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Le Mans 2013 – Triumph & Tragedy

“This is a professional blood sport, and it can happen to you. Then it can happen to you again.”

Sometimes, unfortunately, life does imitate art as that line uttered by Steve McQueen in the movie “Le Mans” graphically demonstrates.

    The Le Mans winning trio of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Loic Duval by their Audi R18 e-tron quattro. [Photo by Audi Motorsport]


Danish driver Tom Kristensen won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in dramatic fashion, besting not only both of the other two Audi e-tron quattro race cars, but the two factory Toyota Hybid prototypes as well. It was a close and dramatic race, with Kristensen and co-drivers Allan McNish and Loic Duval overcoming fierce competition, changing weather conditions, potential technical glitches and the bad luck that befell their sister cars to win the 81st running of the French endurance classic in grand style. It was a triumph for the ages, with Audi winning Le Mans for the 12th time, and “Mr. Le Mans” Tom Kristensen taking the trophy home for an incredible 9th time.

For as much triumph there is on the side of the winning Audi team, Le Mans exacted it’s payment for the privilege of driving this most classic of all endurance races by taking the life of Danish driver Allan Simonsen on the 4th lap of the race when his Aston Martin crashed heavily at Tetre Rouge. The how and the why doesn’t really matter, does it? One second he was piloting the Aston Martin at speed in a race he loved and the next second he was gone. Just like that.

Since motorsports has gotten so much safer over the years, we have perhaps become complacent about the safety of the sport, the cars and the drivers. How many times have we watched what looked like a massive or fatal accident, only to see the driver emerge uninjured and wave to the crowd? The last time someone was actually killed during the race at Le Mans was in 1986, when Jo Gartner lost his life on the Mulsanne Straight in the middle of the night.

Just like test pilots, race drivers are constantly pushing the envelope – pushing their machines to the limit and sometimes beyond. Most of the time they get away with it, occasionally they do not. Saturday afternoon at Le Mans, Allan Simonsen paid the ultimate price for his commitment to his passion. The next time you watch a race, think about the commitment each driver makes when he straps himself into that car to do battle with the other cars, drivers, the elements and the circuit.

We all live vicariously through the bravery of others, and when we root for our heroes, we ride along with them on the track. Most of the time, they return from their long dangerous journeys unscathed, and we worship them for it. Occasionally, they do not return, and as we were riding along with them, we are diminished by their loss as well. I am sure Allan Simonsen would agree with this famous quote: “At the end of our life, we will regret more the things we didn’t do, rather than the things we did.” Allan Simonsen was doing what he was born to do by racing at Le Mans and had no regrets when he strapped in and started the race that day.

One Dane celebrated on the top step of the podium, while another was lost. We rode with both of them this year at Le Mans and shared both their triumph and tragedy, which is the essence of motorsport.

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