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

[dwh43scale]

Originally Posted by dwh43scale

Having made the decision to stay in the UK for motorsport this summer, can report thoroughly enjoyed first time visits to Doune, Knockhill and Croft. Photos on Flickr as usual.

Of more relevance to this thread, applied for refund on credit note from LM 2020 tickets on 16th June; chased ACO this morning - apparently bank transfers happening this week. Roll on 2022 - N24 and LM double header a distinct possibility ...

And ... pleased to report funds received today.

[bella]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

Seems possible that quarantine will not be required for vaccinated Brits from August, so at least that hassle (and cost) is removed. NB 'Vaccinated' means both jabs plus two weeks.

I suspect that PCR tests to fly are going to be required for a long time to come, possibly years.

i really hope that those who discard their face rags with joy and relish doing stuff without them respect that there's quite a lot of us whose jobs depend on not testing positive. it's not about being ill any more. so until events, circuits and travel stop clinging on to the pcr test we're all stuck wearing masks.

they need to crack on and find an almost instant test tbh because the pcr tests are outdated by the time you get the results and lateral flow tests just take a bit too long for event admission.

Originally Posted by Kpy

You have three sets of hoops to jump through

further to this excellent post, france has fairly straightforward rules and are fairly clear about where you stand so we're lucky in that respect that le mans is a french thing. other countries are just making it up as they go along...!

[Gingers4Justice]

Considering going. I'm out of the loop because I decided in my head not to, but I was wondering:

- Will I need two doses of vaccine to go? I'm 27, so only had my first jab last Saturday. The earliest I can get my second is late August...
- What's the latest with travel to/from France?

[GT6]

I think they ask for two weeks after your second jab, but loads of people seem to be getting the second jab earlier so you may get it a week earlier and then be ok to go.

[Gerard C]

Post # 1069 contains the last updates I think.

[Simmi]

Just found out I got one shot of Indian AZ which is another fun variable to throw into the mix

[GT6]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Just found out I got one shot of Indian AZ which is another fun variable to throw into the mix

The french will probably be ok with that, they only dislike the english one

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Just found out I got one shot of Indian AZ which is another fun variable to throw into the mix

You're not the only one.

Originally Posted by GT6

The french will probably be ok with that, they only dislike the english one

As things stand right now, possibly not....

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by GT6

The french will probably be ok with that, they only dislike the english one

Haha nice. I'm adding it to the list of stuff that's an issue now which hopefully won't be an issue in a month or so...

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Just found out I got one shot of Indian AZ which is another fun variable to throw into the mix

Are you sure? Curry taste?

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Are you sure? Curry taste?

Yep, it's easy to find out. The Covishield AZ batches used in the UK are freely available if you Google them. 5 million doses.....

[bella]

yep, i did too! it’s essentially a generic version of the az vaccine. and you’re expecting les hommes francais on border control to be diligent enough to check batch numbers on vaccine certificates?

i'm getting deep into the semantics of the rules and honestly, it's making my head hurt. as an english person, if i was crossing by road or air into france, am i judged by the rules for british people or am i considered eu after x number of days outside the uk? and when do i need a pcr... the rules for an englisher coming from the uk are clear but it starts to get a bit foggy after that!

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Yep, it's easy to find out.

How many shops and kebab restaurants did you open since your last jab?
Joke apart, my half-and-more just had her second Pfizer injection and it seems really painful. Four days at home not working is not her style. As already said, no regret.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by bella

yep, i did too! it’s essentially a generic version of the az vaccine. and you’re expecting les hommes francais on border control to be diligent enough to check batch numbers on vaccine certificates?

I have my doubts, but it is recorded in the QR code....

[Gerard C]

Dont worry about this, they'll be busy with genuine certificates and false ones! Assuming all the custom officers are fully vaccinated… and wont go on strike!

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by bella

…/ it's making my head hurt. as an english person, if i was crossing by road or air into france, am i judged by the rules for british people or am i considered eu after x number of days outside the uk? and when do i need a pcr... the rules for an englisher coming from the uk are clear but it starts to get a bit foggy after that!

I think that the delay between a PCR test and the result is puzzling too. Validity of the test: 72 hrs. Minimum delay to have the result: 12/24 hrs… I think its better to go for antigen test.

[bella]

unfortunately an antigen test isn’t uniformly accepted (or accepted for collecting passes).

72hrs from departure, easy (that’s what corona says too but that’s a different conversation ). italy wants 48 hours from *landing* in italy. that requires some big maths, and a lot of faith in your chosen test provider. generally our results take around about 24 hours, but it depends exactly what the setup is of your testing provider.

it’s trickier to find out whether your “au provenence de royaume uni” has a time limit, whether it’s a consideration for land borders, whether a country clearly defines what it considers “proof” of vaccination… and whether land and air borders have the same understanding. it is a true minefield!

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by bella

72hrs from departure, easy. italy wants 48 hours from *landing* in italy. that requires some big maths, and a lot of faith in your chosen test provider. generally our results take around about 24 hours, but it depends exactly what the setup is of your testing provider. it is a true minefield!

OK, I see… I imagine going in Italy with my girlfriend/ boyfriend, if the result of the test took 36 hours for a test valid during 72hrs and that my Alitalia flight is delayed we'll arrive with red noses (too many tests) junkie style at the border!!! Forget romantic Venezia and foggy Milano go to Roma and… pray! OMG!

[bella]

it really has taken the element of surprise out of travel hasn't it? darling,i haven't planned anything for our anniversary, but i do have this lovely gift of a fit to fly pcr test that we can share together

in all seriousness, it's now sounding like boris wants to bin off the need for fully vaccinated people to isolate when travelling from amber countries after "freedom day". potential good omen for LM...

[Aysedasi]

It's a strange thing isn't it? We're now watching thousands of people enjoying football at the Euros at some venues with no distancing or other measures. Watching F1 qually yesterday and seeing vast numbers of Verstappen supporters in a single grandstand... still, they did have their orange smoke to keep Covid away. Things are opening up fast and Europeans seem to be travelling fairly freely now but somehow it leaves me uneasy still....

I'm at Goodwood for four days from Thursday and I have to do a lateral flow test every day but I don't have to show my vaccination status. Bearing in mind that you report your own LFD result it seems a little strange....

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

I'm at Goodwood for four days from Thursday and I have to do a lateral flow test every day but I don't have to show my vaccination status. Bearing in mind that you report your own LFD result it seems a little strange....

To get in as a spectator you need to show one of vaccination proof, a negative lateral flow test (48 hour window) or a positive PCR test from the last 180 days (but not the last 10). The latter isn't a typo - it's to demonstrate natural immunity. This needs to be done for each day. Once in there are no distancing or mask rules outdoors (but there is a reduced capcity).

This is pretty much the same setup as Le Mans. However, if today's press is to be believed even those restrictions would not be applied after July 19, so by the time of Le Mans the UK might have moved from being behind in terms of opening up to ahead.

[bella]

yeah, i agree with everything there ayse.

the europeans are getting a bit ahead of themselves, they're doing the smart thing in restricting movement of british people (though it pains me to say it) to try and keep the delta variant numbers as low as possible until their vaccination numbers, especially amongst the more vulnerable, are higher without restricting their own citizens (fair). but it is going to be an issue for them, and it's difficult to see how they're going to cope without going back to restrictions.

agree about the hesitancy with lateral flow as well - all you need is the number off the test strip. file a negative result then put it in the bin. it relies too much on collective responsibility, which we already know is lacking in a lot of people for whom the need to get back to life before is too great.

i'm cool with test events. the report on the first phase was very interesting, we're taking a really scientific, methodical approach to it all even if we are let down by the fact that they don't seem to be able to make the returning of post event test results mandatory. it feels really unfair for those of us in motorsport where arguably, based on previous scientific knowledge of how the virus spreads, as spectators we're pretty safe. we should have been amongst the first test events on that basis alone, but they seem to have been preoccupied with not displaying favouritism, whilst leaning towards the more populist sports. go figure.

i'd be interested to see any reports on the french gp and whether there were issues with the virus spreading there. they operated a massive bubble system that the british gp arguably could have set up if they'd thought about it.

[GT6]

Well Andrew, i just got tickets for goodwood (sunday) from Helen and Paul, so you might see them the first 3 days and Kevin and i on Sunday, Might point out that for the last two times we have done this Sunday was boiling hot one day and pouring with rain the other. But enjoyed it on both occasions.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by GT6

Well Andrew, i just got tickets for goodwood (sunday) from Helen and Paul, so you might see them the first 3 days and Kevin and i on Sunday, Might point out that for the last two times we have done this Sunday was boiling hot one day and pouring with rain the other. But enjoyed it on both occasions.

Excellent. Might see you there then.

[Bentley03]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Haha nice. I'm adding it to the list of stuff that's an issue now which hopefully won't be an issue in a month or so...

Same here, as well as the only other person from our group who's going.

And now the French Health Ministry have said that there are no plans to unilaterally accept the vaccine as proof, or part proof, of a person entering the country being fully vaccinated: https://www.connexionfrance.com/Fren...Indian-vaccine

It's all very well observers suggesting it'll be fine and the border control staff won't have time to check the vaccination records of everyone entering the country properly, in order to weed out those with a Covishield jab, but let's get real, if you know you've had a Covishield jab and there's a good chance of being refused entry into France, you're not going to risk trying, are you? And you're subject to the same scrutiny every time you enter a spectator enclosure at the circuit!

So, SII asked AstraZeneca to approach the EMA for approval on their behalf a month ago, but last Tuesday a spokesperson for the EMA said no request had been received. I'm reading everywhere that approval takes several weeks, and SII are saying it'll hopefully be approved in around a month, and the French Health Ministry saying they will accept it only when the EMA approve it, so at best we will only find out if it will be approved in time at the beginning of August. It's going to be a very, very nervous wait for those of us with a Covishield jab.