I also think that it is all going a bit too far  what was for a while good humoured fun on Friday outside Maison Blanche turned into complete thuggery and intimidation including the opening of coach belly lockers and the stealing of others peoples property.

I have been an ACO member  for seven years and I do find it value for money with the discounts on tickets and other items. However when it comes to the allocation of camping passes it is an absolute farce. In the last few years the ACO has allocated the camping tickets that you order on a system that is loosely based on French system of torture that works like this firstly you give them the  three options that you are willing to purchase. This gives them a good idea  of what you are interested in. They can then of course  allocate you something totally different just to annoy you.
Every year for the last three years they have done this to me but this year was the best yet My options were  4 passes for Tertre rouge, Interior musee or Chappelle. I booked a year in advance and I also supplied as requested a colleagues disabled pass as one of our party has trouble walking long distances. what do we get allocated Beausejour you could not get any further away. After making numerous phone calls they changed it to camping bleu ( a little bit closer) They were kind enough to put me at the top of the waiting list for Tertre Rouge (or so they told me) three weeks before the event I called the ACO again and asked about my  camping tickets and they told me I was seventeenth on the waiting list they had apparently forgot to put me on the top of the list. I was told that it was unlikely that i would get the tickets. They then asked me would I like 4 Maison Blanche tickets instead as that was all that they could offer(first time at MB and a good crack).

Am I alone in this or are the ACO stalk raving bonkers and have no system for allocating passes. I would not expect to go to my local newsagents to order a copy of Autosport only to get 20 Benson and hedges and a box of matches.

When Radio Le Mans went on the air for the first time it was like a  breath of fresh you could follow the race and all that what was happening for the very first time. I normally would have to wait for Autosport and Motoring news to come out the following week just to find out what had happened. It  was of course set up for that very reason to reach the 50,000 or so Brits at the track and of course to make a profit which it has always struggled to do. Anyone remember the ressurection raffle to raise much needed funds? The format  was always great  fun even the adverts were hilarious remember the Jiffy condom ads? The content was always superb and very informative and I for one would have been lost without it. However in my humble  opinion it has being going down hill for a number of years for many reasons, saying that though I probably would be lost without it and I am sure that the majority of those Brits that go to the great race would also mourn its passing.

I dont think there is any such thing as automatic allocation if you booked the previous year. I have for the last couple of years booked at the ACO office the weekend of the race for the following year. However this is now too late if you want specific in demand camping places. I was told that you have to book at the test day because that is when the tickets for the following year go on sale I tried ordering before this and my order was refused. As I could not make the test day I emailed my order to ticket@lemans.org. Although I have not had a response I will follow it up when I get to Le Mans for the race. It is amazing the lengths you now have to go to just to get the place you would like it was not very long ago that you did not have to book a camping ticket you could just turn up and there were places available at the most popular spots. I think with the strict heath and safety laws in France they had to limit the numbers of campers at each site. It was a bit of a free for all on the Friday you could not take your car off site as there would be a tent on it when you came back.

A safe and fast journey to Le Mans for all the club Arnage regulars and here's to a great race, great company, loads of sun and importantly copius amounts of cold beer and smokey barbecues.

This year will be my 24th consecutive year. I first went in 1983 and fell in love with the race and unique atmosphere even the ACO has not been able to put me off heres to the next 20 years

There is an  abundance of maison Blanche tickets on ebay at present with starting prices of just a fiver at this late stage they will probably go cheap. I am looking at bidding on one of them as I am one short

Wow that is a bit strong is it not. Smashing faces in and resorting to using al quaeda against British citizens

Well it could be interesting if he did?  Would it cause the same uproar as the mister Karaoke visiting roadshow?

I have been allocated three camping tickets for maison blanche and  I would like to swap them for 3 tertre rouge tickets can anyone help.


email to
info@24heuresdumans.co.uk

or phone at
07889 487252

Thanks in advance.

Joe

WWW.24heuresdumans.co.uk which was launched at Le Mans on Wednesday. Contains all posters, programs, rule books,stickers and the amazing Pierre Levegh letters sent to Alfred Neubauer Regarding the 1955 Mercedes drive. Well worth a look for the archive content.

Well done

What is the longest unbroken attendance at le Mans as a spectator? I first went in 1983 and this year is my 23rd consecutive year. Which is nothing compared to the chap I met on the startline straight a few years ago who had been to every race since 1953.

Apparently there has been some work done to the site this year including the cutting down of a number of trees to accomodate more space. Whether that has anything to do with the price increase who knows. Perhaps we will see a huge increase in the prices of all tickets at Le Mans in the near future. At the moment Le Mans has  probably the cheapest motor sport tickets in the world  with entrance tickets only costing 50 Euros for 5 days with the prequalifying dates thrown in for good measure. As far as I can recall entrance fees are about the same as they were when I first went in 1983. Are the French about to wake up to the revenue potential.

The Memorial stone is for the young French driver Sebastien Enjolras who was killed  when the  prototype he was driving lost its body work during pre-qualifying in 1997. The car became airborne once the ground effects were interrupted. Landing atop the guard rail on the right side of the track, the car caught fire. The fire left a large charred area on the guard rail and the trees behind.

Unfortunately no lap dancers this time however there will be 3 polish pole dancers to accompany the rythmic music of yours truly. Who incidentally is an established  French Popstar. A legend in my own lunchtime in fact.

Le Mans is the worlds greatest race with probably the worlds biggest party going on in the background.