2011 Porsche 911 Carrera S on 2040-cars

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The pre-race and first in-race report from Le Mans

The 2013, 90th anniversary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has begun, tragedy marking the opening laps with the death of Allan Simonsen. We're at the track now as a guest of Audi and plan to stay through the evening, and even we haven't been able to find out what caused the accident - the only video is from just after the incident, and beyond the statement from ACO there's been no more news. The Aston Martin in the LM GTE Am class and its all-Danish drivers had taken pole in its class and was one of the favorites to win.
The pre-race report will come first, and even thought we can't spoil the race because we're only five hours into it at the time of writing, we'll put all of the news at the end in case you don't even want the updates.
Or you can go straight to the high-res galleries above.

Porsche not responsible for Paul Walker and Roger Rodas crash

A US District Court judge has found that Porsche wasn't responsible for the Carrera GT crash that killed Roger Rodas and actor Paul Walker, according to The Detroit News citing the Associated Press. Rodas' widow, Kristine, brought the lawsuit against the German automaker, but the court ruled there was a lack of evidence for her case. "Plaintiff has provided no competent evidence that Rodas' death occurred as a result of any wrongdoing on the part of defendant," US District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez ruled, according to the AP. Rodas' lawyer pledged to appeal the decision. Rodas' lawsuit asserted that the Carrera GT's right rear suspension failed and also cited the Porsche's lack of a proper fuel cell or a crash cage as factors. However, the judge didn't see any evidence for the suspension failure. He also criticized the expert for Rodas' side for analyzing tire marks from over a month after the crash rather than the photos from right after the incident, the AP reports. A 2014 investigation by the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department blamed unsafe speed as the fatal accident's cause. The investigators reported that the Carrera GT was doing between 80 and 93 miles per hour when the crash happened. They also found nothing mechanically wrong with the supercar but did discover that the tires were over nine years old. The LA County Coroner ruled that both deaths were accidents. According to the AP, the lawsuits from Walker's daughter and his father against Porsche are still pending in Los Angeles Superior Court, and the district court ruling doesn't affect them. In each case, Porsche denied being at fault and cited the sheriff's investigation as support for that argument. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Watch a marksman go clay shooting from a Porsche 911

A Porsche 911 is exciting. Firing a shotgun at clay pigeons is also exciting. And when you combine the two? An amazing video. This video features British master marksman Phillip Thorrold as he takes on a very different form of competitive shooting, because traditional sporting clays, trap, and skeet must be too boring. By mounting a clay pigeon trap to the hood of a Porsche 911 Targa, Thorrold has melded driving and shooting in a way that hasn't been seen since James May and Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear tried to rethink the biathlon. The Brit makes short work of the clays with his over-under shotgun. Even as he runs form spot to spot to intercept the Porsche, he has no trouble downing the discs as they're launched unpredictably from the speeding, sliding 911. He then hops in the passenger seat and proceeds to take out the tiny, orange clays while zipping down a country road. If that's not awesome enough, the clays have been fitted with exploding discs, for that extra bit of excitement. We've posted the entire three-minute video at the top of the page. Even if you aren't into competitive shooting, this is a spectacle you aren't going to want to miss. Please don't try this at home. Related Video: