Le Mans First timers!
Discussion
Hello All!
Myself and a few friends are thinking about attending Le Mans 24HR next year, but as it will be our first time was just wondering if anyone has some helpful pointers or advice? I know its a bit early..
We aren't new to live motorsport as been to Spa the previous couple years and going again this year too.
Thanks!
Myself and a few friends are thinking about attending Le Mans 24HR next year, but as it will be our first time was just wondering if anyone has some helpful pointers or advice? I know its a bit early..
We aren't new to live motorsport as been to Spa the previous couple years and going again this year too.
Thanks!
Welcome, first choice camping on or off site then do you camp with a gated site e.g. catering security etc.
Both have there appeal, I have done both before always gone back to on the track camping Porsche curves.
Beermountain good for advice on general LeMans advice.
Loads of good people on here to help.
Both have there appeal, I have done both before always gone back to on the track camping Porsche curves.
Beermountain good for advice on general LeMans advice.
Loads of good people on here to help.
As above - decide on 'comfort' level really.. If you've been to the Spa 24hrs then you know what to expect (sort of).
I would contact a few of the operators and see what they have to offer.
Travel Destinations
Just Tickets
1st Tickets
etc..
There are loads. These may offer a combination of their own camping or standard camping, plus other options - depending on what you want and budget.
ETA : Some will take provisional bookings now - this is worth doing otherwise you may well end up being disappointed or limited in what you can choose. The worst they can say is 'call back in a few weeks/months/a specific date' and will quite often take your name and party size etc.. and give you an indication of the likelihood that they can help you out with your requirements.
I would contact a few of the operators and see what they have to offer.
Travel Destinations
Just Tickets
1st Tickets
etc..
There are loads. These may offer a combination of their own camping or standard camping, plus other options - depending on what you want and budget.
ETA : Some will take provisional bookings now - this is worth doing otherwise you may well end up being disappointed or limited in what you can choose. The worst they can say is 'call back in a few weeks/months/a specific date' and will quite often take your name and party size etc.. and give you an indication of the likelihood that they can help you out with your requirements.
Edited by eps on Wednesday 28th June 16:51
It is loud, and really do not take that lightly.
We camped in Blue Sud this year so fairly close to the circuit and you couldn't have a conversation with the person next to you when some of the cars were closest.
Beer is stupidly priced (9 euro) but when it is scorching hot like this year and it comes out ice cold it becomes very affordable.
Loads to do and see in the circuit.
Looking forward to going back!!!
We camped in Blue Sud this year so fairly close to the circuit and you couldn't have a conversation with the person next to you when some of the cars were closest.
Beer is stupidly priced (9 euro) but when it is scorching hot like this year and it comes out ice cold it becomes very affordable.
Loads to do and see in the circuit.
Looking forward to going back!!!
I wouldn't say it's louder then Spa.
Private camping is the way to go if your a first timer tickets can be sorted and English speaking staff for the weekend help.
I have been going 18 years and this year despite I speak fluent French the idiots on the gate refused to open on time on the Sunday and put us on the wrong pitch and waited till 4 hours later to tell us this before moving us!!
This doesn't happen on private camping, you get an open arms welcome your treated like a human being and in some cases a king.
Do a year private and then when you know what to do go public camping and save a bit or know what you love.
We go back to private each year when the group is three or more. It's all about the toilets!
Private camping is the way to go if your a first timer tickets can be sorted and English speaking staff for the weekend help.
I have been going 18 years and this year despite I speak fluent French the idiots on the gate refused to open on time on the Sunday and put us on the wrong pitch and waited till 4 hours later to tell us this before moving us!!
This doesn't happen on private camping, you get an open arms welcome your treated like a human being and in some cases a king.
Do a year private and then when you know what to do go public camping and save a bit or know what you love.
We go back to private each year when the group is three or more. It's all about the toilets!
I broke my Le Mans cherry this year.
The options and considerations are overwhelming for a first timer so those I found most useful are as follows:
Take bikes (the pedal variety). You cannot grasp the scale of the place without going. We didn't take any but will next year.
Arrive by Thursday PM latest. The 6.30am Dover crossing will have you cracking open your first cold one by the track, tent pitched, by 4.00pm latest.
If you are on a budget - take note of the toll roads. They are not your £6 - M6 type thing. I think we paid something like £130 in total.
Invest in a shower tent. From what I experienced, one shower block containing 4 showers for a field of several thousand people is not enough! Or prepare to go stinky for the weekend.
If you value at least some sleep - noise cancelling headphones are a must.
HTH
The options and considerations are overwhelming for a first timer so those I found most useful are as follows:
Take bikes (the pedal variety). You cannot grasp the scale of the place without going. We didn't take any but will next year.
Arrive by Thursday PM latest. The 6.30am Dover crossing will have you cracking open your first cold one by the track, tent pitched, by 4.00pm latest.
If you are on a budget - take note of the toll roads. They are not your £6 - M6 type thing. I think we paid something like £130 in total.
Invest in a shower tent. From what I experienced, one shower block containing 4 showers for a field of several thousand people is not enough! Or prepare to go stinky for the weekend.
If you value at least some sleep - noise cancelling headphones are a must.
HTH
Toll calculator:
https://www.viamichelin.com
Should be about €35 each way from Calais on the autoroutes.
https://www.viamichelin.com
Should be about €35 each way from Calais on the autoroutes.
Tickets -
Either you buy your camping/entry/grandstand tickets direct through ACO at cost or go through a 3rd party usually for a fee. I don't really understand why you'd pay extra through a 3rd party. Last minute this can be the simplest way, but with proper planning not necessary. Through ACO is relatively easy, with the only choice being whether you get a membership which allows earlier buying of tickets.
Accommodation - A lot of money can be saved in this area.
1. Circuit public camping - Pros and cons. You'll know whether or not you want to do the weekend this way. I don't even run the risk of sharing space with others who could wreak the weekend.
2. Circuit private camping - I find most of the pricing outrageous. I know the companies have costs/fees etc etc, but in my opinion the value for money is not there. It is a simple and easy option though.
3. Off circuit options - My personal favourite option. This could be on private or municipal campsite, hotel, chateau, gite or B&B type basis. I stay in a house in a small village15min drive from the circuit. Shops, restaurants, bars. Straight in and out for the circuit parking. Compared to option 2, I probably pay for ferry, accommodation, circuit tickets including grandstand for the same cost as just the accommodation. There are so many options off circuit with a little bit of searching. There are those who say you lose atmosphere of the event not being on circuit, but I get enough of that with the race and any loss is traded for comfort, convenience and security.
The rest of the weekend is all about discovering the event. There is so much to see and do that you can go for years and change your routine to see different things. A bit of research helps to find events and work out timings.
Above is all personal preference. Decide what suits you best this time. The beauty of the event is there are so many options which suit people differently.
Either you buy your camping/entry/grandstand tickets direct through ACO at cost or go through a 3rd party usually for a fee. I don't really understand why you'd pay extra through a 3rd party. Last minute this can be the simplest way, but with proper planning not necessary. Through ACO is relatively easy, with the only choice being whether you get a membership which allows earlier buying of tickets.
Accommodation - A lot of money can be saved in this area.
1. Circuit public camping - Pros and cons. You'll know whether or not you want to do the weekend this way. I don't even run the risk of sharing space with others who could wreak the weekend.
2. Circuit private camping - I find most of the pricing outrageous. I know the companies have costs/fees etc etc, but in my opinion the value for money is not there. It is a simple and easy option though.
3. Off circuit options - My personal favourite option. This could be on private or municipal campsite, hotel, chateau, gite or B&B type basis. I stay in a house in a small village15min drive from the circuit. Shops, restaurants, bars. Straight in and out for the circuit parking. Compared to option 2, I probably pay for ferry, accommodation, circuit tickets including grandstand for the same cost as just the accommodation. There are so many options off circuit with a little bit of searching. There are those who say you lose atmosphere of the event not being on circuit, but I get enough of that with the race and any loss is traded for comfort, convenience and security.
The rest of the weekend is all about discovering the event. There is so much to see and do that you can go for years and change your routine to see different things. A bit of research helps to find events and work out timings.
Above is all personal preference. Decide what suits you best this time. The beauty of the event is there are so many options which suit people differently.
We just went for the first time - 6 of us, 3 cars and 6 bikes, and stayed at Village On The Curves with www.lycianevents.com and it was all good.
Right next to the track, private site with allocated pitches, lots of nice cars, safe and no trouble, marquee with bar and catering (beer £3 - £5 MUCH cheaper than elsewhere) and large screens etc.
Rarely a queue for the regularly-serviced loos & showers (we could often see a queue for the public ones just the other side of the fence), I saw maybe 2 people waiting for a 6-shower block on only one occasion (Sat morning) - under a 5 minute wait I'd guess.
Free minibus shuttle to track or tram station (last return run on Friday was midnight so we walked from the tram from town instead as were later).
Bikes were VERY useful - you're allowed anywhere that pedestrians are.
I organised ferry tickets separately and paid for priority boarding and the VIP lounge (a small fee but unlimited free prosecco, coffee, snacks etc - a bloody bargain). To break up the journey (from Cheshire) I prefer the ferry - 90 minutes comfort instead of 45 minutes in your car in a rail carriage. I'd prefer to cross from Portsmouth or Southampton but it was massively more expensive (£480 with mandatory accommodation instead of £80 (lounge extra)).
We got Sanef toll tags so until the direct debit is taken I'm unsure of the costs but it was a LOT quicker than messing about with cards/Euros at such a busy time (especially on your own in a RHD car). 20 Euro deposit for the tag and just 5 Euros for each month you use it (so if I don't go to France until December I won't get charged for the months in between). Any tag can be used in any car (but the tag is of course linked to your bank account).
If we go again I'll get a gas camping fridge to keep beer and soft drinks cold (and a cold bag/backpack) and maybe cooking stuff (we'd taken a small camping stove just for my espresso maker and ended up buying a frying pan, bread and bacon for 17 Euros - enough for 2 breakfasts each for 6 people). We didn't know in advance but tea & coffee was free on our site (but I don't drink instant coffee anyway).
Oh yeah, we also took walkie talkies which proved very useful on the journey - even though roaming is now free it's much quicker to just say "take the next left" than wait for a call to connect first, probably too late (assuming you have coverage in the first place). I had two Cobra ones already but got a compatible pair for £12 posted via Gumtree.
Right next to the track, private site with allocated pitches, lots of nice cars, safe and no trouble, marquee with bar and catering (beer £3 - £5 MUCH cheaper than elsewhere) and large screens etc.
Rarely a queue for the regularly-serviced loos & showers (we could often see a queue for the public ones just the other side of the fence), I saw maybe 2 people waiting for a 6-shower block on only one occasion (Sat morning) - under a 5 minute wait I'd guess.
Free minibus shuttle to track or tram station (last return run on Friday was midnight so we walked from the tram from town instead as were later).
Bikes were VERY useful - you're allowed anywhere that pedestrians are.
I organised ferry tickets separately and paid for priority boarding and the VIP lounge (a small fee but unlimited free prosecco, coffee, snacks etc - a bloody bargain). To break up the journey (from Cheshire) I prefer the ferry - 90 minutes comfort instead of 45 minutes in your car in a rail carriage. I'd prefer to cross from Portsmouth or Southampton but it was massively more expensive (£480 with mandatory accommodation instead of £80 (lounge extra)).
We got Sanef toll tags so until the direct debit is taken I'm unsure of the costs but it was a LOT quicker than messing about with cards/Euros at such a busy time (especially on your own in a RHD car). 20 Euro deposit for the tag and just 5 Euros for each month you use it (so if I don't go to France until December I won't get charged for the months in between). Any tag can be used in any car (but the tag is of course linked to your bank account).
If we go again I'll get a gas camping fridge to keep beer and soft drinks cold (and a cold bag/backpack) and maybe cooking stuff (we'd taken a small camping stove just for my espresso maker and ended up buying a frying pan, bread and bacon for 17 Euros - enough for 2 breakfasts each for 6 people). We didn't know in advance but tea & coffee was free on our site (but I don't drink instant coffee anyway).
Oh yeah, we also took walkie talkies which proved very useful on the journey - even though roaming is now free it's much quicker to just say "take the next left" than wait for a call to connect first, probably too late (assuming you have coverage in the first place). I had two Cobra ones already but got a compatible pair for £12 posted via Gumtree.
Thanks for all the replies! Seems to be alot of choice out there! Leaning more towards the comment above right now as it seems to be the easier way for first timers as its all inclusive so to speak, maybe the 2nd year we will look further afield once we know what we are dealing with!
It all depends on your budget really. There are cheap ways and expensive ways.
We've been about 10 times now in different sites and are settled on Houx. Facilities are decent, possibility of electric hookup if you book early enough / pay enough, reasonably close to the track, and usually nothing in the way of trouble from people acting like idiots. A bit of messing around but all in good spirits and not near anyone's tents.
2 way radios are a good idea for the journey if you are going in cars not so loud as to render them useless. Yes you could phone, but if you have more than 2 cars in convoy, difficult to tell them all at once that you want to stop at the next services. At the track they are largely useless (if you are talking about PMR446 radios) as they only have a short range and a ton of other users trying to communicate with each other on the 8 channels available.
Eurosport Player was good this year for streaming the catch-up of the bits of the race where we weren't trackside. Think it was £5.99 for the weekend.
An FM radio is a very good idea if you want to know what's going on at the bits of the track you can't see. Radio Le Mans coverage keeps you up to date. They sell radios trackside for 15 euros I think (single earphone over-the-ear style) but you can bring something better with you (including noise isolating / cancelling headphones) which will let you actually hear what's going on.
Bikes are worth it if you want to see a lot of the track. Bring locks if you plan to leave them unattended anywhere.
The earlier you get there, the more choice you have (obviously) if you are in a non-allocated campsite.
Showers in most sites are not an issue if you are prepared to be flexible on when you use them (many have long queues first thing in the morning, and none around the middle of the day / in the afternoon).
Beermountain has a wealth of information on the different sites.
Speaking as someone who has driven there and back every time we've been - the autoroutes are boring. You may see some other nice cars on them, and watching the supercars cane it away from the tolls can be fun, but the drive itself is tedious motorway for miles and miles and miles. You spend a few mins at the tolls, and several hours staring at mostly straight motorway. Also Rouen can be a bugger to get through if the traffic is bad, so maybe look for a route around it?
Our group are thinking of trying to join up with a convoy next time out and take the scenic route. Probably take longer but might actually go on some interesting roads, stop somewhere other than motorway service stations for lunch, see some nice scenery, hear some V8s accelerating and decelerating between bends, that sort of thing.
ETA: the other comment I would add is that unless you can't spare the extra day off, plan to head home on the Monday. I have tried to leave on the Sunday after the race in the past, and it took the best part of 6 hours to get out of Le Mans town. It obviously depends on how many people are there and how bad the traffic is, but many people stay after the race and just pack up and head home at their own pace on the Monday. We literally saw no Gendarmes on the drive from LM to the ferry on the Monday this year, too.
We've been about 10 times now in different sites and are settled on Houx. Facilities are decent, possibility of electric hookup if you book early enough / pay enough, reasonably close to the track, and usually nothing in the way of trouble from people acting like idiots. A bit of messing around but all in good spirits and not near anyone's tents.
2 way radios are a good idea for the journey if you are going in cars not so loud as to render them useless. Yes you could phone, but if you have more than 2 cars in convoy, difficult to tell them all at once that you want to stop at the next services. At the track they are largely useless (if you are talking about PMR446 radios) as they only have a short range and a ton of other users trying to communicate with each other on the 8 channels available.
Eurosport Player was good this year for streaming the catch-up of the bits of the race where we weren't trackside. Think it was £5.99 for the weekend.
An FM radio is a very good idea if you want to know what's going on at the bits of the track you can't see. Radio Le Mans coverage keeps you up to date. They sell radios trackside for 15 euros I think (single earphone over-the-ear style) but you can bring something better with you (including noise isolating / cancelling headphones) which will let you actually hear what's going on.
Bikes are worth it if you want to see a lot of the track. Bring locks if you plan to leave them unattended anywhere.
The earlier you get there, the more choice you have (obviously) if you are in a non-allocated campsite.
Showers in most sites are not an issue if you are prepared to be flexible on when you use them (many have long queues first thing in the morning, and none around the middle of the day / in the afternoon).
Beermountain has a wealth of information on the different sites.
Speaking as someone who has driven there and back every time we've been - the autoroutes are boring. You may see some other nice cars on them, and watching the supercars cane it away from the tolls can be fun, but the drive itself is tedious motorway for miles and miles and miles. You spend a few mins at the tolls, and several hours staring at mostly straight motorway. Also Rouen can be a bugger to get through if the traffic is bad, so maybe look for a route around it?
Our group are thinking of trying to join up with a convoy next time out and take the scenic route. Probably take longer but might actually go on some interesting roads, stop somewhere other than motorway service stations for lunch, see some nice scenery, hear some V8s accelerating and decelerating between bends, that sort of thing.
ETA: the other comment I would add is that unless you can't spare the extra day off, plan to head home on the Monday. I have tried to leave on the Sunday after the race in the past, and it took the best part of 6 hours to get out of Le Mans town. It obviously depends on how many people are there and how bad the traffic is, but many people stay after the race and just pack up and head home at their own pace on the Monday. We literally saw no Gendarmes on the drive from LM to the ferry on the Monday this year, too.
Edited by -Lummox- on Friday 30th June 14:26
As a complete gang of newbies to LM about seven years ago we had no idea how it all worked.
By pure chance came across the Team Langoustine outfit based just inside Tertre Rouge with their private site. Like others has good private facilities, security and right next to the circuit.
Been every year since with them and whilst I'm sure there are cheaper options, not one of my gang would want to change sites. Would certainly suggest adding them to the list of possibles if you decide to go for that kind of site.
By pure chance came across the Team Langoustine outfit based just inside Tertre Rouge with their private site. Like others has good private facilities, security and right next to the circuit.
Been every year since with them and whilst I'm sure there are cheaper options, not one of my gang would want to change sites. Would certainly suggest adding them to the list of possibles if you decide to go for that kind of site.
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