Lies, damned lies and statistics
Discussion
A very interesting lunch today with an official of the ACO. They announced last week that there were 252,000 people at Le Mans this year. Well, apparently there were, but it depends how you calculate the 252,000. You buy a ticket which gives the right to go every day from Thursday to Sunday. So that is four days and four times your ticket is registered. It seems that in fact 85,000 tickets were sold. Finances at the ACO - and not for the first time - are apparently rather fragile. And be glad you were here a couple of weeks ago; today it is 31C and 36C for the rest of the week and on into next week, dropping to a reasonable 26C but then climbing again.
lowdrag said:
A very interesting lunch today with an official of the ACO. They announced last week that there were 252,000 people at Le Mans this year. Well, apparently there were, but it depends how you calculate the 252,000. You buy a ticket which gives the right to go every day from Thursday to Sunday. So that is four days and four times your ticket is registered. It seems that in fact 85,000 tickets were sold. Finances at the ACO - and not for the first time - are apparently rather fragile. And be glad you were here a couple of weeks ago; today it is 31C and 36C for the rest of the week and on into next week, dropping to a reasonable 26C but then climbing again.
I remember 2017 - that was nothing short of unpleasant - we drove around a lot just for the aircon.I hope this new format is a success for the ACO - I'm sure more manufacturers will bring in more people
That's an interesting number, only 85k. That's like a major football stadium or a stadium rock concert .... not very much at all in terms of Le Mans?
That said, it did seem to be more than 85k when you walked around, but perhaps that's quite deceiving, with many people simply on the move.
I thought the campsites seemed quieter this year, and I was on Bleu Nord!
That said, it did seem to be more than 85k when you walked around, but perhaps that's quite deceiving, with many people simply on the move.
I thought the campsites seemed quieter this year, and I was on Bleu Nord!
lowdrag said:
A very interesting lunch today with an official of the ACO. They announced last week that there were 252,000 people at Le Mans this year. Well, apparently there were, but it depends how you calculate the 252,000. You buy a ticket which gives the right to go every day from Thursday to Sunday. So that is four days and four times your ticket is registered. It seems that in fact 85,000 tickets were sold. Finances at the ACO - and not for the first time - are apparently rather fragile. And be glad you were here a couple of weeks ago; today it is 31C and 36C for the rest of the week and on into next week, dropping to a reasonable 26C but then climbing again.
It was quieter than last year. No way only 6000 less than they claimed!Epinettes campsite looked deserted and there was no traffic at any of the peak hours (Thurs/Friday pm and 2 hrs before the race on Saturday).
Hope life in Ruardin is treating you well!
Guy
Well the numbers can be read many different ways, but it should be remembered that a large number of people were inside the ticket zone for most of the week, my ticket was never registered on saturday o sunday as i was in tertre rouge. so dividing the total by 4 is the most extreme case. Yes i think numbers were slightly down on 2018 but the number around at the start seemed similar to last year and looking at the screen showing the start finish line and the packed stands/standing area i would say there were 100,000 plus there alone.
E36GUY said:
lowdrag said:
A very interesting lunch today with an official of the ACO. They announced last week that there were 252,000 people at Le Mans this year. Well, apparently there were, but it depends how you calculate the 252,000. You buy a ticket which gives the right to go every day from Thursday to Sunday. So that is four days and four times your ticket is registered. It seems that in fact 85,000 tickets were sold. Finances at the ACO - and not for the first time - are apparently rather fragile. And be glad you were here a couple of weeks ago; today it is 31C and 36C for the rest of the week and on into next week, dropping to a reasonable 26C but then climbing again.
It was quieter than last year. No way only 6000 less than they claimed!Epinettes campsite looked deserted and there was no traffic at any of the peak hours (Thurs/Friday pm and 2 hrs before the race on Saturday).
Hope life in Ruardin is treating you well!
Guy
Epinettes was the same as the past 2-3 years, if not slightly busier!! You still in your WRR place?
Houx looked more empty than I remember seeing it.
The Hypercar rules will definitely generate more interest in attendees and hopefully the brexit (sorry for mentioning it!) debacle will be over by then...
Just hope people get their heads round the season starting in August... It seems to cause a bit of confusion at the moment, certainly when referring to Le Mans itself.
chasingracecars said:
I wouldn’t be surprised it wasn’t free for locals to fill the place.
Never on your nelly! Now you can do your permutations any way you want, and perhaps camping package deals are not included (I have no idea) but that was the figure quoted by my contact. But thr roads, especially at the end of the race, were very quiet, and Thursday and Friday seemed to have less people around too. And Guy, life here is as quiet as usual. You should come and see us sometime, or perhaps it is time we visited you for once next year. Weather being good, we'll bring the two classics round. I'll keep in contact.Edited by lowdrag on Tuesday 25th June 15:13
I have to say the circuit at 11pm - 1pm on wards was the busiest I have seen it (2008, 2012 I think, 2017 and 2018), I was at Tetre Rouge, some of my friends went to the Village where they said it was very busy.
Thursday night qualifying also seemed very busy.
Race finish was definitely quieter last year and this year than my first trip in 2008 - but then half of France turned out expecting to see a Peugeot white-wash (which failed because of the rain in the end).
Like I said in a different post - a lot less Brits, a lot more French, overall numbers only seemed a bit down to other years to me, but that's just my perception
Thursday night qualifying also seemed very busy.
Race finish was definitely quieter last year and this year than my first trip in 2008 - but then half of France turned out expecting to see a Peugeot white-wash (which failed because of the rain in the end).
Like I said in a different post - a lot less Brits, a lot more French, overall numbers only seemed a bit down to other years to me, but that's just my perception
Most large motorsport events seem to do that, I dunno about le mans attendance distribution but if an f1 race has 30k on the Friday, 50k on the sat and 120k on the Sunday it'll be "attendance of 200k" even though it's a BS stat, there was no more than 120k and a few straglers. Probably an American thing we've picked up.
E36GUY said:
It was quieter than last year. No way only 6000 less than they claimed!
I agree with Guy on that. It was quieter this year, not to mention the Tertre Rouge grandstand was not there and that's usually to the left of our plots. We also noticed quite a number of empty plots on Tertre Rouge along with regulars who were there in 2017 and 2018 but did not turn up for 2019. The pit walk "seemed" busy, but only because they had created a bottle neck at the start of the pits. Even the drivers parade next to the Cathedral seemed quieter than previous years - although the tram was packed as usual.
The path in front of our plots was deffo a lot quieter compared to previous years and people traffic didn't increase until about 20 mins before the start of the race. Previous years we've seen people rocking up early to claim their own bit on the grass verge but this year that simply didn't happen in huge numbers.
I wouldn’t call the place quiet or that there’s been an exodus of fans, but there was something a bit less busy about the place.
A lower level of interest is to be expected with the current setup in terms of competition though for the overall win. I wish the new regs were coming in time for the next race. I love the place but the apathy for the overall win affects me, so the casual fan isn’t going to be drawn to the place without a big scrap at the front.
Too be honest, it’s no bad thing having a bit more space and ease of moving around.
We drove right to the car park entrance at around 1300 on Saturday without a queue. Getting around was fine all weekend.
Quite a few empty seats in the aco stand both days and the stand above pits looked virtually empty most the time.
Getting around was a little less hectic track side but still what I’d call busy.
Issues noticed.....
Stupid decision closing usual exit at expo straight after there race meant a ridiculous queue to get out. Your ACO contacts need telling... along with sorting the queue out at the top of the stairs in the aco stand where they have put a drinks bar. Though that is building in problems at design level stuff.
Aco members area near Dunlop is nice. And I liked the effort made in the village where they had the music and oyster stand.
I think it’s time to review the joint pedestrian / vehicle mix at the entrance and where is bisects the village area. Just creates a jam and could be better.
ACO have been getting better steadily of the last few years. There’s much to applaud them about the circuit and facilities.
A lower level of interest is to be expected with the current setup in terms of competition though for the overall win. I wish the new regs were coming in time for the next race. I love the place but the apathy for the overall win affects me, so the casual fan isn’t going to be drawn to the place without a big scrap at the front.
Too be honest, it’s no bad thing having a bit more space and ease of moving around.
We drove right to the car park entrance at around 1300 on Saturday without a queue. Getting around was fine all weekend.
Quite a few empty seats in the aco stand both days and the stand above pits looked virtually empty most the time.
Getting around was a little less hectic track side but still what I’d call busy.
Issues noticed.....
Stupid decision closing usual exit at expo straight after there race meant a ridiculous queue to get out. Your ACO contacts need telling... along with sorting the queue out at the top of the stairs in the aco stand where they have put a drinks bar. Though that is building in problems at design level stuff.
Aco members area near Dunlop is nice. And I liked the effort made in the village where they had the music and oyster stand.
I think it’s time to review the joint pedestrian / vehicle mix at the entrance and where is bisects the village area. Just creates a jam and could be better.
ACO have been getting better steadily of the last few years. There’s much to applaud them about the circuit and facilities.
DS240 said:
I wouldn’t call the place quiet or that there’s been an exodus of fans
Of course not. I believe some us noticed that it was quieter as in unsold empty camping plots along with less numbers in human traffic passing track side campsites such as Tertre Rouge. Getting to Arnage was still a PIA lolz
DS240 said:
I wouldn’t call the place quiet or that there’s been an exodus of fans, but there was something a bit less busy about the place.
Stupid decision closing usual exit at expo straight after there race meant a ridiculous queue to get out. Your ACO contacts need telling... along with sorting the queue out at the top of the stairs in the aco stand where they have put a drinks bar. Though that is building in problems at design level stuff.
Fine, but they don't listen to me at all. In 2008, when they altered Tertre Rouge, I had lunch with Daniel Poissenot (director of the Le Mans circuit) and said the the changes had made the bend dangerous and a death could result. I was told it was none of my business and that I wasn't an expert. I wrote an article explaining my thinking, an article that was published in four countries. A few years back when Alan Simonsen lost his life there, I wrote as a journalist to the ACO, enclosing a copy of my article, asking for their comment. I am still awaiting their reply today. Alan was dead at the scene (please don't ask me how I know) but had to be declared dead in the medical centre. Why? Because under French law Tertre Rouge is a main road, even during the race, and the race would have had to have been stopped for an enquiry to take place. So, asking me to tell the ACO something is like pi**ing into the wind. They know it all.Stupid decision closing usual exit at expo straight after there race meant a ridiculous queue to get out. Your ACO contacts need telling... along with sorting the queue out at the top of the stairs in the aco stand where they have put a drinks bar. Though that is building in problems at design level stuff.
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