Lower number of British fans at 2017 24h of Le Mans?
Discussion
Just returned from Le Mans, camped at Beausejour and was pleasantly surprised at how much more of a civilised event it was.
In 2015 we were also at BSJ campsite and remember late Friday night seeing a mob of baying idiots jumping on the roofs of cars and terrorising motorists that refused to 'do a burnout' this included French people in ordinary cars just trying to go about their business.
Didn't go last year so can only assume there has been a big crack down on Mad Friday since 2015?
Got the impression BSJ campsite had hardly any Brits except those in the Speed Chills enclosure, which also was less tightly packed than previously.
The only downside was a lack of interesting cars around the area, which would further point to a lack of British numbers.
Any thoughts on what has changed to put many off?
In 2015 we were also at BSJ campsite and remember late Friday night seeing a mob of baying idiots jumping on the roofs of cars and terrorising motorists that refused to 'do a burnout' this included French people in ordinary cars just trying to go about their business.
Didn't go last year so can only assume there has been a big crack down on Mad Friday since 2015?
Got the impression BSJ campsite had hardly any Brits except those in the Speed Chills enclosure, which also was less tightly packed than previously.
The only downside was a lack of interesting cars around the area, which would further point to a lack of British numbers.
Any thoughts on what has changed to put many off?
high cost of event - weak pound - brexit/election uncertainties - terrorist threats
all of these are likely reasons for people not wanting to attend Le Mans and rather buy a fortnight subscription to eurosport and watch on TV...
I would also say boring and unspectactular racing - but this isn't Formula 1 and the race was certainly not boring!!
all of these are likely reasons for people not wanting to attend Le Mans and rather buy a fortnight subscription to eurosport and watch on TV...
I would also say boring and unspectactular racing - but this isn't Formula 1 and the race was certainly not boring!!
gorgerak said:
high cost of event - weak pound - brexit/election uncertainties - terrorist threats
all of these are likely reasons for people not wanting to attend Le Mans and rather buy a fortnight subscription to eurosport and watch on TV...
I would also say boring and unspectactular racing - but this isn't Formula 1 and the race was certainly not boring!!
All of those could well be contributing factors to drop in numbers, the race itself was spectacular, particularly the war of attrition in LMP1 and the Aston/Corvette battle in the closing hour!all of these are likely reasons for people not wanting to attend Le Mans and rather buy a fortnight subscription to eurosport and watch on TV...
I would also say boring and unspectactular racing - but this isn't Formula 1 and the race was certainly not boring!!
Not been before so don't have a reference but the Village On The Curves (within Beausejour) was fairly full and had lots of nice cars - the guy in the pitch next to ours had an Austin Healey 3000 that used to belong to Donald Healey! My 3000-owning friend was very impressed. There was a dominance of Porsches (inc 2 out of our 3) but a variety of other nice stuff too. It's a nice site, a bit like a little corner of Britain (sterling cafe and bar - cold beer £5/pint or less) and from what we saw elsewhere it looked like we made a good choice.
We were on SpeedChills BSJ so predominantly UK occupied.
Site didn't feel particularly busy with people though as queues for facilities weren't particularly bad (assuming you timed right); pitches were quite tight but bulk of punters now bring a larger tent & squeeze it onto a smaller pitch.
Beer at 5.5e w/ a 10-beer pre-pay card
Walking around the area & the circuit I didn't notice many less/more UK than usual though, although the crowd seemed generally more relaxed overall - maybe something to do w/ the weather.
Agree on the cars - didn't see as many as usual (although lots of Porsches & Aston's) & certainly less supercar stuff. Still saw some interesting older rarities though: MVS Venturi, base spec. 1300 Capri, DeLorean, Mercury Cougar, lots of Mustangs, Alpine's etc, etc.
Site didn't feel particularly busy with people though as queues for facilities weren't particularly bad (assuming you timed right); pitches were quite tight but bulk of punters now bring a larger tent & squeeze it onto a smaller pitch.
Beer at 5.5e w/ a 10-beer pre-pay card
Walking around the area & the circuit I didn't notice many less/more UK than usual though, although the crowd seemed generally more relaxed overall - maybe something to do w/ the weather.
Agree on the cars - didn't see as many as usual (although lots of Porsches & Aston's) & certainly less supercar stuff. Still saw some interesting older rarities though: MVS Venturi, base spec. 1300 Capri, DeLorean, Mercury Cougar, lots of Mustangs, Alpine's etc, etc.
Was on Houx Annexe, plenty brits on site fair few empty pitches though , was lively especially friday night with plenty fireworks and music but not overpowering and didn't go on all night.
Have not ventured out of the campsite on a Friday night for years, I'm glad the authorities are finally clamping down on mad Friday as it was getting out of hand.
Have not ventured out of the campsite on a Friday night for years, I'm glad the authorities are finally clamping down on mad Friday as it was getting out of hand.
Our numbers were down a bit but our drivers reported that the roads were far less busy, we didn't get caught up in any traffic with the site>circuit shuttle buses. I assumed the general numbers would be down but looking at the official ACO figures of about 258k people, this doesn't seem to be so. So ... no idea how they all got there? because they were not on the roads!
I wonder if the official figures count all visitors on all nights? and also wonder therefore if that is skewed by locals attending for the free practice and quali sessions on Weds night and Thursday night? i.e.e the numbers present for the "whole event" being down.
I wonder if the official figures count all visitors on all nights? and also wonder therefore if that is skewed by locals attending for the free practice and quali sessions on Weds night and Thursday night? i.e.e the numbers present for the "whole event" being down.
Cass63 said:
We stayed at the top end of bsj which was packed by early afternoon on Thursday. Very civilised Friday night. It was louder on Sunday night, one thing I noticed was how many people stayed until monday, never seen that many tents still about.
We were in the Village on the Curves at BSJ which only had a few empty pitches. However pre-erected tents seem to have become the norm so come Monday morning it looked like more people had stayed than was actually the case.I thought it was slightly easier to get good spots for the start and finish than in previous years which suggsts fewer punters. However I wouldn't be surprised if some locals stayed home due to the heat. Mad dogs and Englishmen and all that...
i thought the run down was much quieter this year (friday morning) ... no queues at tolls at all ... and i normally have to queue in heavy traffic to get the blue sud via main entrance on arrival ... this year just drove straight in. blue sud itself was certainly very quiet (although SC section full as always).
Bounty Le Mans, interesting your guys thought the roads around the circuit quieter for the event, think your right there may have been some 'interpretation' of the figures by the ACO, but from what everyone on PH is saying does look like less non French visitors for whatever reasons.
Must say we were in a field of mainly French and very impressed at what hardcore race fans they are generally, despite the heat and humidity they are there to see as much of the race as they can.
Must say we were in a field of mainly French and very impressed at what hardcore race fans they are generally, despite the heat and humidity they are there to see as much of the race as they can.
For the first time, to my knowledge, the ACO gave complete statistics this year. The final tally was 258,000, but this includes the test day attendance as well. For myself, I was surprised how easy it was to drive around this year, and perhaps this was due to the temperature. Did people just stay put and not move around? Whatever, one of the best races I've seen in years.
Got to have been lower overall.
Barely any traffic in the busy times - Thursday & Friday afternoon and also in the two hours before the race when it's normally gridlock. Another good example was the bankings at Arnage/Indy. Usually packed along the top you totter along the back of everyone on a six inch path trying not to fall off the side. This year, none of that. A brisk stroll along the bank was the form
Barely any traffic in the busy times - Thursday & Friday afternoon and also in the two hours before the race when it's normally gridlock. Another good example was the bankings at Arnage/Indy. Usually packed along the top you totter along the back of everyone on a six inch path trying not to fall off the side. This year, none of that. A brisk stroll along the bank was the form
We stayed in Le Houx which amazingly had empty pitches. The CRS had also blocked off the road which runs along the campsite which has always been popular on Mad Friday. Clearly clamping down on the madness now which isn't a bad thing. Some peasants still emptying jugs of water onto people driving past in expensive convertibles. Shame these muppets don't get the real meaning of fun and feel they have to act like this. Pleased to say they were not English. Maybe only real Motorsport fans are going again which is a refreshing change.
lowdrag said:
For the first time, to my knowledge, the ACO gave complete statistics this year. The final tally was 258,000, but this includes the test day attendance as well. For myself, I was surprised how easy it was to drive around this year, and perhaps this was due to the temperature. Did people just stay put and not move around? Whatever, one of the best races I've seen in years.
Have to agree with the low numbers, everywhere was quiet compared to previous years.Hi LOWDRAG, was that your ali bodied Jag in the Mulsanne car park, on Saturday evening ?
It did feel easier getting around.
Saturday particularly was still busy around the start/finish and village area.
Sunday there were gaps in the ACO grandstands and the stand above the pit was probably only 70-80% full at the finish.
Perhaps Audi missing has had an impact and when there wasn't really an LMP1 battle left, some people decided not to bother with Sunday.
If Toyota pulls the plug, I don't know what ACO will do. LMP1 needs more teams, but others won't come in with current rules.
it does seem LM reached a peak 2015/16 and if their not careful, is about to crash.
Saturday particularly was still busy around the start/finish and village area.
Sunday there were gaps in the ACO grandstands and the stand above the pit was probably only 70-80% full at the finish.
Perhaps Audi missing has had an impact and when there wasn't really an LMP1 battle left, some people decided not to bother with Sunday.
If Toyota pulls the plug, I don't know what ACO will do. LMP1 needs more teams, but others won't come in with current rules.
it does seem LM reached a peak 2015/16 and if their not careful, is about to crash.
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