[LM24] Accommodations Question

[911 GT2]

Lol nah worked twice 1996/1997 on GT2's and watched in 2012.

[vincegail]

Sorry to have suggested something completely off the mark then! Your explanation of having missed two years of racing is much much better!

[whitemr2]

Originally Posted by vincegail

Sorry to have suggested something completely off the mark then! Your explanation of having missed two years of racing is much much better!

I wish I had missed al my LM watching the race, because of being a team member.
Still very happy being able to attend LM as a spectator every year.

[nobster]

I can remember 2001 that we were on camping Expo where our neighbours came with a big truck full of tents and furniture.
One guy took a seat in a sofa in front of the TV they took with them and whenever we came to our tents he was sitting and watching TV... day and night.
Never saw him leave, never saw him eat, only drinking. We even thougt at one time he had died watching TV because he did not move for quit a while.
In the meantime his friends were regular visitors to the track.

[GT6]

I would confess that there has been years when the total time actually watching the race has been low, usually due to the inability to standing in the pouring rain for long periods or just the inability to see anything after the first car passes due to the spray, but then again I have often enjoyed the dancing cars on the wet track. But I have meet those who's sole object during the weekend seems to be less 24 hour car racing and more 24 hours drinking

[Aysedasi]

Horses for courses. I'm happy that I now go with James and Tony, whose raison d'etre for Le Mans is much the same as mine - to watch it all - which we generallly manage aside from an hour or so. One thing is clear though, loadsa beer and watching all the race definitely don't go together!

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Horses for courses. I'm happy that I now go with James and Tony, whose raison d'etre for Le Mans is much the same as mine - to watch it all - which we generallly manage aside from an hour or so. One thing is clear though, loadsa beer and watching all the race definitely don't go together!

In that case I'll know to stay 100% sober for the whole 4 days I'm there this year.

[Aysedasi]

There's a difference between having a civilised drink with your friends and getting plastered Victor. You can stay at home - get drunk and see nothing. Waiting all year and then doing it at Le Mans makes no sense to me at all.....

[GT6]

Well I would be lying if i did not admit to a little over indulgence while at Le mans, I usually arrive on wednesday and seeing all the old faces again will share a few beers then watch some practice and then have a few more, As most of the regulars arrive in the campsite on wednesday it is often rather late before I turn in for the night and I may perhaps by then be slightly merry.

[Mal]

I think there is a happy compromise to be had - These days we tend to mostly drink in the days leading up to the race. I have never drunk much on race night partly because I want to see the race and partly because we always drive to a hotel after the race.

Having a party with my friends and a few days away without the pressure of family life is one of the big things about the trip and for some of my colleagues it is the main point. For me I am also a big sportscar fan as you know so I like to see as much of the race as I can .... but I still like a good time and I am not yet at the stage where I want to stay up for 24 hours and watch every minute..

[Simmi]

Yeah it's not simply a question of race watcher or beer drinker.

At some points during the week it feels positively rude not to have a beer in your hand. Plus how are you going to collect the custom beer glasses without sinking a few!

[Tim the Grey]

Ah, that's all very true! I remember a friend's face when we hit Carrefour and picked up 6 or 8 cases of beer. He was quite worried. He seemed relieved that 3 of them came home! I just didn't want to run out, and it was cheap!
I've seen "Don't miss a minute of anything on track" through to "Only here for the beer" types. To both I say there is more to life.
I'm looking forward to Maison Blanche this year, as it is my favourite site. You get all sorts from tiny tents through to double deck buses with grandstands in there...

[Mal]

Originally Posted by Tim the Grey

Ah, that's all very true! I remember a friend's face when we hit Carrefour and picked up 6 or 8 cases of beer. He was quite worried. He seemed relieved that 3 of them came home! I just didn't want to run out, and it was cheap!
I've seen "Don't miss a minute of anything on track" through to "Only here for the beer" types. To both I say there is more to life.
I'm looking forward to Maison Blanche this year, as it is my favourite site. You get all sorts from tiny tents through to double deck buses with grandstands in there...

Well I hope you will come and join us for a beer Tim as we will be neighbours this year

[Simmi]

Might have to revert to TR for '14 if that is where the party is at.

[Le Vieux]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

There's a difference between having a civilised drink with your friends and getting plastered Victor. You can stay at home - get drunk and see nothing. Waiting all year and then doing it at Le Mans makes no sense to me at all.....

Very true.

Our party removed itself from the circuit around ten years ago because of the drunken behaviour of a few. We now stay some distance away which inevitably leads to fewer viewing opportunities, but at least I feel my property is safe from drunken drivers careering around the campsite and I can be sure of sleep when I want it - not to mention the important detail of very significant cost savings.

I feel we have the ideal balance, but appreciate that others may place more emphasis on being at the race.

[GT6]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Might have to revert to TR for '14 if that is where the party is at.

Not sure you could classify TR as the party site but the usual campers are very sociable and always happy to sit around chatting and discussing the world of sportscar racing, The heavy drinking parties tend to be in MB and HA

[Mal]

Originally Posted by GT6

Not sure you could classify TR as the party site but the usual campers are very sociable and always happy to sit around chatting and discussing the world of sportscar racing, The heavy drinking parties tend to be in MB and HA

Not so much in MB since they went to marked plots. Most of the large parties have moved over to Blue Nord.

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by GT6

Not sure you could classify TR as the party site but the usual campers are very sociable and always happy to sit around chatting and discussing the world of sportscar racing, The heavy drinking parties tend to be in MB and HA

Yeah sorry I didn't literally mean there was a party there. More it's where the 10Tenths action is.

[GT6]

Never stayed on BN so can not comment, but have heard from others that it can get very noisy there

[CTD]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

What? 3 attendances, 1 watching cars and 2 drinking?! I'm scandalised........

Ayse, one of the Danes Kpy stayed with, which I met on saturday, hadn't been too the track since 2003 . He set up a big screen tv, with a good stereo and just sat in his large tent, sipping beer and watching Le Mans .
A quite jolly fellow! - He once crashed into Tom K, when they where young.

Originally Posted by Simmi

Plus how are you going to collect the custom beer glasses without sinking a few!

You can ask to have a Coke in it, instead .


Personally I don't drink more than one or two beers in the days up to the race, and at the Meet, after that, it's all water, cola and energy drink

[Mal]

That must be where I am going wrong - I though beer was and energy drink .....

[Aysedasi]

I'm not decrying those who like a beer - I'm one of them - but the whole idea of waiting all year for this and then missing it because I'm Brahms and Liszt or nursing a hangover is absurd to me. But then again, I want to stay up through the best night of the year. If you've had 5-6 beers during the afternoon/evening, you just won't be able to do that. But it is horses for courses - I just feel sorry for those lying face down in the undergrowth at 2 am with a half empty can in their hands being trodden on by all and sundry as they stagger past.....

[JonnoC]

Hi All,

sorry this is probably a bit of a hijack for a first post on here but a friend and I are also looking at making the trip for 2014 all the way from New Zealand. Have done a bit of searching and kept an eye on this thread amongst others and have probably half answered most of my questions but have a few others I guess.

1. Looking at bringing over small portable tents and using public transport to keep costs down, have seen somewhere that this has been done and you dont have to endure the cost of hiring a car or hotelling it and presuming this is still possible?

2. What days do the camp sites open? the packages seem to state wed or thurs as earliest arrival but I think if we are coming all this way we'd like to have a sqiz at scruiteenering and practice earlier in the week.

3. Pit walk tickets vs watching scruiteneering, is the pit walk really worth the collosal amount you pay for it? Would love to see the cars up close (have been to World Time attack the last 2 years and one of the best parts is being able to walk through the pit garages throughout the event) but from some pics Ive seen it looks like you are actually kept quite far away and there are quite some people to fight off. So can you see just as much if not more by viewing the scruiteneering?

4. Not that 24 hours and a few other days of cars circulating isnt gonna be enough but is there anything else to take in at the cicuit? Trade stands/activites other than the ferris wheel/museum tours etc?

5. Food costs? how bad are they, will look at getting some food from the outlying supermarkets but Im sure dodgy fries and sugary drinks will have to be consumed as part of any motorsport event, what sort of daily budget should we be looking at?

Other than that sounds like we should just get in early to get the campsite/GS that we want and avoid the loud drunken people.

Feel free to move this to its own thread if Im stepping on any toes.

Cheers
Jonathan

[Steptoe]

Jonno
1. Yes Train down from Paris then Tram direct to circuit
2. Camping is open Monday through the whole week
3. I think you can buy expensive pit passes but General Tickets get you in the pit lane on friday with only airport type barriers infront of the garages which is good enough for most people.
4. Yes Fun Fair, Concerts on race weekend , museum - But forget that watch the race and if you wander the campsites its the best free car show you can go to.
5. Food on site but supermarkets a short tram journey. On site you can choose from suasage & chips etc or there are usually a couple of sit down places like italian for example.

[GT6]

yes plenty to do all week, you will not get bored
if you do arrive before monday there are other campsites around le mans that can be used, or you can use a cheap hotel/motel for a couple of days, should be quite empty saturday/sunday night.
Food is no problem you can get to the supermarkets very easily and purchase what you need, a small camp cooker/bbq can be purchased on the way and you can therefore cook or brew up.
Once other campers have arrived ask and I am sure they will be pleased to welcome you to join them or use their facilities.
Don't worry about anything if you do not have it someone will lend it to you
If you can try and get to the classic car show at St saturin on Friday you will not regret it