The Long Long Race

Today's USA Today has a nice write up about Patrick Long, the only American member of the Porsche factory racing roster. Long will be in a GT2 911 this weekend at the 77th 24 Hours of Le Mans. He's a multiple time Le Mans winner, but will face a host of Ferrari 430s this year that will make any win difficult.

At the front of the pack, its another chapter in the rivalry between Audi and Peugeot and their turbo diesel prototypes. The wild card? The three-car entry from Aston Martin, with the company's V-12 in a series of Lola coupes. I'll be pulling for the Astons, as I've got a soft spot in my heart for British V-12 prototypes dating back to the awesome Jaguar XJR-12. Besides, how can you not love a car that looks like this (photo via Wikipedia Commons):


Speed's coverages kicks off at 8:30 Saturday morning.