Le Mans Newbie Help.

[ben8000]

Really want to go to Le Mans next year with the girlfriend and anther couple.

Really would love some info on where to camp and where not to. Any major dos and don'ts. Is it worth getting grand stand tickets, private camping etc

Any help would be greatly appreciated.:nod:

Cheers Ben:thumbs:

[Madda]

Drop the ladies, and come with SXOC. :thumbs:

Group campsites are not the place for women, people like Dan are about :wack:. But in all seriousness, if your ladies are in anyway attractive (or even if their not), they are outnumbered about 10000/1 and surrounded by drunken men. You have been warned :p

[Mr C]

One thing I learnt from last year is if driving around just outside the event where a large group of people are beside the road, wind your widows up and close any sunroofs. Bunch of muppets were squirting water at people and one was throwing full buckets of water through open windows :rolleyes:

Grand stand tickets would depend on how much they are. Would have been nice to get in there last year, but we found plenty of places to watch the action from.

Others know the camping score better than me though, definately worth going.

[Dan@DB-Power]

Agreed with Madda, don't let your lady go. For one I'm going :wack: and two they will get perved on all the time :(

[docwra]

Aye, come with us and have a ball. If you are bringing the ladies then we are camping on Karting Nord but you'll have to sort yourselves out. :)

Grandstand isnt worth the money IMO, there are ways and means of getting just as good a view :nod:

[Cloudy]

Check out Beermountain.com it has info on campsites, it basically has all the info you need. There are now also a number of private companies now setting up there own campsites.

[JulesS14200]

hmmmmmmmm ladies

1,2,3
































Any chance?

[ben8000]

Aye, come with us and have a ball. If you are bringing the ladies then we are camping on Karting Nord but you'll have to sort yourselves out. :)

Grandstand isnt worth the money IMO, there are ways and means of getting just as good a view :nod:

Cheers guys.

Are these ways and means shall we say frowned upon Docwra? I've heard about long walks through the woods to get to good spots.

Edit and there's no chance. Both girls are well protected.;)

[Egon]

Long walks through the woods can mean coming into contact with gendarme on KTM..:D
You can do it, but they know....oh boy do they know..:wack:

[docwra]

Well, the Mulsanne expedition is a must, but we had as good of a view of the start as anyone in any grandstand and it didnt cost us anything ....... cant tell you how though, that would be letting the cat out of the bag ;)

This was about 30 minutes into the race:

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s161/docwra/th_VIDEO0009.jpg (http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s161/docwra/?action=view&current=VIDEO0009.mp4)

[Madda]

We found by the 2nd half of the race most of the security on the stands were getting lazy and you could just stroll up and take a seat :D

One thing I missed last year, which I will not this time is the ferris wheel in the early hours. A few of the boys went on it about 4am I think, and were blown away by the view you get.

[Madda]

Well, the Mulsanne expedition is a must, but we had as good of a view of the start as anyone in any grandstand and it didnt cost us anything ....... cant tell you how though, that would be letting the cat out of the bag ;)

This was about 30 minutes into the race:

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s161/docwra/th_VIDEO0009.jpg (http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s161/docwra/?action=view&current=VIDEO0009.mp4)

I'm not missing that this time either. :eek:

[Egon]

I camped at mulsanne. Nice campsite actually. good showers, decent toilets and a mentally loud racetrack all but 40 feet from the tent...LOL! :D
We cycled all the way round the track a couple of times to get to different vantage points. (water carrier+beer=large explosion by the time we got to porsche curves..:D )
3am at mulsanne is cool, red hot brakes, half asleep drivers and 180-10mph braking...
(you know they have to resurface that corner every year as the tarmac actually moves towards the gravel trap!!! :eek:)


EDIT: thats from the hospitality suite, isnt it doc?

[skid solo]

Have a look through this site http://www.clubarnage.com/ There are some good hints and tips plus loads of info on campsites. Look into their LM for Dummies (not a slur on you, a really good guide written by people who have had experienced LM. I wrote the Spay campsite bit :thumbs:)

If you want a quieter campsite then head outside the circuit to Spay or join Club Motorsport campsite. Both are a few kms away from Arnage village and need a drive in or catch the Club Motorsport free bus service. Advantages are that you get great showers and toilets, clean and tidy, still have atmosphere as most are LM'ers there anyway. Bad points are you have to drive in to the circuit and on race day that means BIG queues.

Mulsanne campsite is probably the quietest circuit site. Longhaul to the circuit village/pits/paddock and is normally majority German/French. Good amenities and next to track for good viewing.

Bleu Nord/Sud are opposite the pits/village on the outside of the circuit. The site is busy and plenty of high spirits but not as manic as some. Great for access to supermarkets and to other corners.

The inner campsites are manic but good fun if your up for the craic. Expect lots of noise and capers. Great if you like that sort of thing, not if you are finding your feet. Can be intimidating unless with a big group.

Where ever you decide to go make sure you get yourselves to as much of the circuit as possible. Only way is to explore and it will take time to do it. 10yrs on and we still find new places/shortcuts.
Please tell your friends, and especially the women, don't expect the amenities to be great at the circuit sites. The showers and loos at the start of the week are good (most are portaloo type) but by race day they can be a bit rank. They get cleaned regular but not for the prim and proper.

Also don't get sucked into paying mega Euros for camping and tickets. A bit of searching and you can buy camping tickets seperatly and race tickets at the circuit. Some places cash in big time.

Oh, and watch out for the Gendarme and your speed :wack:

[ben8000]

Cheers for all the replies people they have been most helpful.:thumbs:

[Matt_S]

One thing I missed last year, which I will not this time is the ferris wheel in the early hours. A few of the boys went on it about 4am I think, and were blown away by the view you get.

Yeh, I need to do that next year for sure!

[Egon]

oh and be prepared to get squashed to buggery if you do the track invasion bit at the end cos its bloody mental getting onto the track...be prepared to leap huge walls and lose your mates...:D


(then cycle back to musanne campsite the wrong way round the track :wack: )