Thumbs up to La Sarthe

Sir,

I greatly enjoyed your articles on Le Mans in the February issue. Gordon Spice reckons that Jean Rondeau was “a bit of a madster” – he was not the only one.

Some buddies and I were at a loose end after our University exams in 1980 so I suggested we might hitch to Le Mans. 18 lifts and a night under a motorway bridge later we were there. 

Your photo of Rondeau on the straight in the rain brings back strong memories – he was a lot drier than I was: it rained all the way over and most of the way back as well as much of the race. 

But what a race: 26 years later I’m still waiting for another like it. Three of the original four of us set off again the next June, and we are now on a second generation. 

It is traditional to close letters with the words “happy days”. My one photo from my first Le Mans suggests other. Were the old days really better or were they miserable? I’m in two minds… 

Ian Mann, Divonne, France