Le Mans Classic 2014

[lowdrag]

Dates announced yesterday. 4/5/6 July 2014. Should give you time to dry out your tent and prepare.

[mantaray]

Yep we will be going again, first timers last year and really enjoyed it, despite the weather.

[Welshbeef]

How long does each race last? As I understand it there are many races during a 24 hour period and not one long endurance race? If so how long a break between each race and what is minimum entry for each race - guessing some races are much better than others

[lowdrag]

All races oversubscribed with a waiting list; there are six classes, each of which lasts about 45 mins, with 15 mins to recover those broken down/crashed etc. Apart from that it is continuous day and night for the 24 hours. That means three races each, one at night, with a minimum of two drivers.

[Plug550]

Time to make a return me thinks. I went to the first one whilst holidaying in the Loire with he family. Not quite managed to make a return visit since, as the Full Fat 24 seems to attract me more. Fifty up next year so might try to make the double - if the liver holds up.......

[Hoofty]

The timekeeping really took the edge off for me last year - the gaps between the races were considerably longer at times (I'm sure one was over an hour), and freezing my nadgers off watching nothing, with no information, caused a bit of teeth gnashing. I admit don't know what the organisers were up against, but being kept in the dark (whilst in the dark, ironically) was not fun.

Epic, epic grids though - well worth going.

[tapkaJohnD]

I know this sounds snooty, but I've been three times, and won't bother again. Each time it has got more crowded, and apart from the cars the accompanying events have got tattier. At first it was easy to get into the paddocks and see the cars close up, or into the tribunes at night to see them in the most iconic setting - then the bouncers started to get aggressive.
Glad I got to do one of my bucket list, to drive around Le Mans, even if it was in a parade. However the last time was a funereal trot, so many cars that there was no possibility of even pretending to oneself that you were driving the course for real.

My dears, the noise, the people! No longer the right crowd and no crowding!
JOhn

[lowdrag]

Sadly John, you are about right. The first event in 2002 had 30,000 of us great - but knowledgeable and enthusiastic - unwashed and in 2004 I parked the D-type where I liked, including the paddocks, with no passes. Now, sadly, it has become the great unticked to-do box for the stag weekends, with over 100,000 present. To put things in perspective, that are 50% more spectators than the Revival with about 10% of the track viewable, so everyone is compacted into a small space, about half that of Goodwood. In some ways it reminds me of the differences between the great Christies and Coys Silverstone days and today. However, in their defence, the delays were mostly caused by a very substantial amount of oil spilt over quite a long distance during the night by one American car.

[GregMac]

Went to my first last year and really enjoyed it, but Spa Classic was much better. Deserted by comparison, with great access to the pits. Sounds like the perfect antidote if you're a bit jaded after Le Mans.

[jpa]

Merde!!!!! If these dates are correct this means it clashes with the Yorkshire stages of the Tour de France!! I was hoping it would fall on the following weekend then I could watch the tdf stages then follow it South on route to Le Mans.

[Renn Sport]

GregMac said:

Went to my first last year and really enjoyed it, but Spa Classic was much better. Deserted by comparison, with great access to the pits. Sounds like the perfect antidote if you're a bit jaded after Le Mans.

Don't tell everyone about Spa!!

[1954etype]

Renn Sport said:

Don't tell everyone about Spa!!

+1 for Spa. Great atmosphere and so far the only downside for me was having to buy food and beer coupons last year for the first time ;-)....