At this point the cars competing in the Le Mans 24 Hours leave the comfort of the permanent circuit and spill out onto the public highway, onto the RN138 to be precise.The first difference with our drive is the speed. Of course now it is no longer just a straight piece of highway. However all that changed a few years ago, mainly as a response to the carnage on the roads, with the death toll that was over 6,000 per annum.

He is an experienced road tester and highly respected by the motor industry, thus we can usually get something a bit tasty to travel in.

Temple Of Speed>> The Mulsanne Straight. By TheSpeedhunters. You know he shouldn't fall but you are drawn to watch because he just might. Well for the English speakers anyway, the French call it Les Hunaudieres after the area that surrounds that part of the circuit but we will continue with Mulsanne.The road takes its nickname from the village that marks the southern part of the present circuit of Les Vinqt-Quatre Heures du Mans. at about 405-407 Km/h (sources differ on the exact speed). You know he shouldn't fall but you are drawn to watch because he just might.I am being greedy, I know. ... (Fastest F1 lap at the time). Porsche 917 LH – 250.069 km/h (1971) It is amazing how 917 was fast and powerful. The Mulsanne Straight (Ligne Droite des Hunaudières in French) is the name used in English for a formerly 6 km (3.7 mi) long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe around which the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race takes place. at least in gt.Speedhunters is an international collective of photographers, writers and drivers with a shared passion for uncovering the world's most exciting car culture stories.We're always very interested to hear your own stories as well as to receive your feedback. SHARE Temple Of Speed>> The Mulsanne Straight . The exercise for Photos of the Year was supposed to be a selection of my fav,Our own Michael Jennings does his bit to stave off a new Ice Age by his almost obsessive amounts of globe-trotting, and I cannot compete with that, but I did my little bit at the weekend, as did a lot of other crazy people, by attending this event in.those annoying chicanes still can be pass through rite? Cynics might also say that the crackdown was partly inspired by the massive tax revenues easily obtainable from motorists as evidenced by the UK regime.

We had a thread in rec.autos.sport.f1 about that subject around May, 22, 1997. Maximum Speeds @ Le Mans, 1961-1990 Data courtesy of Autotechnica, the 1990 Le Mans 24 Annual .Adding to these risks was the state of the surface back in the late 80s with tram lines being worn in the road by the daily traffic which would cause the drivers all manner of problems at over 200mph.So two chicanes were introduced and a tradition ended.The relentless pace of development and the embracing by Europeans of the out of town shopping experience has led to a huge growth in the number of stores either side of the RN138. This place had been the scene of many accidents and given the velocity at that point they were always serious, occasionally fatal. This time he came up with a DB9 from the folks at Aston Martin.Given that there are four examples of this fine beast racing in the GT1 class it seemed high appropriate for us to make the story around the green machine. Since 1990, the straight is interrupted by two chicanes, with the last section (that includes a slight right turn known as the "Kink") leading to a sharp corner near the village of Mulsanne. The road stretches ahead till the first landmark come into view with the two restaurants, Auberge Hunaudieres and Shanghai des 24 Heures. Lord knows what pulling nigh on 250mph at night would be like, not to mention dealing with the traffic and slower cars.Then on past the Arbor d’ Mulsanne and onto the brakes in preparation for the Mulsanne Corner, the site of the old signalling pits and the point at which the track starts the trek back to the pits and the end of the lap.If you get the chance to try this yourself do…………..there are ghosts in the trees and along the barriers, the spirit of the world’s greatest race is found down the Mulsanne……………….We have a couple of You Tube links of Le Mans and the Mulsanne, for you to enjoy.Wow, intense is the only word to describe that RC90 ride,Cool post John, we were directed down the Mulsanne straight as we left our campsite on Sunday, strange to think that only an hour or so before cars would be flat-out at 200+.I was at the 1990 race, had blagged my way into the Nissan hospitality area in Le Village, drinking Japanese beer when it became clear that Blundell was on a very hot lap. He blasted down all 3.7 miles of the rough, un-chicaned, knuckle-whitening Mulsanne Straight at 400 kph—248 miles per hour—for a few laps before he … Please,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lMItc4cy8U,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWeLuglJr9I,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyDdIdQEYH4,http://www.speedhunters.com/forums/t/369.aspx. Even in a road car there is a considerable change of direction. Safety concerns and political interference from the FIA meant that two chicanes were installed in time for the 1990 race. It used to be the main link between two cities and had a Route Nationale designation but with the opening of a new Autoroute it has slipped to D level.The D338, the artist formerly known as RN138, has a little secret……….like a Clarke Kent it has a mundane, totally ordinary appearance for most of the time but once or twice a year it slips the bounds of convention and becomes……The Mulsanne Straight or simply “The Mulsanne”.