First year at Le Mans...what to expect?

First year at Le Mans...what to expect?

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Discussion

ezi

Original Poster:

1,734 posts

185 months

Saturday 10th January 2015
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Hi all,

Hopefully going to my first Le Mans this year with my GF as she gets great rates through her employer.

We're looking to drive to Kent where we'll get a coach to LeMans, we're going to be booking a hotel instead of camping and wondered if people could recommend any particular ones?

Also what can we expect from the event in general apart from watching the racing of course!

Thanks smile

fatboy18

18,930 posts

210 months

Saturday 10th January 2015
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Expect to see Lots of Audi flags, Corporate silver tin boxes lots of Red and Silver in the Village again thanks to Audi OH and probably Audi pace cars and their LMP cars winning yet again!

Printertosh

563 posts

167 months

Saturday 10th January 2015
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Friday night in town has a carnival atmosphere into the early hours with car shows in the local villages during Friday day, St Saturnin being the biggest which can easily be reached by local bus from the city centre.

Good luck finding a hotel though as apparently they're booked up a year in advance by people who go every year. (Not tried booking a hotel myself, but that's what most people on here say)

Enjoy smile

ellroy

7,000 posts

224 months

Saturday 10th January 2015
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Booking a Hotel?

You're going when?

Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha , Ha!

Get a tent, get it now, you may well get on some of the livelier campsites still.

SEE YA

3,522 posts

244 months

Saturday 10th January 2015
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Plenty of good advice on here, also try Beermountain.

If you camp choice on site or off site.

AMD87

2,004 posts

201 months

Saturday 10th January 2015
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Which company have you booked with?

SEE YA

3,522 posts

244 months

Saturday 10th January 2015
quotequote all
PM me.

paulyv

1,017 posts

122 months

Sunday 11th January 2015
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Good luck with the hotels...I took a gamble on 2015 dates and booked a city centre hotel room for friends on the 25th June last year. There's very little about now that isn't what one would class as 'extortionate'. You could try AirBnB however.

As for the race itself you're going to have a great time. I camped in Beausejour and didn't regret it. It met my needs, was friends and seemed secure. Friday was open pit lane and driver parade in town followed by a fine meal and more than a few beers - a real carnival atmosphere.

The race is unlike anything you will have seen before - I found it to be thrilling. Going again this year and camping.

gt6

1,422 posts

184 months

Sunday 11th January 2015
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If you are driving to kent, forget the bus just keep driving to the tunnel and then drive to le mans, camping will be the only real option at this stage and even camping you are to late to get one of the more popular sites. The event last for over one week and you will find things to do no problem, but having a car there will help.

Great Dane

2,719 posts

165 months

Sunday 11th January 2015
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Last year Porsche wanted to book 900 hotel rooms... they are scare. But you might get a house rent not too far away

grkify

366 posts

119 months

Sunday 11th January 2015
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Last year was my first drove over, stayed on Porsche curves campsite with travel destinations and to be honest I was skeptical about spending so much money on what was essentially a long weekend. Absolutely loved it! Unfortunately not able to go this year as booked it off work last year will be going next year.

Friday is an experience, if you were to take a car id make sure its safely tucked away on the campsite. People go nuts throwing water balloons flour at cars shaking them if they didn't play up to the crowd. Ended in tears literally when a friend got caught with pepper spray when the police broke up some of the antics.

Open pit lane is awesome got very close to the cars watch teams practice driver changes got enough lanyards to last a life time. Would stock up at carrefour as food on the track is extortionate think it was about 12 euros for a burger even mcdonalds would be ashamed to sell. We bought a baguette and some cheese other bits made sandwiches in the morning.

Look out on the Sunday for theifs on the boat on the way back heard some serious horror stories of more or less anything that wasn't nailed down being nicked.

Good luck with hotel. We tried last year in December to get a room and there was nothing livable for under £200 a night

moribund

4,030 posts

213 months

Monday 12th January 2015
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There's an awful lot of scumball low-life thievery in that post. Fancy editing it?

a.christie

262 posts

275 months

Monday 12th January 2015
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missingbadly999 said:
Play your cards right:
Pre Le Mans: make up some false passes like photographer etc to get everywhere and formulate plans for getting past ticket collectors
1. Friday get into the cavalcade/drivers parade pretending you are part of it by using one of you as a decoy and get the crowd to part enough to unhook the crowd barriers. Go all through ke nabs with the cavalcade and get the car signed by the drivers
2. Friday get though the barriers on the 'closed' section of track and drive right through the Porsche curves up to Tetre Rouge and then turn round and go back. Park in the pit lane for photos and find a mate has 'aquired' the air tool that does the wheel nuts on Audis.
3. Friday do a runner from a restaurant in Arnage
4. Saturday get into the pits before the start, use the passes and watch the start from behind the low wall opposite the pits getting hit by tyre rubber and taking photos for a couple of hours before being discovered and making a quick exit
5. Watch tons of racing and get very pissed
6. Get into the back room at the Chinese on the Mulsanne where the beer taps are unattended
7. Run out of petrol at 6pm directly outside the restaurant in 3 above
8, Watch more tons of racing and get even more pissed
9. Get to the legendary fair and get two mates on the air rifle stall and all fire the last shot at the prizes and make a swift tactical exit
10. Get buckets of ice from Carrefour, use the Le Mans public pool as it's brilliant but don't try to get in for a 1am swim or the bib arrive and frogmarch half of you into the basement for a 'chat' while the rest have to make excuses why they are sitting in their cars at night with trunks on
11. Check the car properly before you leave UK as it saves having to cycle into town and crawl under a French Cortina you saw earlier to get a replacement starter motor and then realise it's metric over there, go back to get the right spanners and then get the starter plus alternator for good measure.
Above all, have a great time in a safe and gentlemanly way
We did
Nice post.................I`m glad you are not serious though as there are plenty of us idiots there already.!!

missingbadly999

348 posts

114 months

Tuesday 13th January 2015
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a.christie said:
Nice post.................I`m glad you are not serious though as there are plenty of us idiots there already.!!
All a long time ago now. When there's a big-ish group that went for 15 years on the trot there's anecdotes aplenty, I could go on but....

Edited by missingbadly999 on Tuesday 13th January 06:49

durbster

10,223 posts

221 months

Wednesday 14th January 2015
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If you want a flavour of the Le Mans experience, I've been making videos of our trips that should give you a good idea of what to expect:
https://vimeo.com/channels/373564

Troubleatmill

10,210 posts

158 months

Wednesday 14th January 2015
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ben5732

763 posts

155 months

Wednesday 14th January 2015
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Be warned its like a drug. Our group first went in 2010 and have been every year since. Also avoid supermarket toilets, I got locked in one -_-

gt6

1,422 posts

184 months

Wednesday 14th January 2015
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It is not addictive, i first went in 1985 and could give it up at any time, but will do my 30th trip this year first and will only go once this year, unless i decide to do the practice again like last year

DeanoX

164 posts

204 months

Thursday 15th January 2015
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gt6 said:
It is not addictive, i first went in 1985 and could give it up at any time, but will do my 30th trip this year first and will only go once this year, unless i decide to do the practice again like last year
biggrinbiggrin

missingbadly999

348 posts

114 months

Thursday 15th January 2015
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ben5732 said:
Be warned its like a drug. Our group first went in 2010 and have been every year since. Also avoid supermarket toilets, I got locked in one -_-
We stopped after a joint total of about 160 man years as the extra curricular activities were getting more out of hand.
The most incredible racing ever and knocks F1 into a cocked hat. Le Mans is true racing instead of bling and bks but still doesn't get anything like the media coverage it deserves.
bow