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15 Jun 2004, 20:31 (Ref:1005227) | #1 | |
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The Le Mans experience
I went to le mans for the first time ever this weekend and it will be the last time ever!
I could not believe the cost of the ticket at around 40 pounds really did not get you anywhere within the circuit. Could not sit the grandstands (as this was extra) (even when they were empty at 3am!) could not get into the pits(as this was extra) could not get the mulsanne straight etc.... the only thing i could see was the start finish start and some of the gp track. It was badly organised in that it took forever to get anywhere within the circuit, there was lack of toilets and the ones that were available you had to pay for! I could not believe the number of people walking around not watching the race. I know people go there for the atmosphere and to get drunk but no one really seems to watch the racing. If i wanted to do that surely you could go to a football match! If you go to the nurburgring you can see so much more for so much less. The atmosphere is better and it is much better organsied. If people went to the nurburgring instead of le mans i think there would be a hugh number less turning up to le mans each year! Got that off my chest comment please? |
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15 Jun 2004, 20:50 (Ref:1005246) | #2 | |
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Comments? Enjoy Nurburgring next year hehe
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15 Jun 2004, 21:06 (Ref:1005266) | #3 | |
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i guess craig has the best comment. go to the nurburgring instead. simple really.
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15 Jun 2004, 21:16 (Ref:1005280) | #4 | ||
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I think he's right about the lack of toilets ...
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bernard |
15 Jun 2004, 21:33 (Ref:1005295) | #5 | ||
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lol .. a guy was complaining about F1 was told to use the remote control .. and that didn;t come out that good .. but i think if you really want just coverage of the race ... you better watch it on TV .. being there . I think is a different thing . and i'm saying this without ever being there .. in person
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16 Jun 2004, 05:54 (Ref:1005508) | #6 | ||
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I'm agree about the lack of confort for the public.
For the rest : well, each race needs supporters ! Go for Nordschleife ! |
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16 Jun 2004, 08:22 (Ref:1005585) | #7 | |
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whingeing miserable git !
you can see loads for free . . . .its a 5 day event . . pits are free all day Friday, Qualifying thursday and Friday is also included try doing a bit of research and make a bit of effort £150 a head gets us a 5 day weekend break inc camping, ferries, tickets etc, and thats 2 in a car so you could do it even cheaper, it'd cost you that just to get into the British GP for the weekend grandstands dont offer a much better view so I think theyre a waste of time and money |
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16 Jun 2004, 08:37 (Ref:1005592) | #8 | ||
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Re: The Le Mans experience
This is the first time ever I hear somebody being negative about Le Mans. Maybe you forgot to suck up the right atmosfere.:confused:
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16 Jun 2004, 09:32 (Ref:1005628) | #9 | |||||
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Re: The Le Mans experience
My first as well, I got somewhat different experiences
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At night I could get into the grandstand (around 5 am) because nobody was checking for tickets anymore. I didn't go in though because there were lots other of places to view that I had paid for. I saw: the corners before the pit-straight, all of the pitstraight (with view into the pits), and the corners following the pit straight. From both sides of the track. Then there was the corner at the end of mulsanne, and a part of the straight following it. Arnage and Indianapolis were easily accessible as well, although I didn't go there. Porsche curves were easy to reach as well, a 2 minute walk from our camping wich can be reached by bus. A bit more busses would have been nice, but I didn't get bored waiting. Maybe that's just me though. Quote:
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I had only one encounter with a drunk guy, but he fell of the hill we were one so that was no problem. Considering the length of time and the number of people involved I'd say that's not bad. Can't comment on the ring, haven't been there yet. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy le mans. I had a great time and seem to have enjoyed everything you missed. |
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16 Jun 2004, 09:32 (Ref:1005629) | #10 | |||
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Re: The Le Mans experience
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However, you are dead right on many aspects, the toliets are not even up to 20th century standards, the food on offer is generally poor, given that this is France where it could/should be so much better. Crowd control is poor in many areas, with motorised vehicles being mixed in with people on foot (how long before someone is seriously injured?). The ACO have announced at large package of improvements before 2006 which should help though. |
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16 Jun 2004, 09:49 (Ref:1005642) | #11 | ||
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The £40 quid also lets you go the the test days.
You are right it takes foreever to get anywhere in the track, all those people in your way, maybe you should try carrying a placard letting other less important people know your comming thru? The loos are not perfect, but given the amount of people using them they are generally fine when compared to any events attended by a large amount of people, as for paying a euro each time, dare I say its not much for a job I would charge alot more for. In case you did'nt notice when you where checking the loos and counting your euros, its on for 24hrs, therefore you can dip in and out without losing the plot and its better to move around from time to time. I suppose the people at the 'ring are rooted to the spot for the whole 24hrs?, not visting the pristine loos cleaned foc by smileing attendent's. |
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16 Jun 2004, 10:54 (Ref:1005700) | #12 | ||
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well i'm back from my first time too. I was totally blown away by the sound of the cars and the atmosphere. I was sadly ripped off on the tickets but didn't mind too much at the time as it was still worth every penny. I spent most of the time walking along all the general acess areas watching from different views. I felt that apart from the first and last two hours you didn't need a grandstand ticket. I also went down to mulsanne corner. this was a free bus shuttle service which also takes you to indianappolis and arnage. Sadly this wasn't made clear but it was there if you looked it up. after the race i went down onto the pitland was pretty much under the podium during the presentation. after this i walked about on the track a little and then took photos of the cars comming back to the garages from parc ferme. I went all alone and made some new friends while there. some times i think you have to make the best of a situation and you obviously didn't mate. Enjoy the 'ring and i'll be at Le Mans next year making the most of it.
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16 Jun 2004, 11:35 (Ref:1005739) | #13 | ||
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The grandstands are all free during qualifying.
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16 Jun 2004, 12:05 (Ref:1005763) | #14 | ||
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It just goes to show you need to know what you're doing when you go to Le Mans, particularly as a first-timer (which is why several sites (including mine) offer advice to first-timers).
A few points then (from someone who finds it hard to believe a post like wyzard's - but accepts that we're all entitled to our own opinions......):- 1. Ticket prices. You think £40 is a lot for, at the least, 24 hours of racing? And at the most, a whole week of practicing, entertainm,ent and racing. Obviously you don't go to GPs either.... you'd have a heart attack at what you get for much, much more...... I've always regarded the ticket prices at Le Mans as extremely reasonable. They've gone up relatively little in the 19 years I've been going to Le Mans and are worth every penny, IMO. As it happens, as an ACO member, I paid 44 euros. 2. Where the ticket gets you? Well, if all you do is hang around the garages and the tribunes...... As has already been said, you can get as far down as Tertre Rouge at one end and as far along as the spectator area at the Porsche Curves at the other. Plus entrance to the spectator areas at Arnage and Indianapolis, and again at Mulsanne Corner. There are buses to take you there if you don't have transport at the circuit. 3. Grandstands. You seriously expect to get general entrance and a grandstand seat for £40? As it happens, I paid nothing (thank you Fab ), but I still think that another £40 on top for the view I had from 34 was well worth it. I take your point about the empty stands though. When I was in the pits grandstand at about 4 a.m. on Sunday morning, I doubt there were more than 20 others in there with me. There are a lot of "pretty people" who use that stand - its always the last to fill up before the start. 4. The Mulsanne. No, you can't officially get much in the way of access to the Mulsanne. But this is Le Mans - we're not talking about a normal circuit. The Mulsanne is a public road for the rest of the year and policing it is a real problem for les gendarmes. This year, the security managed to keep even me away from most of it (note the most...... ). 5. Organisation. OK, in some respects its not the best, but I had no trouble at all getting from place to place. You can't exactly sprint, but who wants to in weather like that.... 6. Toilets. They've always been dreadful, but there are good ones. The ones in the stands are OK, the ones outside the circuit at the entrance to garage rouge are fine. Of course, if you stay inside the circuit for the whole race, you're gonna struggle. I never understand why people do it...... 7. Watching the race. With you all the way there. I go to Le Mans to watch the race, but there are plenty of people for whom the only thought is where the next beer is coming from. I saw examples of total excess (particularly at the shampoo bar about 7 pm on Saturday) and it never fails to amaze me how people can contiunue to throw back the beer at 6 o'clock in the morning. Still, that's up to them. It doesn't affect me - I know what I want to do and where I want to be to do it. The thing that disappoints me most is that wyzard came away with such a poor impression of Le Mans from his first visit. That, I think, is very unusual indeed. But it just goes to show that, these days, you do need to do some homework before you go for the first time. If all you do is wander around the tribunes for 24+ hours, you're missing a great deal. A very great deal. Just give it another chance. Last edited by Aysedasi; 16 Jun 2004 at 12:06. |
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16 Jun 2004, 12:28 (Ref:1005785) | #15 | ||
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Re: Re: The Le Mans experience
Quote:
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16 Jun 2004, 12:39 (Ref:1005795) | #16 | ||
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I don't know about the homework etc. It may help, but when I went to Le Mans for the first time (1998) I didn't know anything. I only knew that Le Mans was in France, and that it was a 24 hour sportscar race. Some guy we met at a F1 GP told us to go there because it was great, so we went. On our way to Le Mans one of my friends was even wondering how long this race took!
But the thing is: after having spent one day at Le Mans we knew we would be back next year and that we were going to take more friends to join us! We were so impressed! If you're a race fan you must like it. I can't imagine that you don't. But hey, all people are different, and with so many people visiting the race there will always be somebody not having a good time. |
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16 Jun 2004, 14:26 (Ref:1005863) | #17 | |||
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Re: Re: The Le Mans experience
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16 Jun 2004, 15:27 (Ref:1005926) | #18 | ||
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Guess I wont be going to the Nurburgring next year !!!
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16 Jun 2004, 16:54 (Ref:1006015) | #19 | ||
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Well i thought i might as well add my two pence worths. This was my first time at Le Mans, and i absolutely loved it, the atmosphere was absolutely amazing for me, even though i wasn't on a campsite. I couldn't get over how many classic cars were there i've never seen so many Ferrari's, Jaguars, etc in all my life. Two images will forever stay in my mind, 1) The massive group of T.V.R fans at the drivers parade who turned it into a wheel spin event for all the classic cars, and modern sports cars which went past. If anyone was part of that group who were gathered just after where the parade went underneath a block of apartments , i salute you, you really did make it hilarious - especially when beer was handed to Johnny Herbert and Colin Mcrae, and the TVR fan walking along the route with shorts round his ankles- interesting sight! 2) The antics in the town square on Friday evening, involving much tyre smoke and a Nissan Bluebird - automatic!?. Of course the race was fantastic, especially the view from Indianapolis and Mulsanne Corner at about 2 am!
Could i just point out me and my father had this much fun even though when we arrived at Le mans on thursday evening, the hotel we were meant to stay in hadn't heard of us, saying there was no room and making us find somewhere else, in the process loosing £300 somewhere and having to fork out tonnes more for a different hotel. And we missed some of qualifying on thursday evening, but dispite this we had a marvelous time, right now comes the process of finding accomodation for next year - somewhere which might remember us! |
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16 Jun 2004, 16:59 (Ref:1006027) | #20 | ||
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Firstly welcome aboard Alistair I would recommend a campsite for next year and yes that Nissan Bluebird did produce a lot of smoke didn't it.
I have to echo everyone else comments. At the end of day this is Le Mans and this why we love it so much. Oh and I have also found some cracking Bogs but I am not telling anyone where they are....... |
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16 Jun 2004, 17:02 (Ref:1006032) | #21 | |||
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Re: The Le Mans experience
Quote:
About organisation, some improvements have been made year after year. In most of programs sold around the circuit, there are plans of services, roads, grandstands... But you are not alone: ask people for going to Arnage and Mulsanne. You can also hitch-hike, it works. Tell us what you find bad in organisation because there are certainly things that are pointed out by a first-timer and not seen by a "veteran". |
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16 Jun 2004, 17:19 (Ref:1006046) | #22 | |||
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Re: Re: Re: The Le Mans experience
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but it's true that when you get out of it (shampoo bar area for example), it's a real problem |
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16 Jun 2004, 18:48 (Ref:1006132) | #23 | |||
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Quote:
I'd rather use the ones which haven't got cracks in them....... |
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16 Jun 2004, 19:06 (Ref:1006158) | #24 | ||
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What's a cracking bog ?
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16 Jun 2004, 19:07 (Ref:1006162) | #25 | |
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Ah, the Nissan Bluebird... remember him and his mate from the centre of Arnage on Sunday night... mad maniacs! hehe
I have just re-read this entire thread and, whilst I agree with many of the points such as the disgusting toilets, I am more than happy to overlook this seeing as the rest of the week is such a great event. Hell, the drive down on Thursday morning is worth the trip on it's own, and that's before you've even arrived at the circuit!! |
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