Innovation that Excites
- Corbin Waugh
- Jun 14, 2023
- 3 min read
History of Le Mans
This past weekend I spent time watching the 24 hour Le Mans. If you know motorsports, you know this is the pinnacle of racing. (This could be argued for the Indy 500) This years race consisted of 63 entries, 16 hypercars, 24 LMP2 cars, 21 LMGTE Am cars, and 1 Garage 56 entry.
I have been a fan of motorsports since 2020, but I have never watched the 24 Huers du Mans. This raced peaked my interest because it was the centennial event. I have been to a few motor sporting events but I was truly not prepared for what I was going to watch on TV. This event was truly a spectacule and I dream of visiting this magical place in the future. The fans were truly involved in the race, the drivers were serious for every minute, and the weather conditions threw a wrench in what was already an entertaining event. The rain rolled in around sunset and created a "storm" of cautions and wrecks.
Three Designs that Inspire
The first design that inspired the creative side of my brain was the GR Racing Porsche 911 RSR - 19. GR Racing stands for Gulf Racing Racing. This was what immediately stood out to me. I did some further research and I have found that when the team was founded in 1966 by Vice President of Gulf Oil, Grady Davis. Within the first nine years of the team they had a decorated trophy cabinet. This included three world championships and three outright victories at Le Mans. This team was made famous by Steve McQueen's film 'Le Mans'. This partnership ended in 2011 and the Gulf Oil livery disappeared from the endurance race track. This partnership termination also resulted in the team no longer being allowed to call themselves Gulf Racing. The livery made its long awaited return this weekend as a tribute to the history of the team. The design was accentuated with the modern livery on the left side and the Gulf Oil livery on the right. This inspired me to create an "Announcement" graphic to be posted on social media.
The second design that stuck out to me was the entry from Garage 56. This entry was owned by Hendrick Motorsports. This wasn't the only American entry to the field but it was definitely the most noticeable. This car was a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. This car was based on the modern NASCAR stock car. This car was outfitted with more downforce features than normally allowed, headlights, taillights, hybrid technology, and the cars total weight was reduced by 500 pounds. The car stood out to local onlookers as it sounds completely different from every other car on track. This car was much larger than every other car on track as well. This body style truly reminded me of the old school racing style that influenced what we see as modern racing. This influenced me to create a hand drawn art piece that showed the true accomplishments that this team achieved.
The third car that stuck out to me was the entry from Project I-AO. This livery reminded me of a design you would see on a HotWheels car as a kid. This livery is a bright green with designs that turn this basic green livery into a dinosaur. This team was founded in 2022 and got their Motorsport start in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship. This car was designed by Driver/Team Principal's, PJ Hyett, children. He claims the livery brings a good energy over the car. He also has a unicorn designed helmet who was designed by his daughter. This design shows that although the race is dangerous, serious, and historic. The team wants to bring a element of fun and excitement to the track without even starting the car. This blog will be updated with a custome graphic when I get around to it.
-Corbin
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