[Magazines] Autosport Le Mans Supplement (merged)

[iucrmh]

I have just picked up today's Autosport and expected it to have a Le Mans supplement as it usually does a week ahead of the race. But there isn't one, will it be in next weeks magazine instead? (There is no mention of one that I could find).

[zac510]

Tehat's kinda pointless then.. most of us will be in Le Mans by the time it comes out!

[jna]

It's in next weeks edition.

I ascertained this info. from telephoning the editorial number in the magazine. They were quite surprised at my comment that it has historically always been included with the magazine issued in the week before people start to travel to France so that you could take it with you. When I said that a high proportion of travellers will have left the U.K. before next Thursday she said that there will be around 20,000 copies of Autosport for sale at the race and a team is going over so that hopefully they will be available on Thursday.

I'm not convinced this has been thought out very well unless the ploy is to make many regular subscribers buy another copy at the track in order to have the guide with them. Too cynical? I expect to some of you I am.

[Aysedasi]

Am I going nuts?

Shouldn't it have been included with today's issue? I can't see any mention of it. This time next week I'll be on my way - its always been out the week before Le Mans week - hasn't it????

[SebringMG]

Hmm thought so!! Will check when i go to buy my copy shortly !!

[Aysedasi]

Let me know if I'm just missing it, will you? I get it mine by subscription - and I only have the subscription because of this week and the week after Le Mans!! If they've stopped doing the guide my complaints are going to be very bitter indeed....... (And if they haven't and they've just missed mine - boy are they gonna know about it...... )

[Nordic]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Am I going nuts?

Shouldn't it have been included with today's issue? I can't see any mention of it. This time next week I'll be on my way - its always been out the week before Le Mans week - hasn't it????

The same question was asked over on Club Arnage and this was the response.

I just phoned the Autosport office at Haymarket publishing & spoke to a very helpful lass.

The guide will be out next week, the decision to do this was taken for two reasons:

1) People tend to travel out later these days.
2) It will allow them to include more info from the test day.


There are 'significant extra shipments to France' arranged. Usually available at the Radio Le Mans shop.


Lucky the Club Arnage Guide has come the rescue and is already out, including photos from the test day and many more useful items

[Aysedasi]

Hmm. I think thats very short sighted indeed. I've been getting my Le Mans Guide every year for over 20 years at this time and I'm sure there are thousands who, like me, don't want to wait until next week. And I suppose it'll still be that crappy little A5 size? They were so much better in the 80s and 90s...... As you say, we have the excellent CA Guide - I think some enterprising soul ought to publish that - they could make a fortune (for charity or themselves). Good photos in there too eh?

[Gilles lives!]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Hmm. I think thats very short sighted indeed. I've been getting my Le Mans Guide every year for over 20 years at this time and I'm sure there are thousands who, like me, don't want to wait until next week. And I suppose it'll still be that crappy little A5 size? They were so much better in the 80s and 90s...... As you say, we have the excellent CA Guide - I think some enterprising soul ought to publish that - they could make a fortune (for charity or themselves). Good photos in there too eh?

I'm with you there Ayse, I just came on here to complain and noticed this thread. It's always been part of the build up to the big event, although I have found the last couple of editions weak on quality and quantity of material. So will we have to purchase next weeks copy at the circuit just to have the preview, or will they be giving them out for nowt? I am also a subscriber so it would be silly to buy 2 copies, we leave here on Wednesday.

Still I watched the Endurance mag prog on Motors this afternoon which went some way to ease my Autosport dissapointment. The Pesca's looked good, perhaps with a wet 'ish race they may pull off the big one, all that diesel torque could prove tricky to tame.

[Martin Bull]

I checked out Autosport today and was also very surprised at the absence of a guide - I remember ( ) when they used to make a big deal of it being out in good time for those visiting to get their copy.

As others have said, kudos to Club Arnage.....

[Adam43]

No guide. Pathetic.

Hopefully Lewis' fuel corrected lap times will have been calculated though.

[paul-collins]

This means that North Americans will get the Le Mans guide on Monday the 18th.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Gilles lives!

....although I have found the last couple of editions weak on quality and quantity of material.

Absolutely. I had a train journey from the South coast to Birmingham on the equivalent Friday (to tomorrow, that is) morning last year and read both the Autosport Guide and the Club Arnage Guide. You can guess which one lasted the longest and entertained me the most.... I know there was an Autosport-bashing thread in Armchair a while back, but for me, this just about takes the biscuit. The most important issue of the year for thousands of Le Mans fans and they put publication back to a date by which time many of those thousands will already be in France or travelling there. Crass.

....perhaps with a wet 'ish race....

Careful........

[Truckosaurus]

The Good People at Motoring News (sic) have managed to produce their, 12 page, guide in this week's issue.

[SebringMG]

Yeah really dissapointing from Autosport Gonna miss the guide as travelling down on Wednesday....oh well the CA guide is probably better anyway

[Alan Green]

As mentioned on 0157 last night, EVO magazine has a very decent LM guide, which I thought was Haymarket being clever and getting people to buy EVO rather than Autosprout, because most people going to LM will be Autosprout anyway. Looking again though, EVO isn't a Haymarket magazine, so that knackers that idea!

At least I have some reading material to get me through the next few nights pre-LM night shifts

Al.

[Aysedasi]

I fear the days of my Autosport subscription are now numbered, after about 22 years. I just can't put up with the way the magazine has changed so much and the way they treat my personal favourite area of the sport..... If it had been the British GP Guide I doubt that the approach would have been so cavalier. I mean, couldn't possible disappoint all the Lewis Hamilton fans could they.... (and I am one, by the way!).

[GT6]

Well that means they will not be getting my money this year, must have bought Autosport every year since I have been going, where do they get thier ideas from, from the post here and all the people I know most people are going earlier each year certainly not later.

[Martin Haven]

GREAT NEWS !!

According to his fuel-corrected times and perfect-lap splits, Lewis actually WON Monaco by 2.5 laps !!

Watch the cover in 2 weeks, after a Brit wins Le Mans yet again, banging on about Lewis and how he WOULD have won except.... cont on page 75

I'm rooting for him to take the Championship but God help us when he DOES win.

Interesting experiment might be to count the number of Lewis front covers at the end of the year. My bet would be somewhere around 45 of the 51 will have him on...

Just like when Mansell was on EVERY week in the 90s. Boosts the circulation, don't you know...

[Adam43]

Don't get me started on fuel corrected laps. It is such bad science, not outline of assumptions, not criteria and no errors. Shoddily presented and poorly explained, it wouldn't even get past a first glance for a proper publication.

For years I have defended them, but I am moving towards the Aysedasi stance. Shall we ring up within a few minutes of each other to cancel the subscription?

[eddsc]

But sadly, they're not interested in sportscar fans' opinions. It all comes down to selling copies to punters in WH Smiths. The sportscar fans and participants have largely been turned off, long ago.
I'm glad it's not just me who is terminally bored by all that fuel corrected stuff.
I bet Button has some interesting opinions on the ups and downs of being on the cover.
MC

[Tim the Grey]

I gave up on Autosport some years back, when they dropped the lap charts from F1 races, and started getting 'glossy' instead of techie!
However, my 18YO loves it, except there is next to NOTHING about sports cars/GT in there these days...

But I bet the circulations WAY up compared to when I had to look hard to find it.

[minimangler]

indeed, mr grey, your 18 yo does love it- but i see no sense in publsihing the guide when the evnt is already going on, and large number of fans are already there.
and yes, there is little sportscar news, but it is a hundred times better than motorsport news, who went as far as to attempt to destroy the Silverstone TT meeting via an opinion column just the other week.
as long as there are reports and a good guide, i don't mind.
HOWEVER- Motorsport News has a Le Mans guide this week. it won't be as good, but it is out.

[eddsc]

What did MN say about the TT? I gave up on the newspaper after they reported on the F3 'event' (no races - fog) at Spa, but didn't mention the LMES race (which did go ahead). I went ballistic at that point - and haven't bought it since. And to think that Mike Cotton used to be the editor...

[AvdB]

Dear all,

Thank you all for your comments.

There will be an Autosport Le Mans supplement in with next week's issue. There will be around 20,000 of these issues on sale at the track.
One of the reasons behind the decision to include it with the June 14 issue was to ensure it is as up to date as possible. I recall a string of posts on this forum last year slating our guide for missing a number of drivers out from the entry list. By pushing back the deadline, we have been able to get most of these correct. You cannot have it both ways.

For your information, the contents of the guide are thus:

Jacques Villeneuve - 1997 world champion on why this could be his only shot at Le Mans glory

Brits at Le Mans - Johnny Herbert, Allan McNish, Johnny Mowlem and Warren Hughes on what's so special about the great race

Saleen - why this is it's best-ever chance of GT1 victory

Road car to race car - how the Aston Martin DB9 morphs into the DBR9

Ferrari at Le Mans - on its 60th annivesary, we look at 10 classic Ferrari enduro racers

Team by Team - every car covered (with driver profiles)

Le Mans town guide - what to do and see away from the track

Le Mans quiz - this has a few real tough ones in it

Previous winners list

Circuit map and timetable

Full entry list.

It's 70 pages in total, and yes, it's in that A5 lovely format.

Ok. The facts.

There have been 23 issues of Autosport this year - Hamilton has been on the cover of 8 of them.

This year both LMS and ALMS get two pages of reports - more than they received last year and more than you will find in any other weekly motorsport mag.

In this current issue there are three pages devoted soley to sportscars news. Only F1 gets more.

It's sad but true - when Autosport puts anything on the cover other than F1 our sales suffer badly. The Andy Priaulx cover last year is the worst selling issue of all time. Given that Le Mans clashes with the USGP, it's a near-certainty that F1 will be the main image on the cover.

I hope that clears things up.

Yours

Andrew van de Burgt
Editor, Autosport