Classic LM - What a blast
Discussion
Bobo W said:
fantastic time had by all at the weekend especially the track lap - which was the whole circuit with no speed restraints !
Glad you had fun matey! Now.... Please elaborate on your experiences, especially the laps of the track!
I am definitely doing both Le Mans events next year...
100 euros got 2 laps of the full circuit, well should have been 2 but some tos*er stuffed it early on and we were reduced to 1 lap because of the delay.
No briefing, no pace car just let onto the circuit to go as fast as you like with all manner of different cars some of whom were being driven by Miss Daisy and some that were clearly not !
No briefing, no pace car just let onto the circuit to go as fast as you like with all manner of different cars some of whom were being driven by Miss Daisy and some that were clearly not !
Best holiday I've had in a long time.
Great drive down to Le Mans, managed 142mph at one point and cruised down at about 120mph overtaking all the Renault Meganes, caravans and tractors. Didn't see one policeman
Classic Le Mans was a Pistonheader's dream, got some paddock passes and saw an array of automotive beasts all being meticulously cared for by teams of enthusiasts.
There were a lot less people there than 'normal' Le Mans, the place looked almost empty in comparison. If you wanted some food you had to trek all the way over
to the infield, I didn't like this as I'm a lazy bastard and I don't want to miss any racing.
Usually at Le Mans there's a 50/50 split of french/english people but at Classic it's more like 95/05 in favour of the french, felt very wrong. Also it seemed as if not one of the members of staff at the whole of Le Mans could speak even one word of English marshals, doorman, information people, waiters etc. I went to buy some water and was greeted by blank expressions by all 4 bar staff, surely one of them went to school and learned what 'water' means. I know it's l'eau in french, but I felt that they were trying to be awkward with me, so I decided to not use any of my french language skills in return.
Racing was spectacular, we got a chance to watch some cars that we'd never thought we'd ever see. Six GT40s going past in two packs three abreast all within 0.5 seconds of each other was a humbling experience.
Anyway, I would write more, but I'm at work
I'll just finish with this little story:
On the way back, we'd covered almost 1000km, 6km from the ferry my dad, in the car ahead, decided to have one 'last blast', I tried to follow but 'only' got up to 149mph... he was long gone over the horizon. Anyway, I soon caught up with him once he slowed and immediately there was a police bike behind us. My dad was banned from driving in France for 3 months and received a 750Euro fine (I got nothing for some reason). Thankfully we both had co-pilots with us, so we were able to go to a cash point to collect the money. Anyway, the police were 'kind enough' to take us there. We then had our own personal 3-man police escort to the local cash point at a supermarket to collect the €750. This was quite the highlight of my (but not may dad's) journey, the police bikes stopped all the traffic at every junction and roundabout we came to, I felt like an important VIP. When we arrived at the LiDL car park (french-chav-central), the police kindly guarded my dad's Ultima from all the scrotes trying to steel bits off it, great.
Can't wait for the next one.
Great drive down to Le Mans, managed 142mph at one point and cruised down at about 120mph overtaking all the Renault Meganes, caravans and tractors. Didn't see one policeman
Classic Le Mans was a Pistonheader's dream, got some paddock passes and saw an array of automotive beasts all being meticulously cared for by teams of enthusiasts.
There were a lot less people there than 'normal' Le Mans, the place looked almost empty in comparison. If you wanted some food you had to trek all the way over
to the infield, I didn't like this as I'm a lazy bastard and I don't want to miss any racing.
Usually at Le Mans there's a 50/50 split of french/english people but at Classic it's more like 95/05 in favour of the french, felt very wrong. Also it seemed as if not one of the members of staff at the whole of Le Mans could speak even one word of English marshals, doorman, information people, waiters etc. I went to buy some water and was greeted by blank expressions by all 4 bar staff, surely one of them went to school and learned what 'water' means. I know it's l'eau in french, but I felt that they were trying to be awkward with me, so I decided to not use any of my french language skills in return.
Racing was spectacular, we got a chance to watch some cars that we'd never thought we'd ever see. Six GT40s going past in two packs three abreast all within 0.5 seconds of each other was a humbling experience.
Anyway, I would write more, but I'm at work
I'll just finish with this little story:
On the way back, we'd covered almost 1000km, 6km from the ferry my dad, in the car ahead, decided to have one 'last blast', I tried to follow but 'only' got up to 149mph... he was long gone over the horizon. Anyway, I soon caught up with him once he slowed and immediately there was a police bike behind us. My dad was banned from driving in France for 3 months and received a 750Euro fine (I got nothing for some reason). Thankfully we both had co-pilots with us, so we were able to go to a cash point to collect the money. Anyway, the police were 'kind enough' to take us there. We then had our own personal 3-man police escort to the local cash point at a supermarket to collect the €750. This was quite the highlight of my (but not may dad's) journey, the police bikes stopped all the traffic at every junction and roundabout we came to, I felt like an important VIP. When we arrived at the LiDL car park (french-chav-central), the police kindly guarded my dad's Ultima from all the scrotes trying to steel bits off it, great.
Can't wait for the next one.
Obviously lady luck was shining down on us on Monday.
I passed you a few km before the Pont de Britonne (Blue/Yellow Caterham) and then waited justed before the bridge with friends in Red / White Europa for the rest of our party to catch up. By the time we hit the dual carriageway towards Dieppe you would have been catching the eye of the local Gendarmerie and thus they didn't catch us !
I passed you a few km before the Pont de Britonne (Blue/Yellow Caterham) and then waited justed before the bridge with friends in Red / White Europa for the rest of our party to catch up. By the time we hit the dual carriageway towards Dieppe you would have been catching the eye of the local Gendarmerie and thus they didn't catch us !
Bobo W said:
Obviously lady luck was shining down on us on Monday.
I passed you a few km before the Pont de Britonne (Blue/Yellow Caterham) and then waited justed before the bridge with friends in Red / White Europa for the rest of our party to catch up. By the time we hit the dual carriageway towards Dieppe you would have been catching the eye of the local Gendarmerie and thus they didn't catch us !
Sorry, no idea where Pont de Britonne is, but I guess you overtook whilst it was raining, we were driving ultraslow since my dad's windscreen misted up and the aircon wasn't working
Even a white diesal van overtook at one point! Anyway, glad to have been of service and cleared the motorway of the gendarmerie for you
See you next year! MGV8 said:
Is there any kind of Mad Friday?
Couldn't say, we arrived on Friday into town and went straight to the circuit for qualifying.
There were lots of cars floating about though, but as less people are camping I woul dbe surprised if Mad Friday was like the June event....
Mark B
Just got back - tagged a family holiday on the back of LMC.
I must say, what a great event. You could walk around and take decent piccies without hassle. The cars were amazing and the sounds .....
Still wouldn't miss the main event for anything, but, will just have to try and tag this onto the diary every couple of years now! Ah well.
Paul
I must say, what a great event. You could walk around and take decent piccies without hassle. The cars were amazing and the sounds .....
Still wouldn't miss the main event for anything, but, will just have to try and tag this onto the diary every couple of years now! Ah well.
Paul
Three TVRs went from Essex to Classic LM
I go to france because I like france so why should we be surprised that it was mainly a french meeting with good atmosphere. I have never heard french commentary at goodwood revival. I enjoy the driving as much as anybody but am mindful that no one wants to ruin a trip with an accident caused by excessive speed.
I go to france because I like france so why should we be surprised that it was mainly a french meeting with good atmosphere. I have never heard french commentary at goodwood revival. I enjoy the driving as much as anybody but am mindful that no one wants to ruin a trip with an accident caused by excessive speed.
Gassing Station | Le Mans | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff