Le Mans 2005 (DVD)

...it or hate it. Le Mans, that is. Well I was there in June 2005, watching this race. I was also there in June 2004, and June 2003, and...... OK, OK, so I'm a Le Mans nut. 2005 was my 20th consecutive visit to Le Mans - every year since 1986. And I run my own website for my photos too.... And I moderate a sportscar website.... So, I guess I have reasonable credentials for reviewing the DVD.

The annual Le Mans highlights/review DVD was ...
...on the magnificent Sportseen Radio Le Mans videos, is the added-on commentary. I can always tell, you see...... and it irks with me. Still, on watching the video, I did feel that the commentary was a bit better this year than in some previous years.

Its a good video to watch once, if you're just a casual motor racing fan, perhaps an F1 fan wanting to dip a toe into the exciting world of sportscars - but its absolutely essential viewing ... more

They say you either love it or hate it. Le Mans, that is. Well I was there in June 2005, watching this race. I was also there in June 2004, and June 2003, and...... OK, OK, so I'm a Le Mans nut. 2005 was my 20th consecutive visit to Le Mans - every year since 1986. And I run my own website for my photos too.... And I moderate a sportscar website.... So, I guess I have reasonable credentials for reviewing the DVD.

The annual Le Mans highlights/review DVD was maded by Duke Marketing, a famous purveyor of motor racing (and other) videos and DVDs. They can be found at www.dukevideo.com. The DVD has an excellent running time of 135 minutes, not quite up to the 24 hours itself, but it covers the full event, from the technical scrutineering of the cars and driver (!) which takes place during the week before the race, through the the qualifying sessions (a bit too much of the scrutineering and not quite enough of the first wet practice session for my taste...), and then on to the race itself, which runs from 4 pm on Saturday to 4 pm on Sunday.

The video captures most of the important on-track action this year. In past years it's been surprising how often important developments in the race, like even major shunts have been missed. But then the footage itself is generally taken from the French TV coverage.

The biggest bugbear for me, brought up during the late 80s and early 90s on the magnificent Sportseen Radio Le Mans videos, is the added-on commentary. I can always tell, you see...... and it irks with me. Still, on watching the video, I did feel that the commentary was a bit better this year than in some previous years.

Its a good video to watch once, if you're just a casual motor racing fan, perhaps an F1 fan wanting to dip a toe into the exciting world of sportscars - but its absolutely essential viewing (many times) for the Le Mans addict. So, surprise surprise, I have them all - since 1986........ 

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