Le Mans Classic 2012 Pictures Gallery 2

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GALLERY 1

GALLERY 2

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So my buddy this trip has a telephoto lens I can snap onto by old G9 canon digital camera, and, well, I needed a reason to try it out ...funny thing about auto foci, it missed the scooter handlebars and focused in on the bit of fluff posing in the booth beyond ... perhaps this telephoto lens business is harder than it looks ... hmmm, must keep trying ...

The race organizers have taken the Parisian Bureau d' Atmospherics and sent them over the top building a funfair atmosphere... we've got old Willy's jeeps and folks in all sorts of vehicles shuttling event-goers and pilots between the pits and various gathering places ...

Too bad about the weather though, when a torrential downpour erupts this year we scamper for cover and the umbrella's come out in force ... and an old military jeep always has a rag top available ...

Pity the poor morgan driver's with no time to put their roof up, but a quick deployment of an umbrella and all is well as they arrive into the dedicated French Morgan Club parking inside the track

As the sun breaks through the drying clothes are deployed and the cheesecake is re-deployed. This year is an homage to the 'american friends' and plenty of americana and, err, 'merican 'muscle' is on display ... the Shelby Cobra behind the inconveniently placed girl in red is well represented both in the parking lots and in the pits and out on the track ... the passing of the legendary creator, msr carol Shelby who was very successful at this track before retiring with heart problems and building a truly iconic racer:

Raindrops keep falling on my head, but that doesn't mean my brill cream will be running red!, no! crying's not for me! ... with all apologies where necessary ... the digital cams are running and burning pixels as our cheesecake models pose for the crowd of event goers ...

Wherever you have lots of cars and muscle, well, a bit of cheesecake is to be expected ... a quick research for why shows up a properly scholarly article from before the Mad Men became a television show:

www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/display.asp?id=8402 DEFINING SEXUALLY ORIENTED APPEALS IN ADVERTISING: A GROUNDED THEORY INVESTIGATION Tom Reichert, University of North Texas Artemio Ramirez, University of MinnesotaBDuluth ...

ABSTRACT - The sexually oriented appeal is a prevalent, yet poorly defined concept in the study of advertising and message effects. The goal of this exploratory research was to contribute to a more precise understanding of this concept by adopting a grounded theory approach. ... analysis revealed four overarching characteristics of sexy ads: (1) physical features of models (clothing, physique, and general attractiveness), (2) behavior / movement, (3) intimacy between models, and (4) contextual features (e.g., camera effects). ... the basis of these findings a receiver-based definition of sexually oriented appeals is offered, as are suggestions for future research.

How about we dispense with the academia and go with the retro appeal of streamlining and an ice cream dispenser ...

Of course other commercial interests work without selling cheesecake, a Norton thumper is pure eye-popping pr0n to this crowd and pulls them in from near and far to admire the finely crafted Ruby helmets

Ruby also sponsors one of the more commercial lad's blogs thevintagent.blogspot.be/ ... seriously lovely helmets redone the French way, exceedingly apropos at this event ...

And yet more bike porn abounds the grounds ... this little carrier based on a peugeot moto is totally in period and keeping with the spirit ...

Proper engine patina and restorative work on the body ///

Lest we think it is all for show, two girls run it through one of the summer drizzles on their way from somewhere to somewhere, or maybe just for the fun of wandering through the crowds ;-) great wedges for riding shoes and greater fun ...

Of course they also could have been pushing a mobile ice-cream cart, too bad this one was just for show, as the sun would break out periodically a fella could wish for a nice ice cold bit ... they were set up for a repeat of the last time the event was held when it was hotter'n all blazes, but this is a colder and wetter event ...

Although a fair amount of cheesecake, and your eyes may have been drawn to the silver spangly bits in this photo, may I draw your attention to the two girl guides passing by in the left part of the frame? Lots of kids and their parents enjoying the atmosphere, my traveling companion recalls his first automotive event with his grandfather which installed a life-long avocation and a career in the motoring industry spanning the british marques, the French Peugeot in australie and finally the american Harley ... wonder how many lives are being set at events like these?

And speaking of little ones, the little big mans is a hugely populare event. They have their own paddock and their own cars ... www.lemansclassic.com/en/let-s-go-kids-

Definitely fun for big and small, and I see many adults attempting to see how they too can revisit a halcyon bygone day themselves ... the girl and guy in the little car were have _too_ much fun for a family friendly event, but I encourage you to think who you might like to ride in a miniature car powered by a lawnmower engine and get entirely cosy with ;-)

But these are not just for show, as the torrential summer downpour starts again the tykes hit the tracks, and hard, they have the briggs'n'statton's wound to the rev limiters and the little one in the Bugatti steals the lead (and the show) over the fabled Dunlop curve ...

And there is no rest for the pack leaders as the remaining cars are rip-snorting it up and closely behind ... the sound to two-stroke engines and the blue smoke intermingle with the rain for a true-to-form motoring event ...

Lovingly crafted cars, not sure who has more fun, the builders, the drivers or the spectators ...

Or maybe the race proctors who are paid to wave the various coloured flags, yellow for accident, blue for overtaking and etc, but here they relax and take in the best seats in the house ... wonder how one gets a job doing this at Le Mans ... must be an inherited position I would think ...

Unfortunately one car gives up the ghost on the way up the hill, however as a 'gentleman's ' race a car stops to pick him up and I hope a lifelong friendship is formed as we drive two-up to finish the race!

As they day wears longer, the kids have more energy and fun than the law should allow, perhaps it does not show, but the fatigue on the attendant mom's face was evident just before this shot was taken and is still in her posture (be it ever so correct). She is being patient and the kids are having a _great_ time ... I might add, kids of all ages are having a great time at the funfair at the classic ...

I leave you with a spot of the French Bleau , in case there was any doubt, out in the car park, when I return to pick up a recharging gsm phone to call home, a blue Citroen deux chevaux , bottles off the vine and a bleau cooler and friends having a piknic among gorgeous cars ... is there any doubt where we are?

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