LM24 Le Mans repair/tool kits

broadrun96 · 13 Jun 2007, 12:43 (Ref:1935901)

Do any of the car currently running carry on-board tools as the cars of the past used to or are they all so into weight savings that the tools were ditched for the savings? I remember some team a few years ago showing off a tool kit but can't remember if they said the ran with it or not.

Mindspin13B · 13 Jun 2007, 13:30 (Ref:1935933)

What would they do? Pull over on Mulsanne and start wrenching?

AU N EGL · 13 Jun 2007, 13:42 (Ref:1935947)

Many years ago rule required a small tool kit. No more. Car is just towed back the pits.

Besides the reliablity of the moden race car is exceptional.

rcarr · 13 Jun 2007, 13:46 (Ref:1935949)

According to the regs they still carry a tool kit.

I remember Johnny Dumfries attempting to fix a supposed broken driveshaft with a pair of pliers in 1989!

**Craig** · 13 Jun 2007, 15:51 (Ref:1936031)

A couple of years ago, when the Spyker blew up coming into Indianapolis, we took advantage of the mayhem at Arnage to head through the woods to have ourselves a look. We were amazed to find ourselves stood trackside with no-one challenging us at all for several minutes. When we were asked to leave the area we stood behind the armco and watched as the driver took out a tiny bundle of very basic tools and, taking instructions over his mobile, made a futile attempt to repair the car.

So, yes, the cars carry toolkits.

Martin Bull · 13 Jun 2007, 16:48 (Ref:1936063)

I can't remember the race ( it may not even have been Le Mans ) but I always rather enjoyed the story of when the late Mike Hailwood was racing for John Wyer. The car DNF'd and when it was towed back after the race, the mechanics found a detached ignition wire and had the car running again within minutes.

'Mike' said a tetchy Wyer, 'Couldn't you have at least checked around under the engine bonnet ?'

'Check around ? Check around ? ' fumed Hailwood, 'I don't even know how to open the ****** bonnet !'......

**FIRE** · 13 Jun 2007, 17:05 (Ref:1936068)

A few years ago Coronel (?) had problems and "found" some tools near the car.

**FIRE** · 13 Jun 2007, 17:07 (Ref:1936069)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcarr

According to the regs they still carry a tool kit.

I remember Johnny Dumfries attempting to fix a supposed broken driveshaft with a pair of pliers in 1989!

Last week ESPN Classic showed the hightlights of this race. Dumfries was fixing the problems with half a dozen of Japanese mechanics around the car. They could only give advice but were not allowed to touch the car.

rcarr · 13 Jun 2007, 17:22 (Ref:1936089)

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIRE

Last week ESPN Classic showed the hightlights of this race. Dumfries was fixing the problems with half a dozen of Japanese mechanics around the car. They could only give advice but were not allowed to touch the car.

They couldn't bring any special tools or spare parts either!

Splendid Cat · 13 Jun 2007, 19:08 (Ref:1936211)

Pescarolo fixed his Sauber Mercedes in 87 with an onboard toolkit. His mechanics never gave him a chance and had started to pack up when he eventually got his car back to the pits

**Aysedasi** · 13 Jun 2007, 22:09 (Ref:1936390)

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIRE

Last week ESPN Classic showed the hightlights of this race. Dumfries was fixing the problems with half a dozen of Japanese mechanics around the car. They could only give advice but were not allowed to touch the car.

And then he drove away with the lead to a video camera stuck around the wheel or something......

It drew one of my favourite coments from RLMs Ian Titchmarsh -

'Last year's winner, this year's mechanic......'

**FIRE** · 14 Jun 2007, 09:59 (Ref:1936722)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

And then he drove away with the lead to a video camera stuck around the wheel or something......

Indeed

smh · 14 Jun 2007, 18:45 (Ref:1937048)

All the cars I've worked on had some sort of a toolkit, although it was very basic. Variety of Tyraps, a torch, screwdriver, pliers ,headset extension and a mobile phone wrapped in bubble wrap - one year we put one in a plastic bag and it was ruined after the race!
Problem is with most of the cars, the bodywork is difficult to remove and it also depends on the drivers mechanical ability. Though HC once told me of one driver that ripped the loom from the rear of the car to lash a broken rear wishbone together....

djb · 14 Jun 2007, 19:02 (Ref:1937064)

the Audis have a little kit in their cars, I've seen the one from the R8 from 2004. That year, the Morgan went off at Indiannapolis with a fuel problem (pump or something) at around midnight, I was around there at the time right at Arnage and wasn't aware of it--had taken the RLM earplug out! --damn--and when I was walking back towards where I could get a lift back to the Mulsanne, the Morgan pulled out of the runoff area right in front of me and scrambled back onto the track. Surprised the hell out of me and I didn't even have time to take a photo which was really an example of being at the right place at the right time but having no clue of what was coming and my flash was in a pocket at the time!!! At the time I was quite knackered, having been on my feet and schlepping since before the start and had decided to get back for a wee nap before dawn....but the young driver had apparantly fixed the pump or whatever it was and the car finished the race, so the "anything can happen and it usually does" Murrayism applies to LM too.

so yes, mechanics can go to the car, but the regs state a certain distance they must keep from it (a metre or two IIRC) and can tell the driver what to do etc, but absolutely no objects can be passed to the car etc. This comes from the various "appearing tools out of the woods" scenarios that have happened, even one I remember reading about with a driver gettiing water from a nearby house to refill the rad, no-nos today.

smh · 14 Jun 2007, 19:24 (Ref:1937092)

In reality, Ive spoken to british marshalls at LeMans and theyve said if the car breaks down, tell the driver to get to post xx, where basically they'd turn a blind eye..... There are very few places where mechanics can get to the car anyway due to fences etc but if the mechanic touches the car its excluded from the race.

Ace Daddy · 15 Jun 2007, 18:31 (Ref:1937870)

A sort of related question, does anyone know the last year the cars were required to carry a spare tire?

Erki · 15 Jun 2007, 18:52 (Ref:1937889)

Spare tyre in a prototype?

Ace Daddy · 15 Jun 2007, 18:57 (Ref:1937892)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erki

Spare tyre in a prototype?

I know they were still required in the late 60's. Im sure it was stopped shortly after that but not exactly sure when.

djb · 15 Jun 2007, 19:24 (Ref:1937900)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

It drew one of my favourite coments from RLMs Ian Titchmarsh -

'Last year's winner, this year's mechanic......'

The young Morgan driver fit the bill for this as earlier in the week, must have been qually, the car had a buggered rear end or somthing (boy that came out wrong, wasn't even intentional!) and I seem to remember the drivers working on the car, on their backs under the car, grease and oil all over them, just as much as the "mechanics". Seeing that made me fond of the team as it was obviously a very small budgeted effort (comparabley) and everyone did their bit.

one of my favorite shots of that year was at the entry to the Porsche curves, the Morgan was setting itself over to let the ADT Audi go by and you could see the Morgan driver's eyes on his rear mirror watching the onrushing Audi--it was such a great contrast of modern vs seemingly 1950's on the same track, very odd and as such, made the Morgan a crowd fav.

minimangler · 17 Jun 2007, 10:23 (Ref:1939640)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcarr

According to the regs they still carry a tool kit.

I remember Johnny Dumfries attempting to fix a supposed broken driveshaft with a pair of pliers in 1989!

Didn't he end up driving away with a camera attached?

Oops. Ayedasi already noticed.grr.

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