By Passat to Le Mans

A Norwegian-registered Porsche 911 GT3, closely related to the Porsches that won both GT classes, at rest in the campsite

THIS year marked my 26^th visit to the world’s greatest motor race, and as has become custom for the last 20 years, camping was the order of the day so my son’s VW Passat 1.6 TDI station wagon was well-laden on its Tuesday afternoon departure from the UK for France, via the Channel Tunnel.

An overnight stop in the ultra-sleepy village of Wissant, just south of Calais, marked something of a step back in time as nothing appeared to be open at 20.00 hours despite the prime location on the shores of the English Channel.

A prolonged search on foot eventually led us to a simply-furnished restaurant that served simply excellent food and ice-cold beer, so all was well as the sun set over the sea at around 22.00 hours.

More importantly as far as a motoring column is concerned, we were on the road again at 07.00 on Wednesday morning, utilising the brilliant French autoroutes that have become something of an attraction for gendarmes wielding radar guns.

The fair-weather limit on these sparsely-populated roads is 130 km/h with a 20 km/h reduction should there be any precipitation, but in the belief – perhaps false – that the gendarmerie may allow a little leeway, the adaptive cruise control on the Passat was set to 90 mph (145 km/h).  Given normal speedo errors, this probably represents a true 139 km/h.

The famous Gulf livery adorned many racing Porsches. This brand new 911 Turbo S was wrapped accordingly but with the addition of scorch marks and road detritus! Each to his own!

Older readers will surely be familiar with the lethargic performance of past-generation diesels but rest assured that modern turbo technology, allied to electronic injection controls, has transformed the characteristics of today’s diesels.

The Passat station wagon is no shrinking violet when it comes to size so it would not be unreasonable to expect a mere 1 600cc lump to struggle at these sort of velocities, but happily that is not the case at all. Indeed, the opposite is true as far as maintaining a constant speed is concerned, with the rev counter hovering around 2 500 rpm which makes for remarkably relaxed cruising.

The biggest benefit is reaped in terms of lack of visits to “filling stations.” Despite the rather rapid cruising pace, the digital readout showed a consistent 46mpg (6.1l/100km) which allows a range of around 1 000 km. At no stage was there the slightest sign of exhaust smoke and nairy a whiff of diesel fumes entered the cabin.

Just about the only negative I can muster against this particular model is that regaining momentum at higher speeds is hardly an exhilarating experience, but who would expect anything different from a mere 1.6 litre displacement?

Truth be known, the Passat is one of southern Africa’s best-kept secrets, unlike in Europe where it’s comfortably the best-seller in its class. Indeed, it occupies a position in the top 10 best-sellers on a global basis, so it seems the rest of the world knows a good thing when it sees it.

Given that VW Group brands have won 33 of the 86 Le Mans event run, it was appropriate that many models on view in the campsite originated from the same source. Here a Lamborghini and
a Bentley bask side by side.

Take my word for it that Wolfsburg’s middle-class contender punches way above its weight when it comes to standard of finish, space and overall refinement. It may not be “exciting” to coin a description so-beloved of many scribes. but as an ownership proposition, it verges on the unbeatable especially when purchase price is taken into consideration.

So it was that we arrived in Le Mans happily free of any speeding tickets, and feeling as fresh as daisies after some 700 km thanks to the Passat’s aforementioned comforts. A visit to the wonderfully-well-stocked Super U store to acquire copious supplies of meat and amber nectar preceded the rather tedious process of tent erection in our verdant campsite which apparently had been the recipient of two weeks’ worth of constant rainfall.

The benefits of this liquid dousing came in the ease with which tent pegs could be put to work but frankly, the scheduled 16.00 start of the first practice and qualifying sessions of the 86^th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was foremost in our minds.

Having said that, allow me to state that expectations for this year’s race were at an unusual low – a relative term to be sure – owing to the composition of the field at the top level which is known in the trade as LMP1.

Ostensibly as a result of a desire to participate at official level in the global Formula E series for all-electric racers, but more truthfully because of the need to cut expenses in the wake of the over-hyped diesel scandal that has rocked the VW Group, there were no Porsches in the LMP1 field.

The VW Passat 1.6 TDI that carried us to Le Mans, photographed on the Channel Crossing between Folkestone and Calais

The departure of the 2015/16/17 winners followed that of multiple winners Audi at the end of 2016, an unfortunate situation which left Toyota all on its own in the top-level Hybrid category. Consider if you will that in the late 80s and well into the 90s, the then top category sported up to six manufacturers and as many 30 out-and-out racers.

Now, with just two entries at the top of the pile, rules were bent to allow non-hybrid racers to compete at LMP1 level, but the few privateer teams that took up the challenge were closely regulated to ensure that they could not compete on level terms with the two Toyotas.

Indeed, memory tells me that by half distance, the Toyotas held a lead of some 11 laps over the nearest non-hybrid challengers, so pressure was not a factor as far as the Toyota Cologne team was concerned. Nonetheless, just to finish at Le Mans is an achievement in itself so Toyota must have felt great relief to achieve an easy one-two – their first win in some 20 factory-led attempts -even if the  256 000-strong crowd felt deprived and spent notably more time than usual occupying themselves with peripheral attractions.

The second tier of sports cars, designated LMP2, is occupied by a horde of privately-entered closed-top machines with no specific factory identity and the fact that the on-track “winner” of the class was subsequently disqualified for a fuel-filling infringement, hardly raised a ripple. For sure, this class fills the ranks with some pretty potent machinery, but the lack of identity ensures that crowd interest is largely devoid of passion even if the teams race their respective hearts out.

It was the GT ranks that attracted the most interest this year with entries from Ford, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche and Corvette vying to take honours in what are called the PRO and AM classes.

Nineteen-time, record-breaking overall winner, Porsche, entered no fewer than four 911 RSR models in the PRO category to mark the company’s 70^th anniversary and the company’s commitment to every Le Mans event since 1951 was rewarded with a 1-2 in the elite GT category. That second place was bitterly fought over by the retro-liveried 911 in the colours of a cigarette manufacturer famous for its support of motor racing in the 80s, and two Ford GTs from the USA.

The Passat is seen here in the Le Mans campsite, carrying prophetic signage on its flanks.

After a thrilling battle that raged for 90 minutes around mid-day on Sunday, the Porsche eked out a lead from the Fords and romped home just a lap down on the victorious “Pink Pig” – liveried 911 that carried the famous retro colours of a 1970s Porsche 917 that ran at Le Mans.

Victory also went to a Porsche 911 in the AM category after a flawless run by the privately-entered Dempsey-Proton team from Germany. Yes, that Dempsey name really does belong to the American actor and one-time Le Mans racer, Patrick Dempsey, but of more significance is that one of the pilots of the winning number 77 car is just 18 years old, making Julien Andlauer of Austria the youngest-ever driver to stand on the top step of a Le Mans podium.

Happily, the never-ending rain that fell until the day before this year’s event was flagged off, largely stayed away, so apart from a brief spell of precipitation around 23.00 on Thursday night, the camping and endless walking experience remained unsullied.

Past practice has seen us spend the Sunday night in camp at the circuit, but this year we decided to uplift the tent while the sun was still shining and head back to the UK in one run via the Channel Tunnel. The 700 km journey was again a breeze in the Passat which in a total of some 1700 km, required only one fuel stop.  For sure, there has to be a future for diesel powerplants if only politicians left engineering matters to engineers and ceased using the fossil fuel issue as a springboard to gaining votes.

As far as next year goes, the dates for the Le Mans have already been set – 15/16 June – but the question remains as to whether there will be any opposition for Toyota at the top level. For sure, this race needs the cream at the top if it is to retain its crown as the world’s greatest motor race. We live in hope!