Le Mans 09 - Advice for a 1st timer
Discussion
Hi Guys
I had a look on the web but can't find any information yet, planning to go next year with 6 others and hire a minibus.
Just after some details, what's the cost for tickets, camping, ferry etc is there somewhere close to buy food for the BBQ?
Does anyone know the dates for next year yet?
Any other advice would be great.
Thanks
I had a look on the web but can't find any information yet, planning to go next year with 6 others and hire a minibus.
Just after some details, what's the cost for tickets, camping, ferry etc is there somewhere close to buy food for the BBQ?
Does anyone know the dates for next year yet?
Any other advice would be great.
Thanks
seeing as no one else is giving proper advice i'll do my bit.
general admission tickets are a must, this year they we're 62Euros, buy them on the gate.
camping, depends where you are, Houx was aparently about £60 per car where as the pistonheads/white rabbit racing cost £245 per car.
ferry will be about £50-£80 per car depending on a few factors.
get a good tent, buy cheap beer from the supermarket when you get there, you can buy a crate of about 24 stubbies for less than 4 euros OR buy one pint of beer for 5 euros......FIVE EUROS FOR A PINT!!!!!
food is also cheaper if you buy from the super market.
it can be cheap or expensive.
hope this helps
Paul
general admission tickets are a must, this year they we're 62Euros, buy them on the gate.
camping, depends where you are, Houx was aparently about £60 per car where as the pistonheads/white rabbit racing cost £245 per car.
ferry will be about £50-£80 per car depending on a few factors.
get a good tent, buy cheap beer from the supermarket when you get there, you can buy a crate of about 24 stubbies for less than 4 euros OR buy one pint of beer for 5 euros......FIVE EUROS FOR A PINT!!!!!
food is also cheaper if you buy from the super market.
it can be cheap or expensive.
hope this helps
Paul
slartibartfast said:
get a good tent,
and a cheap gazebo to keep the rain/sun off you.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6...
It was keeping the rain off last year
I've been looking at Team Langoustine's site, and that seems like a good bet I think.
Only downside is that to get camping tickets for Houx you need to buy Grandstand tickets, which works out at £86 for camping and then a minimum of £138 for the stand. Am tempted to go with Team Langoustine's dedicated site at £155, but am going to scan the forums for peoples experiences.
2009 tickets don't appear to be on sale through TL yet, does anyone know when they start selling them?
Only downside is that to get camping tickets for Houx you need to buy Grandstand tickets, which works out at £86 for camping and then a minimum of £138 for the stand. Am tempted to go with Team Langoustine's dedicated site at £155, but am going to scan the forums for peoples experiences.
2009 tickets don't appear to be on sale through TL yet, does anyone know when they start selling them?
TL won't be open for business until the beginning of October.
Also, 2009 policy change means that you will not have to buy grandstands to get into Houx.
I agree with rlw reference buying through the ACO. You will get excellent value, except you are unlikely to get what you want and are more likely to get what's left.
Also, 2009 policy change means that you will not have to buy grandstands to get into Houx.
I agree with rlw reference buying through the ACO. You will get excellent value, except you are unlikely to get what you want and are more likely to get what's left.
Edited by MadMacMcMad on Saturday 28th June 20:46
You can buy tickets from the ACO now for 2009. You have to email them and they will send you a booking form which you have to send back. You find out what allocation you get later on. If you wait for lemans.org to have the 24hr Race available to book online all you will have is BSJ available (Done this the last 2 years and been happy with it).
I would buy your general weekend ticket at the same time you get your camp site. You can also buy a grandstand ticket and they send you all the stuff via UPS.
Depending on where you live in the country try and get a ferry to le havre or cean or cherbourg. If you have to go from dover/calais I would take the euro tunnel. It only cost £20 more then the ferry and will save you 4 hours of travelling on the whole trip over ferry crossings.
Or you could forget about everything I've posted and book with White Rabbit Racing or another group that will organise everything for you. It might be more expensive but you will get to convoy with some great people and some great cars.
We have only ever been able to arrive LATE on the friday night as my wife is a school teacher and can never get the time off work.
Once you get to Le Mans follow signs for your camp site. They are colour coded. A marshall will then direct you (should direct you this year it was a little poor) towards a pitch. Put your tent up and be smart with important stuff. Keep it locked away in your car and it should be fine.
On the Saturday get down to watch the classic racing around 10ish. Then get in a good position for 11. We like the pit straight (me for the hawian tropic girls!) but you also get to see all the action. The race starts at 3pm so get a good spot for around 12ish as it does get very busy!
Then we normally walk around the track up to dunlop and then back down to Porsche. We go to the tent and sleep or chill out and talk to other people for a bit between 6 and 9. And then go to Arnarge village for dinner (you see some great cars there).
Then down to Arnarge corner for the night racing! ITS AMAZING! And then get some sleep. Go to the finish line for 3pm and then run onto the track. Then the run back to the ferry. If you want any more specifics let me know I'll be happy to help.
I would buy your general weekend ticket at the same time you get your camp site. You can also buy a grandstand ticket and they send you all the stuff via UPS.
Depending on where you live in the country try and get a ferry to le havre or cean or cherbourg. If you have to go from dover/calais I would take the euro tunnel. It only cost £20 more then the ferry and will save you 4 hours of travelling on the whole trip over ferry crossings.
Or you could forget about everything I've posted and book with White Rabbit Racing or another group that will organise everything for you. It might be more expensive but you will get to convoy with some great people and some great cars.
We have only ever been able to arrive LATE on the friday night as my wife is a school teacher and can never get the time off work.
Once you get to Le Mans follow signs for your camp site. They are colour coded. A marshall will then direct you (should direct you this year it was a little poor) towards a pitch. Put your tent up and be smart with important stuff. Keep it locked away in your car and it should be fine.
On the Saturday get down to watch the classic racing around 10ish. Then get in a good position for 11. We like the pit straight (me for the hawian tropic girls!) but you also get to see all the action. The race starts at 3pm so get a good spot for around 12ish as it does get very busy!
Then we normally walk around the track up to dunlop and then back down to Porsche. We go to the tent and sleep or chill out and talk to other people for a bit between 6 and 9. And then go to Arnarge village for dinner (you see some great cars there).
Then down to Arnarge corner for the night racing! ITS AMAZING! And then get some sleep. Go to the finish line for 3pm and then run onto the track. Then the run back to the ferry. If you want any more specifics let me know I'll be happy to help.
A few camping options in order of price...
Off-site - usually cheaper, quieter but you have to/from drive to the circuit and miss a bit of the atmosphear.
Basic ACO Sites (Beausjour/Technopark/Bleu/houx Annex) - Basically fields owned by the ACO in/next to the track with temporary toilet/shower facilities and that's about it. Your money get's you access to the field but once your in your on your own when it comes to finding space to pitch your tent - turn up late on Friday and...good luck.
Mid-Range ACO (Maison Blanche/Karting Nord) - Again an ACO owned field but closer to the village and with more perminent facilities. These sites used to be free for all camping like the basic sites but have moved over the last couple of years to reserved pitches, 7m x 5m - your ticket has a pitch number on it and it (should be) there for you waiting even if you arrive late on Friday.
High-End ACO (Houx) - Blah blah, ACO, blah blah but with perminent facilities, reserved pitches and free water/electrical hookup included in the ticket price. The most expensive of the ACO sites so tends to be a little more mature than some of the others.
Basic Members Club (White Rabbit Racing/Team Languestean) - Appologies to the two team if they offer more but my understanding is that these guys offer fenced-off space on ACO sites but with security who actually keep things secure and don't let their pikie mates in as soon as the race is over. They also provide things like sufficient toilets/showers that the cleaners actually clean, communial marquees for cover and TV coverage.
Mid-Range Members Clubs (Speed Clills) - As the basic members clubs but provide food/drink.
High-End Danish Techno-Techno Concentration Camp - You pay, they do everything else (including a coach from Denmark to Le Mans). Tents are free, identical and pre-pritched when you get there (in insainly regimented rows the Roman's would have been proud of). Price includes food/drink/etc.
Too Posh to Camp - Hire a Gite/Chateau.
Off-site - usually cheaper, quieter but you have to/from drive to the circuit and miss a bit of the atmosphear.
Basic ACO Sites (Beausjour/Technopark/Bleu/houx Annex) - Basically fields owned by the ACO in/next to the track with temporary toilet/shower facilities and that's about it. Your money get's you access to the field but once your in your on your own when it comes to finding space to pitch your tent - turn up late on Friday and...good luck.
Mid-Range ACO (Maison Blanche/Karting Nord) - Again an ACO owned field but closer to the village and with more perminent facilities. These sites used to be free for all camping like the basic sites but have moved over the last couple of years to reserved pitches, 7m x 5m - your ticket has a pitch number on it and it (should be) there for you waiting even if you arrive late on Friday.
High-End ACO (Houx) - Blah blah, ACO, blah blah but with perminent facilities, reserved pitches and free water/electrical hookup included in the ticket price. The most expensive of the ACO sites so tends to be a little more mature than some of the others.
Basic Members Club (White Rabbit Racing/Team Languestean) - Appologies to the two team if they offer more but my understanding is that these guys offer fenced-off space on ACO sites but with security who actually keep things secure and don't let their pikie mates in as soon as the race is over. They also provide things like sufficient toilets/showers that the cleaners actually clean, communial marquees for cover and TV coverage.
Mid-Range Members Clubs (Speed Clills) - As the basic members clubs but provide food/drink.
High-End Danish Techno-Techno Concentration Camp - You pay, they do everything else (including a coach from Denmark to Le Mans). Tents are free, identical and pre-pritched when you get there (in insainly regimented rows the Roman's would have been proud of). Price includes food/drink/etc.
Too Posh to Camp - Hire a Gite/Chateau.
Camping pitches - one camping pass will get one vehicle into the campsite and give you a pitch of approx 35 sqm, so around 7m x 5m, you will also need to plan to park your vehicle on the same pitch. If you turn up with a minibus and 6 of you thinking you'll get on one pitch (because you have one vehicle) you'll be in for some fun but you don't have to buy 6 camping passes because there are 6 of you.
I went for the first time this year, and learnt a few things for next time...
1. Get grandstand tickets. You don't see much with a general access ticket, and certainly can't sit down and have a beer. Next time I will be getting a grandstand spot, and going up there, plonking my ass as the sun sets, and devouring a crate of beer before I go to bed.
2. Get the beer over there. God knows why we decided to lump 12 cases of beer 450 miles...same goes for meat and fresh food, supermarkets are easy enough to get to and cheap.
3. You can do it on as much of a budget as you want to/need to and still have a blinding time. I spent willy nilly but not on daft stuff, and only went through about 100 Euros in 4 days (excluding tickets) and most of that was on food and overpriced beer tbh
4. Take a trip out at least one night. It's worth 7 Euros a pint to relax and enjoy something other than BBQ food at a proper table.
5. It was nice this year, but a decent tent, a gazebo to live in and some wet weather gear is a very good idea just incase.
1. Get grandstand tickets. You don't see much with a general access ticket, and certainly can't sit down and have a beer. Next time I will be getting a grandstand spot, and going up there, plonking my ass as the sun sets, and devouring a crate of beer before I go to bed.
2. Get the beer over there. God knows why we decided to lump 12 cases of beer 450 miles...same goes for meat and fresh food, supermarkets are easy enough to get to and cheap.
3. You can do it on as much of a budget as you want to/need to and still have a blinding time. I spent willy nilly but not on daft stuff, and only went through about 100 Euros in 4 days (excluding tickets) and most of that was on food and overpriced beer tbh
4. Take a trip out at least one night. It's worth 7 Euros a pint to relax and enjoy something other than BBQ food at a proper table.
5. It was nice this year, but a decent tent, a gazebo to live in and some wet weather gear is a very good idea just incase.
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