Nick Mason and Steve O'Rourke - taking time out from Pink Floyd at Le Mans
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Nick Mason and Steve O'Rourke - taking time out from Pink Floyd at Le Mans

Drummer Nick Mason and Tour Manager Steve O

Nick Mason (71) and Steve O’Rourke (1940-2003) made their Le Mans début in 1979. Mason finished in eighteenth place in a Lola T297 entered in the S 2.0 class for two-litre sports prototypes (the forerunner to today’s LM P2 class). O’Rourke faired slightly better, taking the chequered flag in twelfth place in a Ferrari BB 512. Despite returning four more times, Mason never managed to better this result. The pinnacle of O’Rourke’s Le Mans six-race career came in 1998 when he shared the wheel of a McLaren F1 GTR with Bill Auberlen and Tim Sugden, finishing fourth.

In 1983 and 1985, O’Rourke ventured into the construction side of the sport with the EMKA chassis (named after the management company he set up in the early seventies for Pink Floyd). Powered by a 5.3-litre Aston Martin V8 engine, this prototype crossed the finish line on both occasions. The two men only joined forces on one occasion at the 24 Hours, in 1982, but unfortunately their BMW M1 was forced to retire.

1979 not only marked the start of their Le Mans career, but it was also the year in which the double album The Wall was recorded by Mason and fellow band members David Gilmour (guitar), Rick Wright (keyboard) and Roger Waters (bass and vocals). Waters is currently involved in his own retake of the masterpiece with a double CD released on 20 November and a DVD scheduled for 1 December.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO
Translated from French by David Goward

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SATURDAY 18 & SUNDAY 19 JUNE 1983. Driving his own car, Steve O’Rourke finished seventeenth in 1983 (pictured here) and eleventh two years later.
 

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