IainT

I'm thinking about going to Le Mans this year, but have no clue whatsoever about ticket prices or best places to watch etc
Has anybody been before or going this year?
Any help or tips would be gladly recieved
Cheers
Iain

Gilly

I shall be wending my way down to Le Mans this year either in my MY98 UK or in jealous hubby's Stratos replica. We are going on Friday evening from Portsmouth with a group of other enthusiasts and hopefully another Stratos replica. Unfortunately we've never been before so I can't add further. If you haven't already booked your passage across the Channel you may have difficulty at this stage but you never know. E mail me closer to the time and I'll let you know our travel details. Hope you get sorted... I can't wait, wanted to go for a number of years.

Cheers
Gilly

Smudge

I've been the last few years, but not making it this year due to impending marriage / honeymoon!

First off, you're gonna love it - we have our "lads trip" each year and it's definitely a highlight!

In terms of watching, it's very free and easy to move around, the only time when there are any issues is for the start. Get down to the esses, or try and get near the start - finish straight if you can. At night, head for Tetre rouge, where there is an ace little cafe, where you can drink beer at midnight, with the cars thundering past about 10 feet away!! The sight of those brake discs glowing in the dark is amazing. The exhaust flames are sweeeet too...

When are you going? They open the pit lane on the Friday morning, which is excellent. We got to see them doing the "pre - flight" checks on the Mercedes at first hand!
The atmosphere in the campsites is great, try and get a quiet spot out of the way, as it is a bit of a "round the clock" affair and you may want some kip! Take some earplugs!

Race tix are about £40 for 3 days

There are lots of restaurants, etc in the circuit and prices aren't toooo steep. There's a big Carrefour supermarket in Le Mans itself where you can get stupidly cheap beer & champagne, etc. and stock up on the disposable barbeques.

General hints:
Earplugs
Toilet Roll
Wet wipes to freshen / wake up feel human again - toilet facilities steadily deteriorate over the weekend!
Waterproofs
Sun Cream / sun gear (got fried last year!)
Old boots (it'll be either dusty or muddy)
Beer
BBQ stuff
Camera (you'll be staggered how close you get to the action - soooo not F1!!!)

Have a blast - you've got me very jealous!

Andy

IainT

Cheers for replies
It's something I've wanted to do for years now and thought now I've got a scooby what a great way to get there.
Gilly, if I go the Portsmouth route, ticket availabilty permitting, I'll e-mail you before hand, the stratos sounds cool.
BTW has anybody worked out just how many cases of stella you can fit into a 4 door scooby !?
Cheers
Iain

WAL

I'd hurry up on ferry tickets, got mine about a month ago and got (sorry) the last two cabins.
We're sailing Pompey to Cherbourg 2300 Friday night on P&O, Pompey to Caen is closer but not really worth the extra £120 IMO.
I can't really add anything to Smudges post except get your tickets from

HunterB

I'm heading down from Scotland on the Thursday and on the Shuttle from Folkestone on Friday morning (back Monday afternoon). Smile if you see a Legacy RS! It's about a 4 hour drive from the other side to Le Mans (on quiet autoroutes, apart from the bit around Paris). Can't add anything to Smudge's post. If the weather's fine, the weekend will be a blast.

Brian

Francis Griffin

I'm going too for the first time this year, three of us in my MY98 and another three in a BMW. I've been meaning to go since we bought a holiday house in the area a few years ago. We got to the the bike version this Easter which is run on the smaller circuit and it was .

The locals say this year might not be as interesting last year as there are not so many big manufacturers, Audi seem to be the favourties. Still, should be a good jaunt.

We're arriving on Thursday in time for the practices!

See you there

FG

NickM

I'm going and can't ****ing wait!!!

Look out for a modified metallic blue MKIV Supra and my mates modified black WRX.

Guy Humpage

I'm going this year again, in fact I've already been, I went to the Practice day last weekend

As for tickets, there should be no problem getting entry tickets on the gate, but there might be difficulty finding somewhere to park/sleep.

Another good website is