We stayed in blue camp site....Decided as there was 4 of us we'd all chip in and hire a camper. 4 blokes in a camper.....nice! On arrival Friday 15:00 site was pretty full but we managed to squeeze on near gate. Tanked up the van with water ( This was the only problem with a camper you have to move it to the water ) then tanked up the occupants! The site although crowded was not to 'over the top' 100% uk, so very well behaved!!!
We had excellent viewing of the drag racing in the field opposite the main entrance that evening. The guy in the BMW must have needed new tyres after the amount of rubber he burnt. The Cobras seemed to hold their own until the bikes arrived......Better viewing than the main event! Eventually the local cops shut it all down, shame really it was all good fun and nobody was in much danger! We actually had contacts with Computacentre and so came to support the Marcos, Oh well they sounded like a real car! We managed to even scab a trip into the pits late Sat. The site was good and we kept the Traffic copper warm with coffee on Sunday as he stood out in the drizzle and rain, smart move we got out and onto the main road with no waiting!!! Main comment being a long bloody walk to the fair, but we were so pissed by late Saturday nobody remembered getting back. I remember some guy drinking lighter fuel and the blowing out huge flames..........from his mouth!
If you can, I suggest going in a camper although a bit soft and not for real men! The luxury of a shower at 4:00am Sunday is well worth it. We were swapping bottles of beer for the use of the bog with soft paper! quite a money spinner!!!! The amount of duty free you can bring back in the back also supplements the costs.
Note we mucked up good style on ferries! We planned FRI morning early returning early Mon. However we arrived early and grabbed standby Thurs night. Last vehicle on, only thing was we wanted Plymouth Le Havre......only could give us Plymouth Cherbourg what a bleeding long way in a diesel camper.....nice to be the silly old gits holding up all the traffic on those windy roads, hope we even pissed of caravaners! We were so impressed were doubling the crew and going for a Winnebago...maybe 8 guys in a travel home is more macho, than 4 in a camper.............Carry on Le Mans Yaaayaaaayaaayyaaayyaaaa as the great late Sid James would say!
Blue campsite seemed good to me gets 3 stars! Although we only spent 1 night and 3 hours there over the 3 days!
P.S If we all pray at the same time for weather like Friday last year to be available the whole weekend will it work? Arrived in shorts ready for a tan and left in waterproofs....trouble going abroad you don't get the weather like what we do here...remember that summer!!!!!
I've been visiting Le Mans every year since 1979 (my father has also attended every year, except one, since then). In days of yore we've been Aston, Rondeau, Jaguar and Cougar supporters, but, of course, we're now dedicated Marcos supporters.
My first visit to Le Mans was spurred by a casual conversation in an economics class at school. A friend and I chatted about how good it would be to visit the 'greatest race in the world', although, in truth, neither of us knew anything about the event, beyond the Steve McQueen film. I've long since lost contact with that friend, but I made the trip to Le Mans and was hooked.
1979 was the year the Group 5 Porsche 935 won, Paul Newman was second and Derek Bell tried, ultimately in vain, to coax the Ford-Mirage to the line - More drama than a script writer would've dared to include.
1980, it poured with rain and at times (as I've done on occasions since) I vowed I wouldn't return, but by early 81, I was keen to return and I have now decided to ignore the odd low point and just accept that I'll be there every year.
The early and mid 80s were of mixed quality, but the highlights, for me, were the late 80's Porsche/Mercedes/Jaguar battles and the '88 Jaguar victory was a wonderful moment - I'll never forget the bizzare sight of French villagers waving Union Jacks at every British car on the way back to the ferry - Where did they find the flags on a Sunday afternoon?
Le Mans, for me, has become a ritual. I travel over on the Friday morning sailing from Portsmouth (to Le Havre or Caen) and arrive in Le Mans early evening (it's a 7 hour crossing). Stop at Carrefour or Auchan (if you prefer Stella Artois to Kronenbourg!) to fill up with food, wine and, just possibly, a beer or two.
I park the car in Garage Rouge (which puts me close to the Dunlop Bridge) and sleep in the car, rather than joining the massed crowds in the camp sites - it's cheaper than camping and more international, although for a longer stay it wouldn't be so practical and they've got a lot fussier about people erecting even small tents in recent years.
Saturday morning we stroll into Le Mans for a coffee in a bar on the main square (great for watching all the classic and sportscars rolling into town for the race) and then around the old town (well worth a visit). Grab a beer in the Place de Cathedral and then, via Carrefour for a replenishment of food supplies (you may find your beer/wine supplies running low too!), and back to the circuit in plenty of time to take in the start.
I usually watch the start at the Esses or the new Dunlop chicane. Little beats the sight of the massed entry bursting over the rise under the Dunlop bridge from the Esses. From there, I'll wander down to Tetre Rouge to watch the cars starting off down the Mulsanne.
After dinner, it's a wander around the Esses, Tetre Rouge and Dunlop Chicane, take in the sights of the fair and the village (The shopping complex behind the pits) and then I'll wander down as far as you can go towards the Porsche Curves (beyond the pits away from the Dunlop Bridge) in the early hours to watch the lights through the curves. Grab a coffee and maybe some Frites and then back to watch the glow of the brake disks as the cars slow for Maison Blanche and the Ford Chicane and, finally (before a little sleep - some go without altogether!), watch a little of the activity in the pits.
Rise again at around 6.30 or 7 and catch up on the latest position. All too often the car you've been rooting for has expired in the night and the morning is a mixture of expectation and dread.
After breakfast, it's back to the circuit and follow the events until the stomach says LUNCH! After that, it's back to watch the closing laps and maybe take in the podium (depending on who's won!).
That's it, Le Mans over for another year...I always take the 11 o'clock ferry back to Portsmouth. Once or twice I've stayed in a hotel and returned on the Monday morning, but somehow it dilutes the experience.
Some tips? Buy your food and drink at Carrefour before the race, take a radio to keep up to date on the race (if the racing is actually of any interest to you) through the excellent Radio Le Mans, steer clear of the 'toilets' around the circuit unless you've a strong stomach!
Mark
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/mark_saxby/)
If you are going to Le Mans from England you need to get the ferry (unless you have your own boat) ( Or use 'Le tunnel' perhaps Ed.) and there is a right and a wrong way to approach the crossing. The first thing to get right is to pick an over night crossing. Not only is the drive through France shorter but your holiday starts earlier. Then you can either get things right or wrong. The choice is yours but follow my advice (I've done it both ways) and you won't go wrong.
Arrive at the port and find your ferry tickets. Keep them handy. Locate passports etc in the unlikely event that anyone looks at them and then exit your vehicle and off load any extra tickets you have at face value. Admire all the lovely cars lined up and open some larger you've stashed for emergencies. Make sure customs don't see you. Board the ferry and head for the bar. It won't be open but reserve your seat and ensure your passage to the bar is free from obstruction. Once the bar is open drink heavily whilst the excitement rises. After about five or maybe six pint tour the boat looking for some food. Everything is by now closed so you might as well resort to more amber liquid. Listen to the cabaret and admit you are enjoying it and that the block with the mouth organ is really tallented. At around 4am go to bed - except you forgot to look for your cabin when you boarded. Head for the reclining seats, any will do, you'll sleep so heavily no one will wake you. The floor is your final destination although this can lead to laughter from other hardened Le Mans visitors. Now feel completely gutted, as well as mosterously hung over, when you get up 1 hour later to disembark. It is now you will realise that you've got it wrong - you are driving. You have drunk too much. The thought of croisants and coffee repels you. But your travelling compainions are all up for it. You are going to spend the morning with your head on the table of a French cafe whilst your mates laugh at you.
It will all happen exactly as above but - get someone else to drive.
Go to you camp site. You don't need tickets for every car. You get one plot per ticket you see and so the more of you there are the more tickets the camp wardens expect you to have. But with a complete denial of any knowledge of the French language and a swift shrug of the shoulders you should be able to get any number of cars on the site and take up a large number of plots. Don't worry everyone does it which doesn't make it right but does make it ok. Oh get to the site as quickly as possible for a good pitch near some water. If you are arriving at the port early Friday morning this means a high speed drive. Once you've set up camp go to the Hypermarche and stock up. Then settle back and enjoy the weekend.
All above information is culled from personal experience. See you there - I'm the one in the silly hat, shorts with red wine on my clothes.
Mail to Piers. Piers Website
Thought I'd send something in. It's a great site.
This is the fifth year at Le Mans for me. Once you get the bug there's no escape.
About a dozen of us are sailing from Cherbourg at 8.30pm Wednesday night going to Saint Malo, the only crossing we could get. If anyone wants to drop in for a beer at any time just look for a dirty old 7.5 tonne red, white and blue Iveco van with motorbike racing ads all over it.( We're borrowing it for the week). We're staying in Camping Bleu - just look for the highest flag pole around with the Union Jack, Ferrari and 'Beer Catz' colours flying in the heat. Don't ask me why we're called the Beer Catz, that's been going for years. The guys I go with are all in the building trade so each year they try to construct a flag pole that's taller than the Eiffel Tower.
I guess most people now the best way of going about things but we usually buy a few crates of fizz on the ferry to keep us oiled on the way down. On arrival at the camp site you have a brief agrement with Jean and Jacques about nothing and just pile into the site. We usually chuck all excess baggage out of the van and head off to the huge LECLERC in Le Mans itself, if you can't find it look for the rainbow bridge!! Does anyone else remember two years ago when during the lunch time all the workers at the big Yoplait factory went on strike and blocked all the roads?!?!
As my girlfriend's French, everyone expects me to do all the talking, not such a bright idea, I usually end up confusing whoever I'm talking to and end up gesticulating. The young check out girls don't know what's hit them with all the Brits buying the whole stock of cheap beer!! It's a sight to behold. Leclerc also has the best toilets available in Le Mans, the disabled is usually the best!! - They're free as well, take you own paper just in case some other Brit has swiped what was in there before. Facilities at the camp sites leave a bit to be desired, they are clean but having to pay to park your breakfast is just not on. A friend of mine had a bad experience a few years ago in Bleu, you paid the old boy when you had finished, usually 1 franc. On this occasion my friend had rather a long stay, too much uncooked bar b q food and cheap beer. On his return some 20 minutes later he was charged 10 francs for being in there too long!!
It's back to Arnage to stoke up the bar-b-q or furnace as it usually ends up. If you can, get to see the night time practice, it goes on till midnight. Watch from Tetre rouge or the Esses so you can stagger back through the fair, catch some ugly french woman in a strip show and have a dodgy old kebab in a french stick for supper!
Definitely listen to Radio Le Mans but their adverts get damn tedious by Sunday evening. My chance to have a gripe with them as well. Last year myself and a friend stayed out on the circuit all night, went to the bar on the Mulsanne had beer at Tetre Rouge cafe at 6am and thought we'd go into the village to scrounge a cup of coffee from one of the teams/sponsors. Ok se we did look 'rough', it had been a wet muddy night if you remember. So the first place we thought of was Radio Le Mans, bound to give us a Brits a coffee - we were really disappointed when we were politely told to bugger off. We'll try again this year Radio Le Mans!! Anyway Michelin were great - they gave us coffee and croissants, some of the French aren't so bad you know!
You can't fail to enjoy yourself at Le Mans, anyone wants a beer just come to find us with that stupid flag pole 30 foot high!
Oh and there's a car race as well I think.
While stationed in Germany, I took the opportunity to attend the '92 and '93 races. '92 we slept in hte car above the Tertre Rouge area, and several of your countrymen had a hard time believing we were anything but Dutch who watched too many American reruns on TV. But, thank goodness, one among them was a born diplomat:
"What are you doin'? They're bleedin' Yanks!!"
In '93, we camped properly at Maison Blanche, and seven of your countrymen played perfect hosts to us -- anyone who was there, that was us with the camouflage netting and Old Glory.
In 1986, my hubby Lee & I were able to fulfill a dream of 20 years - to experience Le Mans. Knowing only the American version (Steve McQueen), we were truly newbies - complete with eyes open wide and that "I can't believe it" look. It was a very pleasant surprise to find so many English folk - as true western Canadians, we don't speak a word of French! Lee, being the car buff he is, noticed little black triangle-shaped stickers on the headlights of the British cars and decided to ask one particular group of gents what that was all about. After explanations given, we continued to chat with the boys and a weekend friendship grew. We did not think to exchange names - this was a once in a lifetime chance - we likely would never be here again!
Fast forward to 1989 - Le Mans. Who were those Brits? Will they be here again? How will we recognize them? Would they even remember us? What can WE do to be "recognized"? Ummm, bright red jogging suits with big white maple leafs emblazoned on the front!! And would you believe, on a trip back from those infamous "toilet facilities", this Brit leans over and says "Say, weren't you here about 3 years ago?" YES!!! This time we exchanged addresses at the end of the weekend. Since then, Graham has visited us in Canada, and we have attended his wedding (in Dallas Texas, another story)! After Le Mans this year (meeting he and his wife & who knows who else), we hope to be able to spend a couple of days at his home in England.
It is our 25th Wedding anniversary, we're bringing our young boys, tickets have already been purchased and we will be having a celebration in the old le Houx campground (a new name now, I know) on Friday night. Pardy Hardy Canadjan style. Thanks for the great web site, we'll be checking in lots until June 2 (unless I can pick up a laptop with a modem).
1988 ( I think - year Silk Cut Jags got 1-2-3 ?? ) Was sat in the office Friday morning having been for a beer with one of the lads last night who’s going. Don’t fancy driving up the M1 back home on Friday afternoon - phone wife - get down to Staines with passports and a change of clothing - going to Le Mans.
Have no driving license with me or insurance documents. Some frantic phone calls get them faxed to the AA who provide international driving license and green card. We are on our way.
Get to Dover 6pm onto next ferry and into a very dark France. Haven’t got out of the port when faced with 11 red traffic lights with one amber flashing one. Not one to gamble I stop - only to be beeped and cursed by French drivers around me. A kind Englishman stops alongside and asks if this is my first time. Yup!! He tells me to follow and off we go.
5am finds me driving in bright sunshine through morning mist - I go to sleep at wheel and wake after hitting a kerb HARD !! - Time for coffee.
We get to Le Mans after lunch to find that tickets in are going to cost 52 quid and I've only 70 in francs !!! Gets the tickets anyway and heads for town.
3 hours trolling though town trying to acquire cash from banks without a Euro- card and unable to use Visa finds me in Carrefour. Buys some food and beer and flogs beer to some other English visitors for cash - Sorted !!!
Since I have little cash and no parking ticket parked outside track at start of Mulsanne straight - will end up sleeping in the back of a Cavalier with the wife - heyho !
Weather EXTREMELY hot - great race - Jag 1-2, Porsche 3rd, Jag 4th - OOps Porsche's caught fire within hour of end - We did laugh -Jag 1-2-3 !!!
7pm Sunday - racing back through France to get the ferry home - Got Lost - found the way again ended up on the ferry for 2am !!
Back in Work Monday morning - knackered - sunburnt - when is next years race ??
Love it - Can't wait till June - Taking two newbies and another Veteran this year - just hope the sun shines.
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