Parade lap – Le Mans Classic – insurance

[frenchie TVR]

Hi Guys,
I am doing the parade laps with the piston heads group on Saturday 8am at le mans classic (in my TVR Chimaera 500). I am insured with Footman James on a classic car policy and I have the “track day cover option”, but because Le Mans is abroad I am not covered.

Question, does anyone know someone that would cover me just for this, as a 1 off?

Cheers & see you at Le Mans Classic!

Frenchie

[nawarne]

frenchie TVR said:

Hi Guys,
I am doing the parade laps with the piston heads group on Saturday 8am at le mans classic (in my TVR Chimaera 500). I am insured with Footman James on a classic car policy and I have the “track day cover option”, but because Le Mans is abroad I am not covered.

Question, does anyone know someone that would cover me just for this, as a 1 off?

Cheers & see you at Le Mans Classic!

Frenchie

Frenchie - google REIS they do all sorts of competition cover...DO NOT CONSIDER Morris insurance.

Reis will charge about 10% of the sum assured....i.e. Car value £20K insurance is about £200....it is for a whole day.

In 2012, when the French Sagaris whacked a DB5 near the Dunlop bridge, and I had a British Griff loose it just after Tertre Rouge and skitter down the Armco, it made sense to me to have cover.

Nick

[anonymous-user]

nawarne said:

frenchie TVR said:

Hi Guys,
I am doing the parade laps with the piston heads group on Saturday 8am at le mans classic (in my TVR Chimaera 500). I am insured with Footman James on a classic car policy and I have the “track day cover option”, but because Le Mans is abroad I am not covered.

Question, does anyone know someone that would cover me just for this, as a 1 off?

Cheers & see you at Le Mans Classic!

Frenchie

Frenchie - google REIS they do all sorts of competition cover...DO NOT CONSIDER Morris insurance.

Reis will charge about 10% of the sum assured....i.e. Car value £20K insurance is about £200....it is for a whole day.

In 2012, when the French Sagaris whacked a DB5 near the Dunlop bridge, and I had a British Griff loose it just after Tertre Rouge and skitter down the Armco, it made sense to me to have cover.

Nick

Nick,
I recall 2012 carnage laps at Le Mans and wouldn't do the parade again (even with insurance).

Just back from the TVR Zolder meeting. Had a car that has an agreed value of £35K, covered for the full timed open pit track day through Jelf Insurance - premium £220.00.

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 30th June 12:05

[nawarne]

^^ Yep, 2012 Classic parade laps had a few casualties, I believe.

I guess as the attendance figures grow for the event and more folks opt for parade laps, then you will get some accidents. I hope the Classic doesn't start to attract the harem-scarem brigade.

I to have decided to give the parade laps a miss this year purely on a cost basis. Think the fee now is £135, plus the insurance and you're talking £350 for a half-hour on the circuit. I wouldn't have missed doing the sessions in 2010 and 2012....but this year I'm giving it a miss.

Nick

[anonymous-user]

nawarne said:

^^ Yep, 2012 Classic parade laps had a few casualties, I believe.

I guess as the attendance figures grow for the event and more folks opt for parade laps, then you will get some accidents. I hope the Classic doesn't start to attract the harem-scarem brigade.

I to have decided to give the parade laps a miss this year purely on a cost basis. Think the fee now is £135, plus the insurance and you're talking £350 for a half-hour on the circuit. I wouldn't have missed doing the sessions in 2010 and 2012....but this year I'm giving it a miss.

Nick

Happy days

[gruffalo]

nawarne said:

^^ Yep, 2012 Classic parade laps had a few casualties, I believe.

I guess as the attendance figures grow for the event and more folks opt for parade laps, then you will get some accidents. I hope the Classic doesn't start to attract the harem-scarem brigade.

I to have decided to give the parade laps a miss this year purely on a cost basis. Think the fee now is £135, plus the insurance and you're talking £350 for a half-hour on the circuit. I wouldn't have missed doing the sessions in 2010 and 2012....but this year I'm giving it a miss.

Nick

Yep the carnage was caused by a red Sagaris, French registered that went into the back of a recently restored DB4.

He had been driving aggressively for the whole session and had caused an accident at Zolder just before the

https://vimeo.com/45663419

Debris can be seen about 16:30.

Frenchie, have you checked with footman James as the parade laps are just that, parade laps and not a track day?

Edited by gruffalo on Friday 1st July 07:41

[anonymous-user]

gruffalo said:

nawarne said:

^^ Yep, 2012 Classic parade laps had a few casualties, I believe.

I guess as the attendance figures grow for the event and more folks opt for parade laps, then you will get some accidents. I hope the Classic doesn't start to attract the harem-scarem brigade.

I to have decided to give the parade laps a miss this year purely on a cost basis. Think the fee now is £135, plus the insurance and you're talking £350 for a half-hour on the circuit. I wouldn't have missed doing the sessions in 2010 and 2012....but this year I'm giving it a miss.

Nick

Yep the carnage was caused by a red Sagaris, French registered that went into the back of a recently restored DB4.

He had been driving aggressively for the whole session and had caused an accident at Zolder just before the

https://vimeo.com/45663419

Debris can be seen about 16:30.

Frenchie, have you checked with footman James as the parade laps are just that, parade laps and not a track day?

Edited by gruffalo on Friday 1st July 07:41

Sadly, the Sagaris DB incident was not the only one in 2012. I believe there were 4 or 5 incidents that resulted in car damage, including a car finishing on it's roof.

Owners trying to max-out on the Mulsanne straight with other drivers expecting a parade lap is not a safe place to be.

[nawarne]

gruffalo said:

nawarne said:

^^ Yep, 2012 Classic parade laps had a few casualties, I believe.

I guess as the attendance figures grow for the event and more folks opt for parade laps, then you will get some accidents. I hope the Classic doesn't start to attract the harem-scarem brigade.

I to have decided to give the parade laps a miss this year purely on a cost basis. Think the fee now is £135, plus the insurance and you're talking £350 for a half-hour on the circuit. I wouldn't have missed doing the sessions in 2010 and 2012....but this year I'm giving it a miss.

Nick

Yep the carnage was caused by a red Sagaris, French registered that went into the back of a recently restored DB4.

He had been driving aggressively for the whole session and had caused an accident at Zolder just before the

https://vimeo.com/45663419

Debris can be seen about 16:30.

Frenchie, have you checked with footman James as the parade laps are just that, parade laps and not a track day?

Edited by gruffalo on Friday 1st July 07:41

Gruff - funnily - it seems the brokers/underwriters specialising in Classic/TVR insurance are reluctant to cover the risks at Le Mans under "the track-day cover" clauses.
In 2012, one of our group 'phoned Aviva and they were happy to cover on this event once it was explained that it was not competitive/time trial. I was with Mannings and they definitely excluded the Classic parade laps.

Two folks in our party had arranged cover through Morris prior to crossing, had paid the premium, had received documentation....only to be advised at 1700 French time on the Friday that they WERE NOT covered for the following day. In fairness, both recovered the premium on return to UK, but it was still poor service IMHO.

Nick

[TVR TELL]

Morning All
I think it's the fact that it's on closed public roads with spectators involved that makes it different from a normal "parade lap"
I have watched some videos of 2014 and most people just enjoy the fact that you get to drive on such a great track but there was the odd "boy racer" that thought he was still in the 24hr race !

gruffalo said:

Yep the carnage was caused by a red Sagaris, French registered that went into the back of a recently restored DB4.

He had been driving aggressively for the whole session and had caused an accident at Zolder just before the

https://vimeo.com/45663419

Debris can be seen about 16:30.

Frenchie, have you checked with footman James as the parade laps are just that, parade laps and not a track day?

Edited by gruffalo on Friday 1st July 07:41

[DonkeyApple]

gruffalo said:

nawarne said:

^^ Yep, 2012 Classic parade laps had a few casualties, I believe.

I guess as the attendance figures grow for the event and more folks opt for parade laps, then you will get some accidents. I hope the Classic doesn't start to attract the harem-scarem brigade.

I to have decided to give the parade laps a miss this year purely on a cost basis. Think the fee now is £135, plus the insurance and you're talking £350 for a half-hour on the circuit. I wouldn't have missed doing the sessions in 2010 and 2012....but this year I'm giving it a miss.

Nick

Yep the carnage was caused by a red Sagaris, French registered that went into the back of a recently restored DB4.

He had been driving aggressively for the whole session and had caused an accident at Zolder just before the

https://vimeo.com/45663419

Debris can be seen about 16:30.

Frenchie, have you checked with footman James as the parade laps are just that, parade laps and not a track day?

Edited by gruffalo on Friday 1st July 07:41

The most important element of Le Mans parade laps is to steer clear of the French. Having done several over the years everyone has been blighted by French drivers losing control of their emotions and wiping out other cars. It's as if they suddenly become Italians

The TVR laps in 2012 was littered with loonies in Ferraris either blocking traffic back by refusing to move over or weaving in and out of traffic racing in pairs. And obviously there was the tool in the Sagaris in the earlier session.

There was also the Griff chap who was using engine braking into the chicanes and spun off into the Armco.

It is well worth insuring any car that you wouldn't just be happy leaving down there as scrap.

[frenchie TVR]

DonkeyApple said:

The most important element of Le Mans parade laps is to steer clear of the French. Having done several over the years everyone has been blighted by French drivers losing control of their emotions and wiping out other cars.

Quite hard for me to stay away from the French, as I am a Frenchman… I am 43 and have lived in the UK for 22 years now, so I guess I am a Frenglish…

I went for the “no insurance and keep well aware of what’s around you and go hard option”… took a friend of mine (fairly hung over who only had 2 hours of sleep during the night, who is a racing driver: he has competed in 3 Caterham challenges seasons) as a passenger, started behind 30 to 40 cars at the 8h00 parade lap, behind some Ferraries, Porsches (I think most of them had forgotten to take their hand brakes off…), Lambos, some older & slower stuff, some other Chimeras, some Astons, etc… and drove hard and fast, without being an idiot, being considerate to others and overtook what I could, when I could … after a while I noticed a car that was doing the same as me, a black GT40 (replica, I think) and followed him (not too closely, off course) and had fun, finishing 6th behind 5 Porsches when we got pulled in as the session finished…

So it’s not a race, but at the end of the day, it does not mean that you are not allowed to have fun, basically, drive within your abilities / abilities of your car / track conditions and not to close to others and overtake when it is safe to do so, and you can have huge fun without smashing yourself or others up… and think when you drive…

I am not an amazing driver, I have done 1 x advanced driving course (1 day) and 3 track days before this and have motorbike riding experience (rode bikes for a few years and ride a 200 CC Vespa every day in London, which I guess teaches you “how to avoid others”).

My racing driver friend said that I did well and I did not scare him once during the 25 minutes sessions (he was maybe still drunk, it was the am session…).

The car sounded glorious (Chimaera 500 with no cats no pre-cats with a strange aftermarket exhaust system) and the most fun I ever had on a track: The Le Mans track suits the Chimaera well, I think (the corners are mainly quite fasts ones and the straights are long) and following one of my “top 10 cars” while doing so: a GT40 was pretty special….

Will try to post some on board videos when I’ll work out how to do *and have time to do so).

PS: Avoid the Frenchmen

Safe trucking, Frenchie!