It’s all happening, the countdown has begun for the greatest spectacle in International motorsport, forget F1, ignore the Indy 500, don’t even consider the Bathurst 1000, the greatest race in all motorsport is without a shadow of a doubt Le Mans.

For the first time since 1984 Australian television audiences will have the chance to see the race live, well some of it anyway.

TEN’s new ONE HD sports channel will bring Aussie viewers the race live from 10.30 p.m. Saturday night with live coverage going through until 2.00AM when the network crosses to NASCAR Qualifying.

The coverage continues from 6.30AM till 10.00AM with the final few hours also covered live from 8.30PM till 11.10PM when coverage of the MotoGP begins.

For most Australians Le Mans is an abstract concept, not since the early eighties has there been any real mainstream media coverage of the greatest race.

Even that proud purveyor of obscure sports everywhere cable TV confined their coverage to a scant hour of highlights often weeks after the race.

Of course we on In Pit Lane tried our best to keep the spirit of Le Mans alive.

In 2004 I attended my first Le Mans, it was everything I had expected and way, way more.

The efficiency and friendliness of the ACO officials is a long way from the indifference and arrogance of the average Aussie racetrack.

As I’ve said on the show before, it was easier to get into Le Mans and do our job than it is to get through the tunnel at Phillip Island for a round of the Victorian State Series.

The media centre is remarkable, every table with its own monitor, a lockable cage for your laptop and a steady stream of information all delivered with a smile from a crew who are not only professional but knowledgeable and quite rightly proud of their event.

It makes a big difference from some media centres at a typical V8 Supercar event when any request for information on a support event is met with a mixture of confusion and utter contempt.

The track itself is suburb, sadly not all of it is accessible to the average spectator but there’s plenty of good places to view from.

The esses down from the famous Dunlop bridge is a favourite, especially on Saturday night when you can stand on the hill and watch the cars on one side and them flip around to the bands at the annual rock concert.

Of course any trip to France must include food and wine and Le Mans is no disappointment there either. No Le Mans experience would be complete without a glass of Champagne and the famous Crepes du Grand Marnier.

Tissue thin crepes smothered in butter with lashings of Grand Marnier wash it down with a glass of Champagne and you have the quintessential Le Mans dining experience.

If the budget doesn’t run to Champagne then the local Pays de Loire Rose is a pretty good and affordable substitute and the beer is, by Aussie standards, cheap and plentiful.

But of course Le Mans is all about the cars and the drivers who race them.

Audi has been the dominant force at Le Mans for the past decade and with the new R15 they’re not content to rest on their laurels.

A stunning debut win at Sebring showed the professionalism of the team and the brilliance of their drivers.

“Mr Le Mans” Tom Kristenson, and possibly the best sportscar driver around Alan McNish lead a top class unit all under the fatherly gaze of Audi Motorsport team boss Dr Wolfgang Ulrich.

I like “Wolfie”. I have only got to interview him twice, once in Adelaide and the again at Le Mans but he always strikes me as a man who clearly loves every second of his job.

He’s a straight shooter, honest, friendly and passionate about his team and the sport in general.

Despite that for at least 2009 my support will be with the local outfit Peugeot.

Hopes were high for their stunning debut in 2007 but that was the first time out and no one really expected a victory. Come 2008 and most pundits, and certainly the patriotic French media were totally convinced that the title would finally come back to France.

Alas as 3.00PM rolled around it was again the German marque taking the chequered flag.

A win to Peugeot is a must for 2009. The French media are becoming jaded with the constant Audi domination of the race and a failure again might just see Peugeot put Le Mans in the too hard basket and walk away from the sport.

Outside of the factory diesel battle the fight for the top petrol powered car is wide open.

Aston Martin will start favourite based on their good form in the Le Mans series but local heroes Pescarolo have their Judd engined car always in top shape for their home town race.

Oreca will also be hard to beat.

LMP2 looks like a Porsche Spyder affair, although not officially a works entry you can be confident that the factory will be taking a close look and a guiding hand in their attempts to win the class in a race they pretty much had to themselves in the 70’s and 80’s.

GT1 will see the final appearance of the factory Corvettes and despite the presence of a lone Aston Martin DBR-9 the American V8 should end it’s GT1 career on a high note.

Things are not as straightforward in GT2. The straight up battle between the Porsche brigade led by the Team Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 997 GT3-RSR of Lieb, Henzler and Lietz and the 430 GT Ferrari’s led by Risi Competizione drivers Melo, Kaffer and ex F1 driver Mika Salo.

Races within races, battles for outright, class, diesel versus petrol, Audi versus Peugeot, Ferrari vs… Porsche and no doubt cameos from Pescarolo, Oreca and Spyker.

Watch both at the track and around the world by Le Mans tragics like me.

So pour a Champagne, and I do mean Champagne, fire up the crepe pan and join me for our one day of the year.

Someone said in a local newspaper recently that Le Mans was sort of the French Bathurst. I have been to Le Mans, and I have been to Bathurst and Sir, Bathurst is no Le Mans.

Le mans is truly and without any shadow of a doubt the greatest motor race in the World, and if you think different, You’re wrong.

To listen to Le Mans live check out Radio Le Mans at www.radiolemans.com. Mac users should go direct to mms://mercury.radica.com/radioshowltd, mms://venus.radica.com/radioshowltd using VLC.