Wednesday 11th February 2009

PistonHeads Camping at Le Mans!

PH links with 1st-Tickets to provide a private campsite at the 24...

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The legendary Le Mans 24 Hours. An essential event for most PHers and if, like us, you are already excitedly planning your trip down to the famous race, we may be able to help make it a little more enjoyable.

PH has linked with 1st-tickets (official agents for the ACO) to provide a private campsite at Bleu Nord, which is close to the circuit and less than 15 minutes walk from the main grandstands. The team at 1st-Tickets will ensure that all you need to do is drive yourself to the campsite and pitch your tent - you can leave the rest to them.

The PistonHeads site will have a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, and will be securely fenced off with access restricted to campers only. In addition to this, we'll be providing the following facilities.

• Large marquee
• Live race coverage
• Cash bar
• Guest speakers (Friday 12th June Subject to availability)
• Showers and toilets
• Water supply
• Access to power supply

Price per person

	Two per Car	Three per Car	Four per Car
Eurotunnel	£294 pp	£224 pp	£189 pp
Ferry (Dover – Calais)	£264 pp	£204 pp	£174 pp

Self drive package includes channel crossing via Eurotunnel or ferry (Dover Calais), up to five days camping in the private area, exclusive use of the facilities, general admission tickets and special delivery.

Prices based on standard five day crossing and standard size vehicle.  A small supplement is payable for larger vehicles or extended crossings. There is the option to add grandstand tickets and pit walk passes to your package.

Access to the site is from Wednesday 10th June and departure by mid day Monday 16th June.

There are other packages available, so please see the website for further information

[Dr Imran T]

Oh dear, must resist. Le Mans 24hr is simply awesome..

[sniff diesel]

I notice it's no longer with WWR, wonder why.

[mister.t]

Well I am staying on Bleu Nord - May catch some of you there

[Gingerbread Man]

I would have thought that most Le Mans regulars would have already booked up, myself included.

Are you hoping to catch the undecided/ late comers?

I happened to book through 1st tickets, maybe I could have been wooed over to Bleu if I'd had know...

[Vette_1978]

Gingerbread Man said:

I would have thought that most Le Mans regulars would have already booked up, myself included.

Exactly. Even though there are 121 days left until Le Mans we got things sorted months ago.

The prices seem reasonable I guess but considering we're going 2 per car staying at Tetre Rouge, have Tribune 19 grandstand seats and weekend tickets it only cost us £236 per person. The Eurotunnel adds about £50 per person but we're still paying the same as the PH site and get a grandstand seat thrown in.

[f111lover]

That is incredibly expensive, £50 for a return ferry per car with five people, £40 for a camping pass per car and £40 for your individual entrance ticket, they're ripping you off.

[chum racing]

Gingerbread Man said:

I would have thought that most Le Mans regulars would have already booked up, myself included.

Are you hoping to catch the undecided/ late comers?

I happened to book through 1st tickets, maybe I could have been wooed over to Bleu if I'd had know...

Hi Gingerbread Man,

At the time of your booking, we were still finalising the arrangments for the private campsite and wanted to wait for the PH News Item before opening it up for bookings.

If you would like to swap sites, we can certainly arrange that for you.

[chum racing]

Vette_1978 said:

Gingerbread Man said:

I would have thought that most Le Mans regulars would have already booked up, myself included.

Exactly. Even though there are 121 days left until Le Mans we got things sorted months ago.

The prices seem reasonable I guess but considering we're going 2 per car staying at Tetre Rouge, have Tribune 19 grandstand seats and weekend tickets it only cost us £236 per person. The Eurotunnel adds about £50 per person but we're still paying the same as the PH site and get a grandstand seat thrown in.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your comments about the pricing and timing of the PistonHeads Camping package launch.

We initially planned to have everything in place for the PH/1st Tickets camping area for December 2008. However, due to a number of factors there were delays, which put us behind and missed some of the regular Le Mans goers (our apologies).

Yes, the cost of the package we have for PistonHeads is more expensive than normal camping at Le Mans. We also recognise that there are other options available for going to Le Mans.

The PH/1st Tickets campsite has its own facilities for the exclusive use of those camping at the site. There is a large marquee with a bar, race coverage, and guest speakers on the Friday afternoon, toilets and showers (with little or no queues), water and access to power (if required). The site has security fencing and access restricted to the PH/1st Tickets campers. Being a self drive package we organise the channel crossings for your group and work with you to select a time that suits your group's plans.

Naturally, renting the land from the ACO plus sourcing and hiring the facilities comes at a cost, which is reflected in the premium over the standard camping packages on offer.

Our aim is to provide PistonHeads with a secure, friendly site with a relaxed atmosphere where you can enjoy the Le Mans 24 Hours with additional facilities over and above the standard camping option.

Many thanks

Brian Sheehan
1st Tickets

[Slurms]

sniff diesel said:

I notice it's no longer with WWR, wonder why.

+1

I also wonder why..

[Steve@oms]

f111lover said:

That is incredibly expensive, £50 for a return ferry per car with five people, £40 for a camping pass per car and £40 for your individual entrance ticket, they're ripping you off.

But for this you probably get a fairly cramped ride with five up in a car, a crap spot among the riff-raff and given the current exchange rate, GA ticket is probably nearer £50-£60.

Some people are prepared to pay extra to have some things organised for you, security, decent showers, a bar and few other bits. Granted, this is not the cheapest way of doing things, but everyone has their own levels of comfort and are prepared to pay for it. Some people are not. Simply down to personal preferences.

[Mattt]

Slurms said:

sniff diesel said:

I notice it's no longer with WWR, wonder why.

+1

I also wonder why..

There were various posts at the time if people want to read.

No need to bring it up again though

[Gingerbread Man]

chum racing said:

Gingerbread Man said:

I would have thought that most Le Mans regulars would have already booked up, myself included.

Are you hoping to catch the undecided/ late comers?

I happened to book through 1st tickets, maybe I could have been wooed over to Bleu if I'd had know...

Hi Gingerbread Man,

At the time of your booking, we were still finalising the arrangments for the private campsite and wanted to wait for the PH News Item before opening it up for bookings.

If you would like to swap sites, we can certainly arrange that for you.

No problem my end Brian. I'm more than happy where I am in Karting. :-)

[ChapppeRS]

Slurms said:

sniff diesel said:

I notice it's no longer with WWR, wonder why.

+1

I also wonder why..

There's no wondering to be done. It's blaringly obvious. Hopefully the premium this year actually gets those things on the list, not a freshly ploughed field and some grubby cold portaloos.

[chum racing]

ChapppeRS said:

Hopefully the premium this year actually gets those things on the list, not a freshly ploughed field and some grubby cold portaloos.

To give you an idea, here are some pictures from the 1st Tickets site last year. We have the same location for 2009.





We know the drainage is good, as we inspected the site the day after the torrential down pour at the test week end in 2008 that had flooded all the tunnels and surrounding roads at the circuit and there was no standing water.

[Vette_1978]

That looks a bit too close to the airport for my liking. How would anbody get a decent nights sleep with all the noise.........hold on...it's Le Mans.....as you were.

[chum racing]

Vette_1978 said:

That looks a bit too close to the airport for my liking. How would anbody get a decent nights sleep with all the noise.........hold on...it's Le Mans.....as you were.

Yes the airport is only a short walk away - across the runway!

Some of the teams use the runway for last minute tests during the early part of the week. Based on test weekend being cancelled, there is likely to be more cars making use of the runway

[Antj]

I honestly pity the people who go on these organised le amns events.

YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1


Go on your own, grab a load of mates, camp up on beaujeaur (only if you like a lively sunday night gets a bit messy) and enjoy it, Should cost no more than 200 a person including all your beers and food.

thats the trouble with le mans now, 10 years ago it was soooo good, but now so many organised trips go on its losing that special feel.

[chum racing]

Antj said:

I honestly pity the people who go on these organised le Mans events. YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT!

Go on your own, grab a load of mates, camp up on beaujeaur (only if you like a lively sunday night gets a bit messy) and enjoy it, Should cost no more than 200 a person including all your beers and food. Thats the trouble with le mans now, 10 years ago it was soooo good, but now so many organised trips go on its losing that special feel.

Le Mans is different things to different people. Yes it is possible to go to Le Mans on a budget and still enjoy yourselves.

However, there are many people that go to Le Mans, who prefer to camp on an organised area with all the additional benefits they provide. They are still able to have fun and enjoy the special atmosphere that is Le Mans.

[Tartiflette]

Hiya,

I had the privelege of camping in the 1st tickets private area last year with my car club and after having been twice previously and camped on Beausejour I can honestly say that you pay for what you get.... Although it is an organised site, it doesn't feel like you are separate from the rest of the campers and all of the atmosphere that comes with it. The facilities are excellent with hardly any queues for the showers/toilets and they are clean! The marquee with bar and large TV make an added bonus for the times when you are not at the circuit and is a great place to meet up and chat with fellow campers.

I'm going again this year and I am already counting down the days. Just need to get my car stickered up.

I hope to see some of you there....

Jane

[GingerWizard]

just booked my place... see you there peeps!