For sale:-

1 x Houx Annexe camping ticket

Not quite in my hands (it got posted to my parents place) but it has been delivered & is going spare.

Bought at ACO rates (+ postage) so I'm looking at £35. I'll post it a week Thursday (18th May) so you'll have it in plenty of time for the main event.

Any takers??

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Update: Sold, that was quick!!

Mike there's the usual standpipes every once in a while, if you get there early enough (?Thursday am?) you may be able to camp close by (but up hill!!) of them

I've gone through the whole thread & they've not been mentioned properly (only in passing)

If you haven't got one, too late I think this years have all been snapped up. But anyone with one (any year will do) must take...a Club Arnage T-shirt!!

Got an email from UPS, my tickets are due tomorrow

But the most impressive thing is UPS appeared to pick them up mid-afternoon & according to the tracking thingy they're in Essex already!!

They must fly them straight from the Le Mans airfield to Stansted!! It sure beats the pointless flight to Hong Kong from a few years ago!!

Got forwarded an internal email from my mole at Aston Martin...& yup he's coming with us this year....   Thought any Bond/Aston fans may be interested??

Certainly looks better than a custard yellow Z06 huh??

**

The Aston Martin DBS will be seen for the first time, driven by Daniel Craig, in the new James Bond film ‘Casino Royale’ due for release on the 17th November 2006 by MGM/Sony.   Aston Martin recently hosted a small event in Prague, revealing the new Aston Martin DBS to selected journalists from around the world.

Media coverage can be expected from 4th May 2006 and attached is the official image of the Aston Martin DBS with Daniel Craig which was taken at the studio in Prague.

It certainly looks like a messed up 360 to me, what makes anyone stick a racing bodykit on a road car like that is beyond me, the car is loud enough as it is (at least the exhaust is!! )

Ok so I can't post & not add some more pics...

Anyone see Martin Brundle chatting to Tamara Ecclestone last weekend?? Her old man may have a lot to answer for but this makes up for some of it!!

Ok so I thought I'd save making a whole new thread for this seeing as how it's for a mate & not for me....

Please follow the link below to help out a friend, & find out more, it's all for a very good cause...

http://www.helpwinthisbet.com/404/

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but...

Auntie Beeb is reporting that TVR have not renewed the lease at their Blackpool factory & have laid off over 25% of staff. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4939224.stm

I seriously hope this turns out well, the last thing we need is more bad news for British industry!! They'd better find a new location in the UK & not move the factory over to Russia!!   Otherwise I'll certainly not be buying myself a Sagaris, once I've got the cash!!

Going on past experience H, just turn up & shout at them, they'll let you on. Just be prepared to swim after shouting "there's a bomb in that car" on your way up to the "passenger area"

So moving vaguely back on topic...

There's a minimum of 4 cars & god knows how many people going to Le Mans this year we have only a few recurring visitors (other than me) & have no team name because of that, any ideas gratefully received on a postcard though... 

1 VW Bora (diesel) with 3 people, a Merc C180 "sport coupe" (seating 4 Le Mans virgins) & another as yet to be arranged car pour moi (hopefully something with some "poke") are getting the 7am Speedferries on Wednesday morning, aiming to be in HA for mid afternoon (hopefully in the CA area of this green & pleasant (yet dusty) land habited by only the elite few )

A second wave (of virgins) will be coming in 1 car (this bit is a little hazy) via Pompey - Caen on Friday.

Heading back on Monday (the Merc driver reckons he's getting the 9:55am ferry...yeah right!!)

All in all very much looking forward to it & already working on amusing pranks to be played on all newbies (ideas are again welcome...)

That said...planning is already underway for 2007 when we move into the 21st century with a camper (fridge, TV, satellite...hmmm). Has anyone ordered 2007 tickets yet??

Hang about!! I'm not about to say that Champ Car in it's current form is the most exciting motorsport championship anywhere, although that would make a good topic, & get me 1 post closer to a Senior Member!!

But give it some credit, for a series that was on it's death bed it has been revitalised by Kevin Kalkhoven (who now also owns Cosworth), Jerry Forsythe & Paul Gentilozzi who own the group that run champ car. There's a couple more well backed teams, noticably Newman/Haas & RuSport & a number of decent drivers looking for a competitive race seat that can't make it into the "upper echelons" of F1.

Needless to say Dan Wheldon is doing a good job at turning left & fair play to him, but Justin Wilson isn't too shabby himself & looks like a frontrunner in champ car this year.

This view is not in anyway biased due to my owning shares in Justin Wilson PLC....

Lads...it looks to me like we only need to hit 250 posts, by my reckoning we'll all be there pretty soon!!

A Honda up aginst the Spyder RS?? I know where my money would go... 

Text below courtesy of Autosport.com...

Honda has confirmed it is to enter the American Le Mans Series next season, under its Acura banner.

As predicted by Autosport last summer, Honda will enter the LMP2 branch of the championship with what it is described as a 'full factory assault'.

The move will put the company in direct competition with Porsche, who have entered the series this season with their works RS Spyder.

The news was confirmed today at the New York International Auto Show. Acura confirmed that engines would power chassis from a number of manufacturers, including Courage and Lola. Testing will begin this summer.

"As Acura marks its 20-year anniversary, I can't think of a better racing series to showcase our technology and performance than the American Le Mans Series," said John Mendel, senior vice president of auto sales, American Honda Motor Company.

"Our entry as a full factory team in the American Le Mans Series will accurately reflect Acura's position as a leader in automotive performance and technology, and provide us with an arena in which to compete against other manufacturers in endurance sports car racing."

No teams or drivers have been unveiled but Honda have promised announcements shortly. Single-seater teams Rahal Letterman Racing, Andretti Green Racing and Newman/Haas have all been linked with running cars.

"We are delighted to have Acura join the American Le Mans Series," said Scott Atherton, president and CEO of ALMS.  "The Honda brand has a long history of racing and we welcome their addition to our exciting, growing series."

It will be the first time that Honda Performance Development (HPD) has taken on duel motorsport programmes. Honda is the sole engine supplier to the Indy Racing League.

"We're looking forward with great anticipation to entering the American Le Mans Series," said Robert Clarke, president of HPD.

"In addition to returning Acura to the international racing stage against other innovative automotive manufacturers, it allows us to continue to grow HPD into a world-class performance company."

Robbo this was most certainly not a slur on you or any other decent minded plank rider 

It was only the 1% who always go out looking for a fight, they just happened to be boarders, it didn't put me off the apres ski, but I was crap at getting down them big hills!!

Seems to me the difference between boarders & skiers is like MB & HA... [ducks] 

It gives me no pleasure to add that German JWRC co-driver Jorg Bastuck also passed on in the tragic weekend just gone.

Sad as both these events are motorsport is dangerous & it always will be, this just underlines the importance of marshalls & safety crews.

Anyway here's to a safe running in La Sarthe this year!!