Rob Barff’s Le Mans Diary
Day Six – Saturday Disappointment

I'm afraid the race report itself is very short for #91, as we unfortunately retired after only 56 minutes of the 24-hour classic.

I took the start in front of nearly 250,000 spectators - an incredible experience - drove a short first stint to calculate fuel consumption, pitted at 50 minutes and handed over to the car’s owner Richard Stanton.

As Richard came through the Porsche Curves, three quarters of his way around his opening lap he was distracted (maybe even tapped?) by a faster car (apparently one of the little LMP675 WRs) and speared off into the concrete wall at nearly 100 mph.

Richard worked on the car for nearly two hours in searing heat, attempting to repair the rear suspension which had been badly damaged in the impact, but with no external assistance allowed it was an impossible task. At 7pm we officially retired from the race - a huge anticlimax.

There was some consolation in the competitive run from the #92 car. It was well placed throughout, reaching as high as fifth in class before a differential failure ended its run at Midnight.

All in all, a great week but with a disappointing conclusion. TVR will be back I’m sure and I hope I’ll be there with them.