White Rabbit Racing - Well Done

[brow]

As a pistonheader whom travelled down with WRR for Le Mans.

I would like to take this oppourtunity to say i had a fantastic time meeting some top people and seeing beautiful motors and racing.

WRR Camping was great and exceeding my expectations. I got involved with forum, did lots of research and was ultimately happy and prepared for what WRR organised.

I will be certainly be hooking up on other WRR adventures

[sleep envy]

where's the punchline?

[xllifts]

I don't do punchlines.....

[Irish]

brow said:

As a pistonheader whom travelled down with WRR for Le Mans.

I would like to take this oppourtunity to say i had a fantastic time meeting some top people and seeing beautiful motors and racing.

WRR Camping was great and exceeding my expectations. I got involved with forum, did lots of research and was ultimately happy and prepared for what WRR organised.

I will be certainly be hooking up on other WRR adventures

Are you a DJ by any chance?

[dank]

"I ammmmmmm the one and only.......!"

[trophies]

I also had a great time and will travel with wrr next year. Well Done Guy and team. It was a great event.

Lew

[b6rme]

Guess you got the space you paid for and didnt have your bike stolen

[MiloD]

I had a very good time with WRR and would go again. Its a shame that the bikes were stolen, however pikeys are pikeys and will get in however hard you try. I think that sentrys every 6 foot may be going a little over the top, but really thats the only way you will keep them at bay.

[burriana]

Has someone been on a recruitment drive?

[Outback Mick]

You're not getting mixed it up with the RWR crew by any chance?

[lowdrag]

Let's get one thing straight though. The original site was not where you were put in the end. It was out of the gate opposite the WRR entrance on the right behind where the public toilets were and frankly it was, towards the bottom end by the hedge, a complete quagmire. Quick work got the pitch changed but then the fun and games started. For example, by the public toilets there were plenty of mains electricity plugs but none on the new site. A quick call to the ACO elicited that "we rented you the space and mains drainage. We didn't mention electricity". The water taps were standard on/off 30 sec ones which the ACO changed in a hurry, the bar let the toilet and shower blocks be plugged into his generator, Guy quickly got extra fencing sorted (at huge relative cost) because the other site was alongside a fence and so less fencing was originally planned, and so on. I think they all did a sterling job given the previous weather here and the short time they had to sort it all out. If you had seen the site on Monday, when there was a lorry up to its axles in mud and puddles all over the place, you'd be amazed at what was achieved. Give them a big round of applause.

[burriana]

Sorry, my comment was tongue in cheek in relation to another thread

I have openly stated elsewhere that I think Guy had his work cut out with the elements and powers that be contriving to make it as difficult as possible.

[davidd]

After 11 years off, I had to go back to le mans...

As I'm sure most of you noticed at some point there was a small boy on the site, that was my son Alfie. Whereas I have been in the past, it has always just been get some camping somewhere, turn up with a tent and get on with it, howevevr the only way I was going to be able to take him was if there was a facility with decent security, which WRR offered. The other things I wanted were decent toilets/washing facilities and some form of catering.

Whilst I was annoyed that the showers were cold everytime I used them I was impressed that the toilets were always pretty clean, the queues were never very long and we could always get something to eat if we needed it. The catering could have been a lot better and although I understand the reasons why it was not as promised I think that it should have been sorted earlier.

The main thing was however the security, and in that respect the WRR site was perfect, the guys on the gate did a really good job, and were always polite, helpful and took the time to get to know their 'customers' as did Guy who was always chatty even when Alfie was convinced that anyone wearing glasses must be blind Guy took time off from cleaning the toilets to try and give a reasonable explanation as to why some people wore glasses and some did not!

As for the rest of the campers, the atmosphere was always very good, event starting from the ferry people were very friendly taking the time to talk to Alfie, letting him sit in cars for top trumps (and borrow those noisy balloons thanks guys I need a lung transplant now) and generally really good company, I think the word is camaraderie (even team full of bull thanks for the stickers chaps).

The problem with WRR is that it is a hobby that is becoming a business, I am prepared to accept the failings because I know Guy is on a huge learning curve and I suspect that he will have learned several lessons and the price was worth it for the peace of mind the security gave.

At the moment I'm not sure if we'll be back next year as I'll have trouble taking Alfie out of school again (although he got far more out of the trip than 3 days at school). However when we do go again I will seriously consider WRR.

So thanks to the WRR chaps, I hope it gets better ever year but do not lose the team spirit, and thanks to our fellow campers for making Alfies first trip to Le Mans a truly memorable experience.

D

[Simond001]

Maybe the issue here is that Guy did the best job he could, but if Haymarket had supported this venture in a professional manner a lot of the issues would have been removed.

PH putting their name against any venture leads to purchaser to believe it has their backing. If it is purely to access their user base this should be clearly stated.

These guys who set up camp are running a business, and as such should ensure that they provide what is promised. PH should also ensure that Guy had the support when things were getting tough (organising a proper generator / hot water / catering etc).

just my 2p

[blackcab]

dank said:

"I ammmmmmm the one and only.......!"

ha ha - everytime you hear that now you will think of us !

[slartibartfast]

David, glad Alfie had a great time, i was the one with the ballons and was more than happy to give your little lad some entertainment the same as i would with my kids if i'd have brought them along (one day i will), hope your lungs recover soon.

regards the WRR site i was resonably happy with the lot, i had an excellent first le mans and met a lot of nice people.
it's a shame pistonheads failed to turn up with a Tv in time for us to have a camp site racing competition using my playstation 2 and GT4 racing at le mans 2 player.

next year i'm doing it on the cheap so won't be with WRR unless the price comes down ALOT!
we went over to Houx to see some TVR mates who told us there camp cos them £60! quite a difference to WRR's £245!
i checked out the toilets and they are the basic behind a door hole in the floor which i did actually use (hope you've eaten already) and didn't find them much of a problem, the showers are also very good i've been told and hot.
you don't get much else for £60 like a bar and catering but when you're paying 4.50euros a pint (camp WRR) and about the same for a kebab i think i'll make sure i'm stocked up on crates of beer and food for a barbie from the local supermarket.

le mans can definatly be done on the cheap over at Houx, just make sure you're stocked with food, beer and secure anything valuable.

having said that i'm not complaining and i'd like to personally thank Guy, the security guys and anyone else for organising the camp.

Paul

[Mattt]

I find it amazing how people seem to have such differing opinions of what was provided.

I wonder how many people giving positive reviews are judging the campsite on its own merits, or were happy with it because they were at Le Mans and nothing else mattered.

[slartibartfast]

Mattt said:

I find it amazing how people seem to have such differing opinions of what was provided.

I wonder how many people giving positive reviews are judging the campsite on its own merits, or were happy with it because they were at Le Mans and nothing else mattered.

happy because of being at le mans for the first time and not much else matter, i'm a very 'rough it' type person anyway.

[Mattt]

I was pretty happy with the event, and the facilities were usable - but were not worth what I paid, that's my main gripe.

[lowdrag]

Simond001 said:

These guys who set up camp are running a business, and as such should ensure that they provide what is promised. PH should also ensure that Guy had the support when things were getting tough (organising a proper generator / hot water / catering etc).

just my 2p

Whoa there! If you appreciate the enormous problems that occurred that week then perhaps you might forgive them.

1. Generator. This wasn't needed in the original plan because where the toilets etc. were to have been there was mains electricity with plenty of power points available. It was the last minute moving of the site that caused this problem. The caterer had a big generator and allowed WRR to plug in to that but then his generator (a damned big one too) had a problem from time to time. Hardly the fault of WRR and this only caused the loss of lights in the toilets/showers anyway.

2. Hot water. You rent shower blocks with gas and boilers in good faith but the water supply seems to be at fault here. On the original placement there were big commercial size taps with plenty of pressure. On the revised site there was the usual house sized supply with a 30 second push tap which the ACO, after much pushing, changed to a standard tap and even then they only changed one and had to come back to change the second. It would seem that the problem was caused by insufficiency of water pressure in that if the toilets were being flushed at the same time as people were showering then the gas boilers shut down to stop them burning out. A usual precautionary safety measure and one that wouldn't have occurred on the original site.

3. Since I am nothing to do with WRR but gave him a hand in translation etc. I can't comment on the catering (I only live a few miles away) so perhaps you have a point, perhaps not.

Finally, if the site hadn't been moved from the original one half of you would have been coping with cars up to their hubs in mud and your feet up to their ankles in it so wet was the original site down near the hedge. It was moved at a few hours notice after the ACO were pushed hard and that was the only place that had septic tank inlets that was dry enough. Even just behind the public toilets diagonally opposite the site entrance, where you should have been, it was too wet to set up the catering tents and the further down the hill you went the worse it got. No, it wasn't perfect and everything was done to achieve the best in the circumstances but you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear nor can you control the weather. 9 days before WRR set up shop we had the heaviest rain here since records began, over 3 ins in three hours. The site being clay based it didn't drain like MB or Bleu (sandy) and when I went up there for Guy the Thursday before the event to discuss the siting of the showers/toilets I was frankly doubtful if half of Beauséjour could even have been used. On the Monday there was a lorry buried up to its axles which they took hours to get out. Perhaps I should wait for Guy to give his side of things, but as someone with no axe to grind nor any financial interest I am replying anyway.

In conclusion, if we hadn't had the rain all would have gone to plan, but frankly it was the weather that ballsed things up, not Guy. I wasn't there but I am sure he did his best to cope in difficult circumstances, like arranging at 24 hours notice extra high fencing to close off the site behind and in front for your security. This wasn't in the original plan (nor the budget and he was robbed blind to rent it at short notice) because there is a permanent fence down one side. I hope you can now understand the problems faced and I am sure that things will be better - weather permitting - next year.

Edited by lowdrag on Wednesday 18th June 17:59