Parking???

[monkey]

There was quite a bit of chat about having to buy parking in advance so I have to confess that team Monkey was a little concerned that we might have a problem. We had discussed it in detail. Obviously it would be completely impossible for the organisers to only sell tickets in advance only. What would be the point??? How would they cope with all the people turning up without parking tickets - what would everyone do - dump their cars and walk to the circuit? But having said that early Saturday morning we received a phone call from Team Carr suggesting that all the parking was sold out!! So the tension mounted a little as we approached the car park at Mulsanne. We turned right - and there was the caravan and two lovely ladies selling a ticket there and then - just as they always have done year in year out. The only difference being it was a little cheaper this year I think at 8 Euros??

[DelBoy]

Situation normal at Arnage corner as well.  Sailed straight thru in the half-hour break between quali sessions, and straight onto the first car park - pas de problem!

I believe the car park for which you needed to buy tickets is the one inside the barriers.

Del

[ewan]

No, the paid for car park was the first one on the right after you round the corner opposite the entrance to the Arnage enclosure. They were selling tickets on the Saturday at the entrance to the car park for €8, but by the Sunday when we came back, anyone who hadn't bought a ticket was sent to the overflow car park a bit further along.

Where they got to park for free.

Go figure??

[Brad Zarse]

French......

[Snoring Rhino]

Thats where we normally end up.

[Bas]

Parking fee, what parking fee, we ended up parking on Sunday at the same road we always do just before Arnage without paying anything. 

[DelBoy]

No, the paid for car park was the first one on the right after you round the corner opposite the entrance to the Arnage enclosure.

That was the car park I went in - on thursday night.  So the payment was just for during the race then.

Del

[Douglas]

wish we had taken the car to Arnage and Mulsanne
We spent 5.5.hrs on ruddy bus going round and round between the two trying to get back to Stranglers concert

[Christopher]

We drove to Arnage at about 02.30 during the race and then moved onto Mulsanne at about 04.30, with no problems.

No one asked for a parking ticket or €8.

I suspect the ticket / payment issue comes into play during what the ACO regard as the peak hours (i.e. upto midnight).

I flet that numbers in both areas were down on last year, at the times we visited.

In fact, it felt like the total attendance was less than last year. Even towards the end of the race when a home when was a certainty, the terraces opposite the pits had ample space.

[MIKE C (Liverpool Boys)]

Same as us we drove to Arnage at about 4.00am Sunday.We were just waved stright into the carpark, NO charge.

[oldtimer]

Same as us we drove to Arnage at about 4.00am Sunday.We were just waved stright into the carpark, NO charge.

Did you have a parking permit from a different part of the circuit on display?  I did notice quite a few 'vert', 'rouge' and 'bleu' permitted cars down in the Mulsanne/Arnage car parks.

It certainly used to be the case that such tickets allowed access to Mulsanne, Arnage and Hunaudieres without shelling out again, but I had interpretted the changes this year to be that this would no longer be the case and that a different permit would be required for each car park zone visited.

[ewan]

Same as us we drove to Arnage at about 4.00am Sunday.We were just waved stright into the carpark, NO charge.

Did you have a parking permit from a different part of the circuit on display?  I did notice quite a few 'vert', 'rouge' and 'bleu' permitted cars down in the Mulsanne/Arnage car parks.

It certainly used to be the case that such tickets allowed access to Mulsanne, Arnage and Hunaudieres without shelling out again, but I had interpretted the changes this year to be that this would no longer be the case and that a different permit would be required for each car park zone visited.

When we went to drive into the car park on the Saturday morning (to watch the legends race) the first one was less than half full; when they asked for a ticket, I pointed to the Bleu Nord camping ticket we were displaying but they said no, we had to buy an Arnage/Mulsanne specific parking ticket...

[Stu]

Same as us we drove to Arnage at about 4.00am Sunday.We were just waved stright into the carpark, NO charge.

Did you have a parking permit from a different part of the circuit on display?  I did notice quite a few 'vert', 'rouge' and 'bleu' permitted cars down in the Mulsanne/Arnage car parks.

It certainly used to be the case that such tickets allowed access to Mulsanne, Arnage and Hunaudieres without shelling out again, but I had interpretted the changes this year to be that this would no longer be the case and that a different permit would be required for each car park zone visited.

No, only our B/N camping permit. I went to buy a €8 permit at the the rotounde only to be told that you paid when you got there which as you know we didn't. Still a great spot for watching.

[Lord Steve]

We drove to Arnage at about 02.30 during the race and then moved onto Mulsanne at about 04.30, with no problems.

No one asked for a parking ticket or €8.

I suspect the ticket / payment issue comes into play during what the ACO regard as the peak hours (i.e. upto midnight).

I flet that numbers in both areas were down on last year, at the times we visited.

In fact, it felt like the total attendance was less than last year. Even towards the end of the race when a home when was a certainty, the terraces opposite the pits had ample space.

You are quite right Christopher, I was on the terracing for the last three hours of the race where I meet a French family every year and we had bags of room. To be honest I thought that the reaction of the French spectators to a home win was slightly muted. Imagine the pandemonium if the Astons had come home first!!

It was also very noticeable how relatively empty Houx was.

[Barry]

I was predicting that if the Pug was leading on Sunday morning then the place would be packed by the finish.
How wrong I was. I think there was more noise and pandamonium when Bentley won, than this year.