Webber, Hoy join colourful cast tackling ‘the beast’

Former Formula One great Mark Webber joins a colourful cast of professional drivers, Hollywood royalty, a celebrated Olympic cyclist, and a quadruple amputee in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race this weekend.
The 84th edition of the event Webber calls “a beast of a race” will draw its annual 250,000 plus crowd of fans to the city in the Sarthe renowned for the production of one of French cuisines specialities - rillettes.
The 2016 Le Mans is being staged in a country in the midst of Euro 2016, with French police on high alert to thwart brawling hooligans repeating the scenes of ugly clashes in Marseille and Lens this week.
Barring the odd good-natured ruckus over a missing water bottle, a ripped sleeping bag or bent tent pole authorities in Le Mans can rest easy as the tens of thousands of petrol heads joyfully soak in the heady mix of high octane racing dished up at the circuit de la Sarthe.
Webber returns after a second place finish last year as Porsche enjoyed a 1-2 for their 17th win after an absence of 17 years.
Early practice suggests Webber, in Porsche’s No.1 car with Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard, and the team’s second car driven by Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb, are in good shape for a repeat.
The two Porsches topped the times in practice on Wednesday ahead of arch rivals and 13-time winners Audi and Toyota, seeking a maiden success.
Former Red Bull driver Webber, 39, is deeply conscious of the fabled place Le Mans holds in motorsport.
“As one of the most unique motorsport events worldwide, you really can feel its history. You only have to mention some of the amazing sections of the track and memories from years gone by come flooding back.”
The grizzled Aussie added: “There’s a very special atmosphere too.
“There’s a real festival feel with such amazing support from the fans who always turn out in their droves and show the same levels of endurance as the teams and drivers.
“It’s an incredible spectacle to drive at night and see all the banks and stands still packed to the rafters.”
Webber and the rest of the 2016 Le Mans grid start their four-wheeled odyssey at 1500 local time (1300GMT), racing through dusk, night and dawn towards the bleary-eyed 1500 local time (1300GMT) finish on Sunday.
Cars lap up the circuit at an average speed of over 250kph with the longest distance ever covered equivalent to a round trip from Le Mans to Moscow, with insomniac supporters, fuelled by barbeques and beer, keeping in touch with the action via the circuit’s Le Mans radio.
American actor Patrick Dempsey, who shot to fame as Dr Derek Shepherd in hospital drama Grey’s Anatomy, is making his fifth appearance after filling second in the GTE-Am class in a Porsche 12 months ago.
Continuing the Hollywood theme, box office heavyweight Brad Pitt will wave the starting flag.
Cycling royalty is represented by British six time Olympic gold medal hero Chris Hoy, who swops two wheels for four on his Le Mans debut.
The 40-year-old from Edinburgh is driving a Nissan-powered Algarve Pro Racing Ligier in the second tier LM P2 category.
Hoy is quick to dispel doubters who regard his presence as a publicity stunt, telling Scotland’s The Herald: “I’ve worked at it. It’s basically been three-and-a-half years of my life working towards this moment.
“So hopefully people will see the results; they’ll see that I have taken it seriously, that I’ve given it the respect it deserves.”
Hoy, who first raced with Nissan in 2014 after retiring from cycling, has been fascinated by Le Mans ever since being given a model racing set as a child.
“I remember getting a Scalextric track when I was five or six. One of the cars had headlights on it.
“I remember asking my dad why and he said ‘that’s for the Le Mans 24 Hour race — they race through the night’.
Two women drivers, France’s Ines Taittinger and Dane Christina Nielson, are also on the grid, along with French businessman Frederic Sausset.
The 48-year-old had his arms and legs amputated in July 2012 after picking up a rare but potentially fatal bacterial disease on vacation. He becomes the first quadruple amputee to drive in the storied but gruelling event, claiming he needs to “give new meaning to my life”.