Le Mans Classic rip-off

[lowdrag]

I love my classic racing, and at the same time I love Le Mans, but sometimes I wonder, I just wonder, if they are going to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Last time, in 2010, the entry fee was 5,000 but I haven't looked this year, but probably much more. Entrants had to buy their petrol from the ACO on site, at - wait for it - 3€ a litre of bog standard 98 RON. Now I've just booked three caravans for a team of drivers, and let's forget the rental price because they are hamstrung and like any big event it ain't cheap, but, when he told me that the ACO are now charging 200€ per caravan for parking it - on top of their entrance etc. - I find this somewhat going too far. What do you think? I mean, the Silverstone Classic is far cheaper, to do the three days of Val de Viennes at Poitiers is 250€ including two lunckes and a rally over the weekend.

[t1grm]

Is 250 EUR for a pitch and 3 EUR/litre for fuel that expensive in the overall context of running a classic car at an overseas race meeting? I would have thought transportation and consumables on the car would make these figures pail into insignificance?

[lowdrag]

I think you've missed the point. For me if you enter a race then you are paying up front. I forget the price, but 105 octane at Silverstone was much cheaper than the 98 at Le Mans. It is like Ryan Airways; you get the price, pay with your credit card for the four of you and then you find that you are also paying not £5 per transaction but £5 for each journey, so £40, £5 out and back for each person. I think that the price to run a car should be all-inclusive, so motorhome/caravan and so on included. And as regards the price of 98RON, many wnet out, bought 20 litre cans and filled up themselves.

[Mark B]

Tony, I do agree and have unfortunately had similar views on the ticketing pricing for the spectators. Each year, the costs have escalated well beyond the inflation rates. I appreciate this is good business sense, as the people will still flock to the event, but it is a bit hard on those people who suppport year on year bringing in Classic Cars for the multimarque parking. Organisers, whether as a business or as a club have a lot of explaining to do to their customers or club members when prices keep going up. Personally, I have 40 cars coming this year and the costs have yet again gone up.. the only saving grace is the exchange rate.

It is a shame, the event is so good, surely the competitors should get some free will from the organisers for their costs. If they wish to camp or park a caravan, the organisers should give a (highly) preferential fee.

And saying it is insignificant to running the car in the first place is totally missing the point.

[Jmracing66]

Out of interest how do these costs compare with the likes of the Spa Classic or the Oldtimer GP ?

I imagine the majority of cars racing at the LM Classic are so valuable that 3 eur/lit isn't enough to put the entrants off.

[Gixer]

Tbh lowdrag I think the ACO are killing LeMans. The new village is now full of posh shops etc, theres redevelopment going on all over and I feel every year that goes by, they're moving Le Mans another step closer to the circus that's f1

[E36GUY]

ACO in charging the earth shocker! Precisely why i got out from aco campsites for WRR.

In my opinion, the classics racing are what draws the spectators. No classics, no spectators, no event. They should let you lot race for nothing an pay for the event with the entry tickets.

[fatboy18]

Got to agree here with Gixer, the new Le mans village is rubbish, there's no atmosphere, just a lot of silver boxes, Le mans is loosing its character bit by bit This is one of the reasons I go to the Classic British welcome, to get away from the ACO circus. The ACO should have been lined up and shot when they knocked down the drivers restaurant in the Village, It was like paying homage to Steve McQueen going in there, working out where he would have been sitting in the movie. Now its gone forever

Safety, yes agree with this, but destroying the nostalgia that made Le mans what is, is shameful.

I bet they will want to make a shiny new Dunlop bridge next

[eddie man]

I might be wrong, but concerning the Classic although the ACO play a huge part the deal and the company behind the event is that expensive watch company. I heard that they buy the event from the ACO, then they decide the pricing. People who race at the Classic, have a few quid handy, or so it seems...

[Nick M]

Sweeping generalisation time, but...

This is not unique to Le Mans, it seems to be a phenomenon which happens in other areas of France as well. For example, ski resorts who continue to charge high prices in the middle of a global recession and when their currency was so much stronger than that of a lot of their customers.

They seem to take a very short term view to pricing and try to fleece people for as much cash as possible, even if that means they won't be a repeat customer.

The other thing which they seem to spectacularly miss is that an event such as the Le Mans Classic relies on private entrants to bring their cars in order to create the very spectacle they're trying to sell to the public. Now, by all means charge a premium entry fee for competitors - Le Mans does have a special draw and plenty of people clearly want to drive at the event - but don't take the piss by adding on lots of extras. FFS, go and get a sponsor for the fuel and put up a few (period correct) banners around the circuit for them. And provide free camping facilities for the entrants.

While there are enough people to make up the shortfall when people decide that enough is enough and the cost of the event is out of proportion to the enjoyment (for both competitors and spectators...) then I suspect they can get away with their current 'business' model. However, it seems to me that they're playing a dangerous game and if this event isn't at least as good, or better, than previous ones then I'd question it's long term sustainability.

Much as I really enjoyed the Classic in 2010, I have a feeling this might be my last one, particularly if it is busier. The event lacks some of the atmosphere of the main race (even if the village is now a pale shadow of its former self, the overall experience of a Le Mans weekend is still enough to draw me back each year) and it all ended as a bit of a sad anti-climax. We sat around on the terraces on the main straight when the racing finished and we literally had the place to ourselves by about 5.00pm. There are other events, such as the Silverstone Classic, Spa Classic and Goodwood which allow at least as much (if not more) access to the cars in the paddock and on track at a fraction of the cost.

Le Mans has an important history, and the Classic is a brilliant celebration of that, but I can only hope they don't fk it up and ruin what should be one of the premier historic motor racing events globally.

[Nick M]

eddie man said:

I might be wrong, but concerning the Classic although the ACO play a huge part the deal and the company behind the event is that expensive watch company. I heard that they buy the event from the ACO, then they decide the pricing. People who race at the Classic, have a few quid handy, or so it seems...

Richard Mille is a sponsor (among others). Pete Sports run the event (as well as the Spa Classic) and they do indeed set the pricing, determine what facilities are in the campsites, etc. The ACO provide the track, the ticketing infrastructure, etc., and are paid accordingly.

One can only assume that the ACO have increased their prices to get a bigger piece of the action, and those increases are being passed on to the competitors and spectators.

[lowdrag]

eddie man said:

I might be wrong, but concerning the Classic although the ACO play a huge part the deal and the company behind the event is that expensive watch company. I heard that they buy the event from the ACO, then they decide the pricing. People who race at the Classic, have a few quid handy, or so it seems...

I think you are wrong Eddie. The way it was explained to me was that in effect the ACO lock up and hand the keys to Peter Sport for the weekend, and he then seeks sponsors like Richard Mille, but the bottom line is Petersport. I agree that people who race have the money, but it now seems to be becoming too elite and pricing Mr. Everyman out of racing.

[gt6]

This year will be my forth classic but I do have to admit the whole feeling of the first two was slightly missing in 2010 with a more money making feeling to everything hoping that it will be better this year but perhaps the amateur feeling has gone for every

[gruffalo]

After the 2010 a couple of friends and I very nearly bought a RS2600 Capri to take classic racing with Le Mans being the main objective.

We are not loaded, have a enough to be able to think about doing something like this but prices as have been mentioned would have made us question if Le Mans was worth it. We would have probably not bothered and done Spa and Siverstone as our main outings of the year.

Mute point any way as we missed out on the car, someone else got it before we had a chance to view it.