Ayse's Story - Le Mans 1988
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I have few memories of Sunday at Le Mans in 1988. We made our by now customary trip out to Mulsanne Corner, and watched the Jaguar #2 race down the hours to a famous victory.
On the way back from the circuit, as always, everything is clouded in the mists of deep sleep, however I do remember blasting along the French motorway in driving rain, (which started literally moments after we left the circuit), on the way back to St. Symphorien des Monts, once again. On route, we stopped at Ernée for coffee and to allow Ian and Robert to wake up again! The result was a team photograph outside the cafe there, a mirror image of that taken in 1987, with myself fortunately in much better spirits than I had been at this time the year before!
After an excellent meal at Le Rotisserie Normande once again, we stayed overnight at Le Relais du Bois Leger, before heading off again in the morning.
On the Monday we headed straight back to Caen, as two of the team, Alan and Dave were keen to get back home as soon as possible. They did everything they could to gain foot passage on a ferry at lunchtime, but all to no avail. Eventually we left Caen and headed off again to see the sights, including the Pegasus Bridge at Benouville, the sight of heroic exploits by British soldiers in the second world war.
After leaving there, we headed back towards Caen again, stopping off at picturesque Honfleur for a meal at a restaurant called La Tortue, before we caught the night boat back to Portsmouth.
So, without doubt, 1988 was the best Le Mans so far for me. With none of the ailments of 1987, the Jaguar victory provided the icing on the cake. After my third visit to Le Mans, I was already beginning to feel like an "old hand"!
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