I was on Bleu Nord, people were arriving at abou 9am and having to tour to find space. Some guys in a mini with a single tent managed it, a larger group would have had more difficulty.
Possibly the tickets on the gate are essentially returns which I believe the ACO will take back and sell if they can. I doubt that any are held back, no business would hold back something that could be sold easily in advance.
What if the weather was bad, people wouldn't bother turning up late and they would lose money.
I was offered a Maison Blanche ticket on friday night at the DFH enclosure so I refered the owner to the ACO office, don't know if they took it or if it was sold.