[LM24] Le Mans 2021 21/22 August - Who Is Going?

[batmobile]

Originally Posted by Bentley03

Success, Christopher, I think, as it appears our pharmacy in Saint-Saturnin also offers antigen testing by appointment.

https://www.pharmacie-saint-saturnin.fr/

James, I just called today to the pharmacy of St Saturnin to ask them for meeting on August 23rd.
No test will be done at this date. The closer place is "parc manceau" where a laboratory settled down. But they make only pcr tests.

Envoyé de mon SM-A600FN en utilisant Tapatalk

[batmobile]

Originally Posted by GT6

Yes but you have to pay 40 euro's to gain access even for members

Simon not true it will be free for aco members. Several days They have sent by mail the bracelets. That's what they sais to me today and I was warned that all the accesses to enter in the circuit or on aco spaces will be difficult because of all the controls they expect to do (ticket-identity-health pass-bags....)
A lot of patience needed.

Envoyé de mon SM-A600FN en utilisant Tapatalk

[GT6]

Well they have now sent me 5 or 6 emails offering me access for Euro 40 so i think my version of the membership does not cover free access, also if they keep sending those emails it suggest sales have not been that good so far and plenty of spaces left.

[Kpy]

Originally Posted by GT6

Well they have now sent me 5 or 6 emails offering me access for Euro 40 so i think my version of the membership does not cover free access, also if they keep sending those emails it suggest sales have not been that good so far and plenty of spaces left.

Quite right Simon, I've been getting the same emails and certainly combined entry and grandstand passes are still available for just about all combinations of time, choice of stand etc.
Strangely, although I'm booked to be hundreds of miles south on the weekend of the race, I might just end up going, but that depends on the surgeon at the moment.

[GT6]

Hope you are well enough to travel, perhaps you could buy an extra ticket for your surgeon as a way of saying thank you to him

[batmobile]

Originally Posted by GT6

Well they have now sent me 5 or 6 emails offering me access for Euro 40 so i think my version of the membership does not cover free access, also if they keep sending those emails it suggest sales have not been that good so far and plenty of spaces left.

Ireceived this email that's why I called them today. And I was told there are still 3000 general entrance tickets for the week to sell.

Envoyé de mon SM-A600FN en utilisant Tapatalk

[Michel Vaillant]

Question, for Brits, if you leave Le Mans after the race, and go through Belgium -for example- before boarding for channel, you don't need observe a quarantine ?

[bella]

we do - the rule says if you’ve been in france any time within 10 days of entering the uk. the only “hack” is if the rule relaxes partway through your quarantine - take a day trip somewhere in the eu that has no quarantine to reset it. i think.

[Michel Vaillant]

Some newspapers think this decision is a little "pressure" on France about Brexit issues. IMO, gates will be open next week...

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by Michel Vaillant

Some newspapers think this decision is a little "pressure" on France about Brexit issues. IMO, gates will be open next week...

The scary truth is that the UK Govt people who made the decision about France seem not to have realised that Reunion isn't part of mainland France.

[bella]

remember they’ll have looked at the infection control between the mainland and the island as well before presenting the data to the minister in charge of snap decisions. that’s the only thing i’ll say in defence of the whole thing!

[Kpy]

Originally Posted by GT6

Hope you are well enough to travel, perhaps you could buy an extra ticket for your surgeon as a way of saying thank you to him

Kind of you Simon.
I'd be happy to.
I don't know if my surgeon is a sportscar racing fan. I'm seeing him tomorrow. I might ask

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by bella

remember they’ll have looked at the infection control between the mainland and the island as well before presenting the data to the minister in charge of snap decisions. that’s the only thing i’ll say in defence of the whole thing!

Rather brilliantly, Reunion itself remains on the regular amber list, meaning vaccinated arrivals from there will not have to quarantine, despite arrivals from mainland France having to do so because of fears about the beta variant being imported from…Reunion.

[Michel Vaillant]

In France, hospitals are starting to sound the alarm... + 1000 patients are now in intensive care units

On another side, we don't see the end of this situation. Vaccines are effective against severe cases for about 95%, in the best case. Even with 100% of the population vaccinated, 1000 intensive beds before alert, for 66 millions of inhabitants, it's to say the bathtub overflows very quickly

[Bentley03]

Originally Posted by batmobile

James, I just called today to the pharmacy of St Saturnin to ask them for meeting on August 23rd.
No test will be done at this date. The closer place is "parc manceau" where a laboratory settled down. But they make only pcr tests.

Envoyé de mon SM-A600FN en utilisant Tapatalk

Eric, you're an absolute star, thank you very much for doing that!!!

What I'm now trying to work out is if the UK entry rule that you must have proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of your return to the UK means exactly that, to the letter, or if a PCR test taken during the day on the Friday will be legitimate proof, even if our ferry does not arrive in the UK until late evening 3 days later. Not strictly within 72 hours, but within 3 days, which is the wording on the UK government website.

What we're trying to avoid is having to miss the Masters Endurance Legends race on the Saturday morning because of having to go and get tested. The alternative is to follow AstonGeoff's suggestion of taking self test kits with us which necessitate uploading your results online and 'hoping' your certificate lands in your inbox before you get back to the UK (I know some have experienced delays with this, especially over weekends).

Decisions decisions...

[Peter Mallett]

Frankly I'm glad I postponed to next year, this all sounds too stressful for a fun weekend. For business I can understand it.

[Bentley03]

Originally Posted by batmobile

Simon not true it will be free for aco members. Several days They have sent by mail the bracelets. That's what they sais to me today and I was warned that all the accesses to enter in the circuit or on aco spaces will be difficult because of all the controls they expect to do (ticket-identity-health pass-bags....)
A lot of patience needed.

Envoyé de mon SM-A600FN en utilisant Tapatalk

Yes, wristbands received around a week or so ago and I definitely haven't paid extra for them.

Controls? no problem, the incentive and reward for the necessary patience will be worth it, if it transpires we are able to attend in the end. I'm growing more confident by the day, but I'd say it's still by no means certain.

[Bentley03]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Frankly I'm glad I postponed to next year, this all sounds too stressful for a fun weekend. For business I can understand it.

Personally, Peter, I've approached this with the attitude that if I possibly can go, within the travel guidelines/rules, that I will. So yes, up to this point it's been incredibly stressful and one hell of a rollercoaster ride. If, in the end, I don't make it, so be it, but if I'd made the decision not to go (which would have saved me all this stress), only to discover that, in the end, I could have gone, I would massively regret it and be feeling as sick as a dog.

In a 'normal' year, my calendar runs from June to June...

[batmobile]

Originally Posted by Bentley03

Eric, you're an absolute star, thank you very much for doing that!!!



What I'm now trying to work out is if the UK entry rule that you must have proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of your return to the UK means exactly that, to the letter, or if a PCR test taken during the day on the Friday will be legitimate proof, even if our ferry does not arrive in the UK until late evening 3 days later. Not strictly within 72 hours, but within 3 days, which is the wording on the UK government website.



What we're trying to avoid is having to miss the Masters Endurance Legends race on the Saturday morning because of having to go and get tested. The alternative is to follow AstonGeoff's suggestion of taking self test kits with us which necessitate uploading your results online and 'hoping' your certificate lands in your inbox before you get back to the UK (I know some have experienced delays with this, especially over weekends).



Decisions decisions...

Actually on holiday out of Le Mans but I'll try to find a pharmacy maybe the one near home not so far from your accomodation that could make antigen tests without booking to get an immediate result.

Envoyé de mon SM-A600FN en utilisant Tapatalk

[Michel Vaillant]

Probably there will be testing areas near the gates of the circuit. It was during Historic Racing, on the Bugatti track, in July

[AstonGeoff]

Originally Posted by Bentley03

Eric, you're an absolute star, thank you very much for doing that!!!

What I'm now trying to work out is if the UK entry rule that you must have proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of your return to the UK means exactly that, to the letter, or if a PCR test taken during the day on the Friday will be legitimate proof, even if our ferry does not arrive in the UK until late evening 3 days later. Not strictly within 72 hours, but within 3 days, which is the wording on the UK government website.

What we're trying to avoid is having to miss the Masters Endurance Legends race on the Saturday morning because of having to go and get tested. The alternative is to follow AstonGeoff's suggestion of taking self test kits with us which necessitate uploading your results online and 'hoping' your certificate lands in your inbox before you get back to the UK (I know some have experienced delays with this, especially over weekends).

Decisions decisions...

I'd just like to point out that it's an Antigen test you need, not a PCR one. Don't get confused, which it is all too easy to do with these rules!

[AstonGeoff]

Originally Posted by Bentley03

Personally, Peter, I've approached this with the attitude that if I possibly can go, within the travel guidelines/rules, that I will. So yes, up to this point it's been incredibly stressful and one hell of a rollercoaster ride. If, in the end, I don't make it, so be it, but if I'd made the decision not to go (which would have saved me all this stress), only to discover that, in the end, I could have gone, I would massively regret it and be feeling as sick as a dog.

In a 'normal' year, my calendar runs from June to June...

That's the same approach we have taken, whilst one of our group has been changing his mind with the wind and is currently not going due to the need to quarantine on return. I think he's been more stressed about it than us tbh.

[bella]

Originally Posted by Bentley03

Eric, you're an absolute star, thank you very much for doing that!!!

What I'm now trying to work out is if the UK entry rule that you must have proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of your return to the UK means exactly that, to the letter, or if a PCR test taken during the day on the Friday will be legitimate proof, even if our ferry does not arrive in the UK until late evening 3 days later. Not strictly within 72 hours, but within 3 days, which is the wording on the UK government website.

What we're trying to avoid is having to miss the Masters Endurance Legends race on the Saturday morning because of having to go and get tested. The alternative is to follow AstonGeoff's suggestion of taking self test kits with us which necessitate uploading your results online and 'hoping' your certificate lands in your inbox before you get back to the UK (I know some have experienced delays with this, especially over weekends).

Decisions decisions...

your test “expiry” time is when you leave france, not arrive in the uk however, with ferries/le tunnel i would allow yourself about 5 hours cock up time in case of a huge accident on the motorway or delays getting checked in or anything that murphy’s law will throw at you. my crossing is monday pm/evening (we’re hoping for evening because that means something good happened ), and we’ll have a similar issue trying to get a test done without getting in the way of trackstuff.

with that in mind (and having done the antigen faff at a pharmacy now) if i was in your shoes i would look to make an appointment for a pcr (no waiting around for 15mins after!) first thing saturday morning. looking at sante.fr, and extrapolating a bit, these guys seem to run the local pcr centres, and they break down where you need a rdv and where you don’t.

https://www.laborizon-maineanjou.fr/

[Truckosaurus]

The example on the UK website suggests that a Friday test is valid for Saturday, Sunday and Monday departures.

The belt-n-braces solution might be to do the local test on Friday and the self test on Saturday with the expectation that the Friday test is good for Monday and the Saturday test covers you if there is some issue and you have to return on Tuesday.

[Michel Vaillant]

I feel it will be a big challenge to keep a negative test after a journey at 24
There will be 50 000 spectators, so a little crowd. And peoples who are not fully vaccinated can easily transmit the virus. With the Delta, even with masks and lotion for hand, it seems difficult to be spared. Don’t forget vaccines are effective to prevent serious cases and hospitalisations, but not really the infection…