2012 Le Mans 24hrs? can it be done without time off work?

[dave wilkinson]

2012 Le Mans 24hrs

just sorting out nexted years holidays and have got none left to go le mans, with goin on 2 ring trips the tt, greece wrc and wales wrc plus a week with the misses somewhere

can it been done, setting off friday night 6pm and arriving back early hours sunday ready for work on monday?

i'm in cheshire so to get down to the south coast (not sure where to sail from) is about 4 1/2hrs

or should i just wait till 2013 and book a few days holiday?

[mike80]

First couple of times we went was on a coach trip that left Friday evening (various pickup points), and came back immediately after the race finish. Not the ideal way to do the weekend, but it is doable! You might be a bit tired on Monday morning however.

P.S., I assume you meant getting back early hours of Monday, not Sunday?

[dave wilkinson]

thanks for the input, if it can be done i'll defo be doing it. yes would have to leave sunday night as late as possible, need to be fresh and ready for work at 8am monday lol

[Chrisgr31]

If you leave the circuit immediately after the race ends which I assume is 3pm again, you should be at Calais in time for a 9pm crossing. That will get you back into the UK for 9pm (time change)so 1.30am at home! Might be better to stop on routa from Dover at a Travellodge or similar and go straight from there to work.

The coach trip is an option, I did it to Spa for the Grand Prix once but I wouldnt recommend it.

[mike80]

Me neither! Should be a bit quicker in the car too.

[The Leaper]

DW,

I've done it a number of times.

Friday: Leave home at 9:00pm, Eurotunnel train at 10:30 pm, arrive at the circuit and park up at 4:00 am, sleep in the car.

Sunday: Depart immediately after the race at 3:00pm, get the Eurotunnel at 9:00 pm or earlier, arrive home at 10:00 pm UK time, shattered. It is actually a much better plan to leave the circuit maybe 30 minutes before the end of the race as this saves around 2 hours of time trying to get away from the circuit and Le Mans. It does mean listenting to the end of the race on Radio Le Mans, though.

I live only an hour or so from Eurotunnel, whereas you don't, so I think your plan is bold unless you have another driver.

R.

[Rs2oo]

As much as I love LMS I personally wouldn't do it. If there are delays or you have car trouble or as in 2007 ? there is a monsoon on the way home, you are going to regret it. I think if there was a special interest like the Bentleys competing with British drivers then I would do it. Four hours drive from Dover to Cheshire too. . . . .

[robmlufc]

I made it back to York for an exam on Monday morning in 2001

[williamp]

I used to live in Kent and I did it one year, leaving on the saturday v early (2002 I think). I got there in time to park up at arnage at lunchtime. I found that on the saturday, the roads were even quieter of vehicles and police, but that might have changed...

Leaving on the sunday you catch the trsffic, but there are ways around this

[joncon]

one more option to consider...
a friend of ours flew into tours airport from stanstead..he couldn't finish work until thurs nite, and flew in on the friday, we then picked him up at the airport.he then came home with us on the ferry.
i dont know the flights but could be possible to fly in on fri night /sat morning, rent a car , fly home sun night ?

[gt6]

yes it is doable but hard work, if you move the car close to an exit around 1.00pm on sunday you should be able to watch the race finish run to the car leap in and get away before the crush starts, if you head to the motorway and keep up a reasonable speed, care police will be waiting you should be back at eurotunnel soon after 8pm and once in the UK the roads will be empty.

However don't try it on your own share the driving it is much safer

[dave wilkinson]

thankyou all for your input.

i can confirm i will be going :-) never thought about sharing the driving but it makes sense. just hope my insurance company is in a good mood when adding my friend on.

best get bookin, and hope to see a few of you there :-)

[FraMac]

Dear Dave,

Good to hear you're making the trip. We're travelling from Cheshire also but we'll be there before you - if you find yourself near Maison Blanche do stop by for a drink.

Fraser.

[robmlufc]

Another beer for you from us in Maison Blanche if your in the area!

[DonkeyApple]

The Leaper said:

DW,

I've done it a number of times.

Friday: Leave home at 9:00pm, Eurotunnel train at 10:30 pm, arrive at the circuit and park up at 4:00 am, sleep in the car.

Sunday: Depart immediately after the race at 3:00pm, get the Eurotunnel at 9:00 pm or earlier, arrive home at 10:00 pm UK time, shattered. It is actually a much better plan to leave the circuit maybe 30 minutes before the end of the race as this saves around 2 hours of time trying to get away from the circuit and Le Mans. It does mean listenting to the end of the race on Radio Le Mans, though.

I live only an hour or so from Eurotunnel, whereas you don't, so I think your plan is bold unless you have another driver.

R.

Yup.

Penultimate train crossing on Friday. Have a snooze in the car when you arrive or when about an hour out. On Sunday bail before the end of the race.

If you like long distance driving then it's all very easy.

[Nick M]

gt6 said:

yes it is doable but hard work, if you move the car close to an exit around 1.00pm on sunday you should be able to watch the race finish run to the car leap in and get away before the crush starts

Heard a cunning plan from someone, which was to watch the end of the race down at Mulsanne and then leave from there to pick up the A28 autoroute nearby:

- either J25 just south of Ecommoy, which means going south for a bit, to then head north...; or

- head north east out of Mulsanne (traffic / one way systems may make this harder) towards J24

You can then avoid all the crush of getting out of the main circuit area.

[Barry Ashcroft]

Can't really see the point in a quick mad dash I go for a week to enjoy it properly. In your case I'd sooner stay home watch it all on tv with a few beers. Your gonna be knackered and it's too big a risk IMHO

[marcosgt]

In reply to the title, Yes.

I regularly used to go out Friday night, drive down early Saturday morning and then leave straight after the race and get back early AM on Monday (using Portsmouth - Le Havre route).

I never really fancied the 'whole week' slumming it.

Probably even easier to achieve using the Chunnel or Dover-Calais, could even squeeze in an evening in Paris

M.

[blueST]

Ooh, I love a Le Mans logistics challenge! I reckon it's easy.

Flybe from Manchester Airport on Friday night to Paris CDG (17:35). Coming back from Charles de Gaule on Sunday night (18:25). All for about £130. That gets you into France in the space of about 2 hours.

Get a hire car. £66 for a Ford Ka from CDG airport. 2.5 hours drive to Le Mans.

I did think about public transport all the way but mucking with transfers to stations etc will probably take to long.

I think there are some direct flights to Rennes, which is closer to Le Mans but a quick search didn't come up with anything.

[The Leaper]

Can also fly into Tours Airport. Direct flights from Manchester and Stanstead. Hire a car and the rest is easy.

R.