Le Man Classic, what are the must sees?

[markiii]

Well after 3 consecutive 24 heures I'm doing the classic this year.

However in comparison there seem to be precious little info knocking around.

So to those who consider themselves veterans of the classic. What would you consider the must do events to see at the classic?

For example is there a drivers parade? laying of hands? e.t.c

already booked in for the PH BBQ on the Friday

cheers in advance

Mark

[spanishchocolate]

Before I saw who posted, I thought: ooh, damn good thread!

In addition to Mark's questions, what's the deal with the race: is it a number of hours on, a number of hours off - or continuous racing for a period of time?

Thanks

[markiii]

I could take that personally H , but I know what you mean

http://www.lemansclassic.com/en/programme should answer the format question

Edited by markiii on Thursday 17th June 20:13

[FLAT 6]

It's getting bigger every year so hopefully more to do than before. The big differences with the main Le Mans event are:

- much fewer people, more relaxed atmosphere, think Goodwood Revival with less dressing up, less formality and a French twist

- I think there are seven different grids so seven different paddocks, each accessible with a paddock pass (although the event is not heavily policed and you may be able to wander in without a pass). The paddocks are one of the highlights - wait in the right place at the end of a race and experience all the cars coming back to see what classic racing is all about. You'll might even be asked to help push a blower Bentley like I was two years ago!

- Arnage at dawn is always a special place but to see a GT40 and a 1966 911 come round Indianapolis in the early light out of the mist is unbeatable (are you getting the sense that I'm looking forward to the trip yet??)

- Le Mans centre is the place to be on the Thursday and Friday night since the circuit itself is dead. There is a parade of some sort on one of these nights - ask around when you get there. I suspect Thurs night since Friday night is likely to be car prep night.

- In terms of format, each of the seven grids races for one hour, oldest to newest and then they start again. With the usual delays this means 21 hours racing is just about achieved in 24 hrs. There are 'teams' with each team having a car from each of the seven grids but I'm not sure how seriously this is taken. I think many of the teams contain people who only know their immediate co-drivers but are put in a team with other car/driver combos to make up the overall team structure (could be wrong on this but think I read it is a previous years program)

Apart from that, dress a bit more smartly than you would for the main event and be prepared for more expensive eateries within the circuit.

See you there.

Al

[Dieter7S4]

Having been in 2008, practice (day and night) is at various times through Thurs, overnight and Fri. Obviously the PH meet which a first this year. The paddock is open to all on Wed IIRC, and well worth a wander round.

The racing is for 24 hours, split into 6 grids divided on age of cars, with a 10 min or so break between each outing. Each grid does, I think, 2 day and 1 night session.

Note also that the Radio Le Mans website indicates that they will be broadcastig for the event for the first time this year

Expect laid back and pleasurable, with lots of interesting wheels and chat

Look for the yellow Lotus 7 S4 at Mulsanne on Friday - that'll be me!!

Cheers

Mike

ETA - typing at the same time as FLAT 6, his write up is far more illustrative!!!

Edited by Dieter7S4 on Thursday 17th June 21:08

[spanishchocolate]

Just can't wait. We have paddock passes: they were a must

Look out for three VXs: a red n/a, a mandarin Turbo, and a red VXR We're staying at Bleu Sud with Speed Chills, and are signed up for the PH BBQ

I'm hoping security may be more lax around Mulsanne Straight

[williamp]

so do they use the full circuit, of the Bugatti circuit?

And are all the usual campsites open?

[NormanD]

williamp said:

so do they use the full circuit, of the Bugatti circuit?

And are all the usual campsites open?

The full curcuit is used

Only some of the campsites, not sure what ones

[Mark B]

I think there are in the region of 700 drivers, so the drivers parade would probably need to be about 2 days long

High points for me:
Arnage Corner at night
Litle Big Mans Le Mans, was very funny in 2008 and quite a site.
Paddocks are wonderful
Multimarque and Classic car parking, in the region of 7000 registered cars.
Track laps, if you can get on them are great fun, hooning the whole circuit.
Group 3 are kicking off this year, should be fun to watch the start
Trade Sellers are usually good too.

Enjoy!

[spanishchocolate]

With reference to clothing: does *anyone* there wear period clothing? I know what is acceptable in terms of civvies, but for those who have been before - did you see anyone 'dressed up'?

[Longers]

Mark B said:

I think there are in the region of 700 drivers, so the drivers parade would probably need to be about 2 days long

High points for me:
Arnage Corner at night
Litle Big Mans Le Mans, was very funny in 2008 and quite a site.
Paddocks are wonderful
Multimarque and Classic car parking, in the region of 7000 registered cars.
Track laps, if you can get on them are great fun, hooning the whole circuit.
Group 3 are kicking off this year, should be fun to watch the start
Trade Sellers are usually good too.

Enjoy!

Totally agree with all of the above, especially the 400 or so race cars in the paddock, Arnage at night and a Saturday morning blat round the track

And before anyone asks the passes for laps sold out a couple of months ago

[spanishchocolate]

spanishchocolate said:

With reference to clothing: does *anyone* there wear period clothing? I know what is acceptable in terms of civvies, but for those who have been before - did you see anyone 'dressed up'?

Anyone?

[TFatC]

spanishchocolate said:

With reference to clothing: does *anyone* there wear period clothing? I know what is acceptable in terms of civvies, but for those who have been before - did you see anyone 'dressed up'?

Yes, we join in the spirit of the thing. Last year there was three of us, The Cad with the boater, the business man with the Bowler and myself (TFatC - The Fat Controller) with top hat and tails. This year there will be 6 of us, I know about an Empire man (Pith helmet etc) but not sure what the other two have done!

Got a great reaction wandering around on the Saturday so will be doing it again. We did wear the outfits driving down last year, but a bit hot, so have custom T-Shirts for the journey this time.

Go on - give it a go - you know you want to and if anyone sees us there, do say hello!

[spanishchocolate]

Thanks I do want to!

Were there many others dressed up, when you were walking around?

Edited by spanishchocolate on Friday 18th June 22:35

[TFatC]

There were quite a few, but definitely the minority. Smart casual was the norm, a fair number dressed up and one or two chav types who stood out a mile and were obviously not welcome!

[djone101]

Friday evening between day and night practice there's an hour of "Discovery laps" (not Land Rover Discoveries doing laps) which should be 100 Ferraris for half an hour and 100 Ford GT and GT40s behind a "fast" pace car. Starts 20.30. Should be quite a sight....

[joncon]

two years ago, we spent all saturday up near the pits / village area, wandering around the paddocks etc, also viewing all the cars infield.then meandered down to watch the first race start. its a glorious place to be.
then on sunday morning we got a spot down the end of the mulsanne straight and sat there all day and watched every race until the end, we were in a group including some teenage children , everyone enjoyed staying there and watching , the youngsters thought it was amazing..their favourite car was the gas turbine ...awesome noise.
take a picnic , find a good spot and be amazed at how hard and fast these cars are going !

and i will be there again this year... same spot.
roll on july

[Longers]

djone101 said:

Friday evening between day and night practice there's an hour of "Discovery laps" (not Land Rover Discoveries doing laps) which should be 100 Ferraris for half an hour and 100 Ford GT and GT40s behind a "fast" pace car. Starts 20.30. Should be quite a sight....

I was hoping to have a quiet meal at the Auberge des Hunaudieres on the Mulsanne in the Friday evening break bewteen practice/qualy sessions. I do hope they keep the noise down a bit

[James_N]

Having never been to the classic before, whats acceptable in terms of clothing? Is jeans and T-shirt too chavvy? if its really not, no way am i wearing anything other than a T-shirt!

Im far from a chav, and looking forward to the classic to get away from the yobs and typical british that frequent the main 24!

[Mark B]

James_N said:

Having never been to the classic before, whats acceptable in terms of clothing? Is jeans and T-shirt too chavvy? if its really not, no way am i wearing anything other than a T-shirt!

Im far from a chav, and looking forward to the classic to get away from the yobs and typical british that frequent the main 24!

As said above, dress code is not enforced but most people are dressed smarter than the 24hr. I usually wear shorts and T Shirt/Polo SHirt or short sleeved button shirt.