le mans virgin for 09
le mans virgin for 09
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Discussion

dougie-rs

Original Poster:

27 posts

224 months

Sunday 28th December 2008
quotequote all
hey guys me and a couple of mates from uni are planning on going next year. at the moment plan is to get an early thurs morning ferry. i have seen package deals, but not sure on camping sites etc.

cheers doug

SEE YA

3,522 posts

274 months

Sunday 28th December 2008
quotequote all
Go to beermountain.com be careful along the outside of the track (The gauntlet).

It can be a bit OTT lock your car doors etc.

5upra

2,210 posts

227 months

Sunday 28th December 2008
quotequote all
SEE YA said:
Go to beermountain.com be careful along the outside of the track (The gauntlet).

It can be a bit OTT lock your car doors etc.
I've been going for 5 years. What can be over the top ?

SEE YA

3,522 posts

274 months

Sunday 28th December 2008
quotequote all
Well damage to people's cars as they open doors and soak you and the inside of your car.It is not always water either?.There are many other things as well that go on.

//j17

5,064 posts

252 months

Monday 29th December 2008
quotequote all
Before people get the wrong idea - it's not all like that!

Basically don't drive around/between the camp sites or down the Mulsanne on Friday when people are in the pissed zone and you will be very unlucky to encounter a tt. If your going out, to the supermarket/Classic British Welcome in St Saturan do it in the morning (via the circuit if not closed by police) and get back to the camp site for lunch.

From that point on the tts have made it out their tents, looked at some more pictures of cars in their copies of Max Power (they obviously can't read), resumed drinking and achieved full tt status. This is when they hit the roundabouts/Mulsanne...

SEE YA

3,522 posts

274 months

Monday 29th December 2008
quotequote all
I did not say, it is all like that just be careful.As I would not like some tt trying to open my car doors and soak me and my boy.It could ruin my car
and my weekend.
I never go down the gauntlet it just is not safe for you or your car.
I have taken my little boy with me twice. There are always good areas and bad areas to camp etc.

Edited by SEE YA on Monday 29th December 12:31

E36GUY

5,907 posts

247 months

Monday 29th December 2008
quotequote all
I find locking doors and having windows up solves the problem.

SEE YA

3,522 posts

274 months

Monday 29th December 2008
quotequote all
Yes that is what I did but no one tells you these little thing before you go.

DS240

5,651 posts

247 months

Friday 2nd January 2009
quotequote all
I find it really sad that you even need to lock doors and close your windows.

Why do we let these idiots affect the event.

I normally camp away from track, and drive to and from avoiding the known areas. I wouldn't normally be driving around at the problem times also.

Going past Parking bleu or near Houx annex I had the odd squirt from a super soaker, but literally just a short 1 sec burst. I think that is not anti social and I don't mind joining in revving the engine or doing a small bit of spinning the rear wheels.

If people get out of hand, the lucky people driving exotic cars will simply not bother parading them around. That's why everyone stands to watch the road, to see nice cars going past.

I have no problem with the Police shutting down the stupidity at the roundabouts. Quite often on the videos of these places you see people just trying to drive normally to get somewhere, having to contend with a sideways M3 or buckets of water being thrown at them because they don't want to do a donut in their car. People expecting to go about normal business should not be affected.

It is a fine line between been a social event and being a mass gathering of public disorder. The trouble is, although the Police presence is quite high in Le mans as a whole for them to intervene when it is dark and numbers of people high, it would require large teams and would no doubt end up in violence. Which would not do the event any good.



www.lemans24.piczo.com

DS240

5,651 posts

247 months

Friday 2nd January 2009
quotequote all
Just adding to my last. This problem only affects a very tiny area of the circuit.

It is easy to avoid and each year since '03, I've never had a problem.

If you have never been, the event is brilliant. You can make the event suit whatever your tastes.

AndyWoodall

2,716 posts

288 months

Saturday 3rd January 2009
quotequote all
First year for me too, have left it a little later than I'd intended to book campsites, but there we go.

sniff diesel

13,125 posts

241 months

Sunday 4th January 2009
quotequote all
After the last couple of years getting a bit out of hand I came up with a solution. With the stretch form Mulsanne corner to Arnage corner being closed off on the Friday (meaning the PH Indianapolis corner meet has been cancelled) for the last couple of years why don't the ACO turn ot into a "run what you brung" type event?

The fans could be kept safely behind the fence and the cars that want to showboat could be free to do as they please. This stops people going about their buisness getting caught up in the antics, and keeps the access roads free moving (as anyone who's been caught up in the traffic backlog at burnout alley can appreciate)

mister.t

3,166 posts

225 months

Monday 5th January 2009
quotequote all
My mate and I are Le Mans virgins this year, and we have booked ourselves an early Thursday Morning ferry (5am thumbup) Then I will drive via the nice twisty roads and via some nice little villages in order to make the trip more interesting, and not to catch the attention of local plod eekbiglaugh

I can't wait thumbupbiglaugh

-JUT-

2,007 posts

242 months

Sunday 11th January 2009
quotequote all
Most of the really useful guidance for which campsite to go to etc can be found on Beermountain.

But if you can't be bothered to have a look over there, a few golden rules for newbies...

1. Get there as early as you can if you want a good plot
2. Don't take your car out on the Friday if you can avoid it
3. Bring some wet weather gear - £10 marquees are a godsend - shade when it's hot, shelter when it's wet, local pikeys will happily womble it away again after you leave...
4. If you get there early enough, you can buy a lot of the stuff you might want in your camp from the local Super-U or other supermarkets, e.g. chairs, bbqs and so on. Again, pikeys happy to womble anything left behind at the end...
5. Ear plugs are a good idea for raceday if you're a light sleeper... or you could just drink more biggrin
6. Two-way radios are a much better idea than phones if there's a number of cars in close convoy in your group on the way down - can be as little as £10 a pair, free to use, can talk to all other cars in the group at once.
7. Getting caught by the BiB is expensive, especially if you're being really silly at the time...

And last but not least... make sure you've got a way of keeping the beers cold... biggrin

The Leaper

5,666 posts

235 months

Monday 12th January 2009
quotequote all
...and not forgetting:

8. personal FM radio and headphones to tune in to Radio Le Mans to keep up with not only full race coverage but all the other news and happenings over the period from Wednesday to Sunday evening...indispensable!

R.

-JUT-

2,007 posts

242 months

Monday 12th January 2009
quotequote all
The Leaper said:
...and not forgetting:

8. personal FM radio and headphones to tune in to Radio Le Mans to keep up with not only full race coverage but all the other news and happenings over the period from Wednesday to Sunday evening...indispensable!

R.
We went one better last year - satellite dish and TV, so that we got race coverage on MotorsTV - was genius!

molestrangler

976 posts

236 months

Monday 12th January 2009
quotequote all
Small childs paddling pool for the beer with a reflective cover on.


Obviously, with water in it............

Edited by molestrangler on Monday 12th January 20:22

-JUT-

2,007 posts

242 months

Monday 12th January 2009
quotequote all
molestrangler said:
Small childs paddling pool for the beer with a reflective cover on.


Obviously, with water in it............

Edited by molestrangler on Monday 12th January 20:22
Beer cooler is a better idea... quite cheap at Costco

//j17

5,064 posts

252 months

Tuesday 13th January 2009
quotequote all
Pha!

Camp on Houx and you get free electrical hook-up...10 people in our group and the supermarket sell fridges for 150Euro...