i want to go to lemans but dont know where to start!!
Discussion
www.clubmotorsport.org.uk are pretty good too.
Their campsite is about 10mins south of the circuit. They do all the entry and grandstand tickets, have a shuttle service and feed you too !
Book your ferry direct at www.speedferries.com or similar and your sorted !
O.
Their campsite is about 10mins south of the circuit. They do all the entry and grandstand tickets, have a shuttle service and feed you too !
Book your ferry direct at www.speedferries.com or similar and your sorted !
O.
PistonHeads is your fountain of knowledge when it comes to Le Mans!
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=136993&f=25&h=0
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=136993&f=25&h=0
you could always try www.motorracinginternational.uk.com/
>> Edited by Lord Lucan on Monday 2nd January 22:58
>> Edited by Lord Lucan on Monday 2nd January 22:58
Trackside said:
PistonHeads is your fountain of knowledge when it comes to Le Mans!
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=136993&f=25&h=0
Yup! That thread is how I found Pistonheads, googling for advice on Le Mans or something. My first post too, sniff.
Bring tent, money and tickets. Wing the rest. We did, it was great.
You need car, credit card, passport, CHILLED SENSE OF HUMOUR!!
1. Use credit card to buy fuel, map, crossing.
2. Drive to Le Mans
3. Follow any one of the 50 large signs to Camping Bleu
4. Pay man on gate 28 Euros for camping ticket
5. Drive to the Carrefour and buy EVERYTHING and ANYTHING you need!
6. Buy an entrance ticket to the circuit at the gate (about 50 Euros)
The other way is to buy all in advance from an agent. You'll find they package everything up and charge a premium for crossing & force you to take their insurance. The camping and entrance ticket has its face value printed on it which will have you reeling. Its just a bit arsey but as an individual you can't buy a camping tickets so you have to use these agents. The TVR Car Club do this, but honestly - at a reasonable rate. You need to be a member to buy through them though.
Word of warning, the French don't care much more than taking our money! Certain camp sites that you can buy tickets on the gate at (like Camping Bleu) will overfill themselves and eventually turn away people who've bought a ticket in advance! Lesson here is get there early. Thursday is best, Friday is ok, but Saturday... NO - you're asking for trouble. Alternatively some sites like Houx have marked pitches. For most of the other sites you can always buy tickets on eBay if you're stuck.
Err... What else?
Aim to get there Thursday and leave Sunday, but staying in a hotel Sunday night. You'll be hot, dusty, tired and not in a mood to drive back to Blighty. Getting there Thursday is hassle-free and you can fix anything causing trouble.
Friday morning everyone goes to Arnarge to park cars and walk around others. Great atmosphere and a must-do. Friday afternoon is the drivers parade in Le Mans centre - another goodie.
Hotels are rubbish as the traffic congestion gets horrific. Don't intend to move your car on Saturday! Camping is the only way to get the true Le Mans spirit!
You will find that you will meet the biggest w*nkers in your life. That's just how it is - try not to let them get to you! 98.23% of people will be very friendly though.
The French have a gazillion speed traps just for this, so if you're intending to go fast, take lots of cash! Generally its about 100Eur for up to 30 over the limit, 700Eur for up to 60 over the limit and above there is custodial and car impounding. You may have heard of people doing £170+ on the way down, but you don't want to be the one caught.
Lock things up in the campsite. Theft isn't a huge problem but does happen.
Drink HUGE amounts of water, or beer followed by water! Its very hot and you can easily become dehydrated without realising.
Thats it really.
I think beermountain.co.uk has some great tips, but in essence you can decide to go to LeMans on Friday morning and make it work.
Good luck
1. Use credit card to buy fuel, map, crossing.
2. Drive to Le Mans
3. Follow any one of the 50 large signs to Camping Bleu
4. Pay man on gate 28 Euros for camping ticket
5. Drive to the Carrefour and buy EVERYTHING and ANYTHING you need!
6. Buy an entrance ticket to the circuit at the gate (about 50 Euros)
The other way is to buy all in advance from an agent. You'll find they package everything up and charge a premium for crossing & force you to take their insurance. The camping and entrance ticket has its face value printed on it which will have you reeling. Its just a bit arsey but as an individual you can't buy a camping tickets so you have to use these agents. The TVR Car Club do this, but honestly - at a reasonable rate. You need to be a member to buy through them though.
Word of warning, the French don't care much more than taking our money! Certain camp sites that you can buy tickets on the gate at (like Camping Bleu) will overfill themselves and eventually turn away people who've bought a ticket in advance! Lesson here is get there early. Thursday is best, Friday is ok, but Saturday... NO - you're asking for trouble. Alternatively some sites like Houx have marked pitches. For most of the other sites you can always buy tickets on eBay if you're stuck.
Err... What else?
Aim to get there Thursday and leave Sunday, but staying in a hotel Sunday night. You'll be hot, dusty, tired and not in a mood to drive back to Blighty. Getting there Thursday is hassle-free and you can fix anything causing trouble.
Friday morning everyone goes to Arnarge to park cars and walk around others. Great atmosphere and a must-do. Friday afternoon is the drivers parade in Le Mans centre - another goodie.
Hotels are rubbish as the traffic congestion gets horrific. Don't intend to move your car on Saturday! Camping is the only way to get the true Le Mans spirit!
You will find that you will meet the biggest w*nkers in your life. That's just how it is - try not to let them get to you! 98.23% of people will be very friendly though.
The French have a gazillion speed traps just for this, so if you're intending to go fast, take lots of cash! Generally its about 100Eur for up to 30 over the limit, 700Eur for up to 60 over the limit and above there is custodial and car impounding. You may have heard of people doing £170+ on the way down, but you don't want to be the one caught.
Lock things up in the campsite. Theft isn't a huge problem but does happen.
Drink HUGE amounts of water, or beer followed by water! Its very hot and you can easily become dehydrated without realising.
Thats it really.
I think beermountain.co.uk has some great tips, but in essence you can decide to go to LeMans on Friday morning and make it work.
Good luck
You might want to checkout www.clubarnage.com - it dedicated to LM, sports cars, getting drunk and general stupidity - just like LM really!!!
pikey said:
Err... What else?
Aim to get there Thursday and leave Sunday, but staying in a hotel Sunday night.
Leave the drive back till Monday. Not only will you not have been awake since that 3am trip to Arnage and so tired as a dog, but traffic is MUCH lighter.
pikey said:
Don't intend to move your car on Saturday!
Know someone who 'popped' from Houx to Carrefore early on Sat. morning. We saw him around 6 hours later!
pikey said:
You will find that you will meet the biggest w*nkers in your life.
Reasonably easy to spot though - they will normally be riding little motorbikes or powered scooters.
pikey said:
The French have a gazillion speed traps just for this, so if you're intending to go fast, take lots of cash!
Or DON'T take the autoroute from Calise -> Rouen -> Le Mans. Until you try them you just can't imagin how bloody good French back roads are - excillent road surface, no other vehicles and, if your in a Tuscan you can make little boys fall off their push bikes rubber-necking when you rumble through their village. Basically all the French police hit the main route to get the suckers. Avoid that you won't see one.
Lock things up in the campsite. Theft isn't a huge problem but does happen.
pikey said:
Drink HUGE amounts of water
Pussy
>> Edited by //j17 on Thursday 5th January 10:02
//j17 said:That's the spirit
Or DON'T take the autoroute from Calise -> Rouen -> Le Mans. Until you try them you just can't imagin how bloody good French back roads are - excillent road surface, no other vehicles and, if your in a Tuscan you can make little boys fall off their push bikes rubber-necking when you rumble through their village. Basically all the French police hit the main route to get the suckers. Avoid that you won't see one.
Nothing like heading a convoy of six Tivs driving through and parking in sleepy town for lunch, the kids go ballistic and they have such enthusiasm for the cars, and more importantly, the respect for them. We just pick a route on D roads and similar that heads around halfway between Paris and Rouen and follow that, last year we stayed in Gisors, a delightful little town with a car park thats more than big enough to hold a good-sized convoy.
Don't worry if the French kids give you the coffee beans shake as you pass by
it means something entirely different south of the channel.//j17 said:
Or DON'T take the autoroute from Calise -> Rouen -> Le Mans. Until you try them you just can't imagin how bloody good French back roads are - excillent road surface, no other vehicles and, if your in a Tuscan you can make little boys fall off their push bikes rubber-necking when you rumble through their village. Basically all the French police hit the main route to get the suckers. Avoid that you won't see one.
You'd think so but the year before last my navigator failed to do a sterling job and we ended up on a back road. It was superb. For the 2km before on particular village we were repeatedly flashed by french motorists coming the other way giving us plenty of warning. As expected, in the middle of the village was a Gendarme with hairdryer!
Still got pulled over so he could oogle the FD. I suspect also checking for radar detectors. Remember it's a 500 euro fine if caught with one plus confiscation!!!!
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