few drinks’. Of course it wasn’t all about getting drunk, although there is the 1953 drunken tale of British drivers Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt who won the race three sheets to the wind! The Group C series of cars are often regarded as the golden age of the sport with nostalgic admiration. They were untamed mechanical beasts. The 1990 race saw the British car, the Jaguar XJR-12, entered by a British team, with a British driver, triumph in a duel with Nissan. It was also notably the first year that chicanes were added to the 6 km Mulsanne Straight, where previously cars had reached nearly 400kmh. So this is it, 24 heures du Mans 1990… Credit to my dad for taking the 35mm stills, and Video8 footage, and also to some of the archive sources that helped to recount my memories, fill the gaps, and paint the picture of the early 90s Le Mans experience, especially @24ericerac on Youtube.