Circuit des Remparts Angouleme

[Steve620]

I am going down to Angouleme to the Circuits des Remparts for the weekend of 16/17/18 September and wonder if any one has done this eveny before and can give me some tips.

I have sorted some accomodation on the outskirts of the town but wonder what the best viewing points are etc.

[Elderly]

I went in 2009, I never found really good viewing points. There seemed to be many layers of catch fencing in your eyeline in front of the stands (which were very crowded).
Even when you had views looking down onto the roads from various standing viewpoints,
there was almost always high fencing in front of you (and crowds!).

Getting reliable information was difficult (and my wife is fluent in French).

We bought 'access all areas' wristbands but they didn't give access to all areas!
IIRC we bought ours on the Thursday evening and noticed that the queues to buy them at the weekend were very long.

BOOK lunch asap, all the racing stops for a long lunch break and all the eating places
get VERY full.

There was something wonderful about watching Bugattis racing around 'period' French streets.

[Steve620]

Thanks for the advice. It appears that this year the tickets are going to be on sale via the web site.

Anyway the drive down and back should be fun and I agree the sound of the cars within the city walls will be great.

[Patsy]

I've been a number of times and I'd really recommend it. As the other poster said, viewing points are in the main a little compromised by fencing, but I'd not describe the spectating experience as poor. It's worth moving around the track during the day though so you get to see things from a range of vantage points.

I'd also echo the comment about booking somewhere to eat. Lunch is taken seriously and everywhere does get pretty busy. We go to a place called Chez Paul and it's always good.

I'd disagree about access. We found that the wristbands for general admission got us to where we wanted to go and the paddock/assembly area is hugely atmospheric, especially in the build up to the aforementioned Bugatti races. I haven't been for a couple of years though so hopefully nothing's changed on this front.

The track is tight though and like most street circuits, you might not see a huge amount of overtaking. That said, I've attended a fair number of races over the years from club stuff through to F1 & Le Mans, and Le Circuit is one of my favourites. Give it a go!

[Kevp]

Iv been a couple of times. The 1st year there where several races for Fraser Nash. The last time I whent it was mainly Rileys. The Porsches are normally good fun & 2 grids full of Buggati's!!.

The classic car tour arrives at the same weekend, & usually has some interesting cars in it.

I managed to ride a few laps around the circuit the evening before, as the roads are being closed & barriers up.

http://www.circuit-des-remparts.com/index-id_page-...

Have a great time.

[Elderly]

Kevp said:

The classic car tour arrives at the same weekend, & usually has some interesting cars in it.

Is that the 'Rallye international de Charente'?
We tried to find out the route details so that we could find a pictureseque roadside cafe/bar and sit, drink, eat and watch the cars driving through the countryside but other than the start and finish points we couldn't get any solid information.

There was also a good display of cars (we think ) in the Town Hall gardens on the Friday but all the cars under each gazebo also had covers over them and nobody knew what time the covers would come off.

We discovered (whilst looking for a toilet) that many interesting cars were parked up in the basement carpark of one of the bigger hotels.

[Kevp]

Found this for the "Rallye de Charente" http://www.carthistorique.sitew.com/#Prochains_Ral...

Seems its a 2 day affair, starting & finishing at Angouleme on both days.