Petit Le Mans, Panoz, And Clean Diesel Aficionados

Editor Sawyer sent me this commentary from Road Atlanta.

“For years stick-and-ball sports have had their share of face painters and guys who wear multi-colored wigs while holding up placards with selected verses from the Bible. Racing, however, is a little different. And the proof of that is in this photo taken at the rain-shortened Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta last weekend.

“Over the previous two weeks, the area had been deluged with nearly 10 inches of rain, but Friday dawned hot and muggy with the temperature near 90 degrees and humidity you could cut with a knife. Peugeot stole the pole, but that didn’t deter Audi’s fans, some of whom showed unshakeable faith in the ability of the R15 and its drivers to vanquish the French during the 1,000 mile/10-hour race. Unfortunately, Saturday dawned with a thick overcast that gave way to heavy cloud cover and rain. Lots of rain. It was enough to wash the red clay down off the hills, and wash some of the hills down onto the track. Puddles turned into streams and streams into rivers, forcing race officials to red flag the race before eventually calling it complete after a four-hour delay. Peugeot was in the lead, giving it victory over the Audi R15s, and dashing the hopes of these cold and rain-soaked young men.”

Little did Editor Sawyer know, but the kid on the far left is the eldest son of one of my old pals from Buckhead–and the kid is a star lacrosse and ice hockey goalie. Approach with caution or you might lose your front teeth. At last year’s Petit Le Mans, this young man not only collected used tires off the Audi, but the team gave him a piece of busted-up bodywork. You think he’ll buy an Audi Clean Diesel after he completes studies at Georgia Tech? Let’s hope the California Air Resources Board is disbanded so more Clean Diesels can be produced and sold in the US.

And by the way, Editor Sawyer was hosted at Petit Le Mans by none other than Don Panoz.

Tagged as: Audi, Don Panoz, Petit Le Mans