your favourite experience at Le Mans
Discussion
Looking at your picture brings back a very good memory. About 12/13 years ago 2 friends & myself crept up to the barrier just opposite those famouse trees at the begining of the Mulsanne straight. It was just as the sun was going down on the saturday evening & you could smell the bbq from the campsite behind. We stood there for about 5 minutes before an unusually friendly French policeman approached us. He smiled give us the thumbs up (i think he could see we weren't drunk like alot of brits @ that time of night) then tapped his watch & said "5 minutes & then you go". We all stood there with our mouths open & just absorbed the close proximity of the cars.
After all these years we still talk about it.
After all these years we still talk about it.
NormanD said:
Your favourite experience at Le Mans
Would have to be the Strip Shows that were just after the Dunlop Bridge
and sitting on the banking at the pits exit with my legs hanging over the edge in the 70's so close to the cars
Those were the days
WOW I would've given anything to be there for that, we did a small guerilla escursion to the trackside, thinking back now and remembering the flying mercs I'm thinking twice about getting that close again : P Would have to be the Strip Shows that were just after the Dunlop Bridge
and sitting on the banking at the pits exit with my legs hanging over the edge in the 70's so close to the cars
Those were the days
So far it has to be the group c support race start race last year - minging wet track, millions of pounds worth of irreplaceable racing cars all giving it the absolute berries down the pit straight - a mate got the video of it and when he pans up the pit straight you catch sight of me grinning like a complete fool. The noise put even the 'vettes and the Lola Astons in their place 
Other than that is the happy realization every year that as the sun goes down there is no where in the world I would rather be.
Other than that is the happy realization every year that as the sun goes down there is no where in the world I would rather be.
I think an unforgettable moment was in 1998 myself and a mate managed to stumble in to the Porsche post race party in a giant marquee in the old 'village' bit before the redevelopment. Full of pissed germans (mainly blokes) all dancing together. Managed to 'liberate' lots of champagne and stagger back to Houx Annexe where the rest of the group were waiting to drive to Cherbourg. They couldn't see the funny side...
vdubbin said:
Toss up between the the countdown to the start, and coming out of the trees in pitch darkness at Mulsanne to the roar of the V8s.
That brought back memories of the countdown last year. I vote for the drivers parade which I did last year for the first time, bloody fab tingling with anticipation of the race to come!The first year we went ('05), and although it was just a spectacle in terms of the whole thing, we got right underneath the podium at the finish.
We were right in the mix with all the teams. On one side we had most of the Audi crew (Kristensen had one in the final time in the R8. My mate tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around to bump in to Henri Pescarolo and say hello, well done etc - minutes later he was beckoned up on the podium with the team. The next year, we were in and among the LNT boys who won a nailbiting finish in the GT2 category to take top honours, the place erupted with the Yorkshire boys when they stepped on the podium.
Far too many memories over the years, and hopefully lots more to come! It's my last year as an unencumbered visitor (i.e. kids), so I intend to make the very most of it in 2011 in that respect, 2012 will be very different!
We were right in the mix with all the teams. On one side we had most of the Audi crew (Kristensen had one in the final time in the R8. My mate tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around to bump in to Henri Pescarolo and say hello, well done etc - minutes later he was beckoned up on the podium with the team. The next year, we were in and among the LNT boys who won a nailbiting finish in the GT2 category to take top honours, the place erupted with the Yorkshire boys when they stepped on the podium.
Far too many memories over the years, and hopefully lots more to come! It's my last year as an unencumbered visitor (i.e. kids), so I intend to make the very most of it in 2011 in that respect, 2012 will be very different!
I have a love hate relationship with the Mad Friday shenanigans. While I think it tends to get pushed a bit too far and the crowds can be a bit of liability it really sets it apart as a festival. You don't see people lining the streets of Northampton the day before the British GP.
I think watching the sun sink down behind the Dunlop bridge is fantastic. And the start/finish always feels like witnessing a small piece of history in the making. The point the cars all scream past for the first time is really pretty special.
And then there's the experience of sitting in the inside lane bumbling along the autoroute and having someone with a more liberal attitude to French law blast past, stickered up and covered in Le Mans paraphernalia.
I think watching the sun sink down behind the Dunlop bridge is fantastic. And the start/finish always feels like witnessing a small piece of history in the making. The point the cars all scream past for the first time is really pretty special.
And then there's the experience of sitting in the inside lane bumbling along the autoroute and having someone with a more liberal attitude to French law blast past, stickered up and covered in Le Mans paraphernalia.
One of my favourite memories was the first year I went with my dad in 1996, weather was lovely, cars where awesome to watch Porsche GT1's, Mclaren F1's, Joest racing 962, GT2 and F40's. Also added bonus watching England in the euro's!!!
Went back 1997, 2007 and 2009 and going back in 2011 cant wait
Went back 1997, 2007 and 2009 and going back in 2011 cant wait
Chris71 said:
And the start/finish always feels like witnessing a small piece of history in the making. The point the cars all scream past for the first time is really pretty special.
+1Always raises the hairs on the back of my neck and guarantees a massive
Possibly the only thing which I reckon might come close is the Indy 500 and the announcement for "Gentlemen, start your engines !!"I was lucky enough to first go to Le Mans before all the netting and catch-fencing was put up in front of the bar and chinese restaurant before the first chicane - a friend and I stood in the bushes about 2 feet behind the armco watching the likes of the Panoz go by at 200mph or more. Utterly brilliant.
Managed to do something similar at the Le Mans Classic last year, when we 'accidentally' cycled past some no entry signs and ended up at a marshalls post between Arnage and the Porsche curves. We asked if we could maybe stay for 5 minutes, and the head marshall said fine and indicated we should stand behind the armco about 10 feet from the track
with GT40s, E Types, Cobras, etc. all whistling by flat chat. Bloody brilliant !!Oh, and Arnage at night, before they mucked around and put the spot lights in - there was something raw about standing down the far end by Indianapolis and being in the pitch black with cars flying round the corner and then getting on the brakes, discs, exhausts and turbos all glowing !!!
Lotus98T said:
first year I went with my dad in 1996....to watch.... Joest racing 962...
I'm going to sound like *such* a pedant, but I can't help myself !! The Joest car that year, and for 1997, was actually a TWR Porsche WSC-95 - basically a Jaguar XJR-14 chassis with the roof chopped off and a Porsche engine / transmission put in the back.
First time I went in 2004 was epic, McNish and Herbert as lead drivers in the Audi UK cars, managed to blag our way into the Audi hospitality area above the pits thanks to a close friend who worked for them at the time (you know who you are), followed by spending Sunday night after the race in the Audi motorhome in the paddock eating dinner with the team, holding the 2nd place trophy and then having the dutch corvette team join us with 2 kegs of beer so they could watch to Euro 2004 footy, vaguely remember getting back to my tent around 4am....
Took my daughter for the first time last year and the drivers parade on friday is an amazing experience, get there early, get a good spot and speak to all the drivers.... sooooo many amazing photo's....
Took my daughter for the first time last year and the drivers parade on friday is an amazing experience, get there early, get a good spot and speak to all the drivers.... sooooo many amazing photo's....
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