Anyone else going to le mans this week?

JohnJL · 06-09-2014, 07:21 AM

It was a bucketlist item for me so i bought myself tickets this year. im flying into Frankfurt Thursday and roadtripping to le mans. We are glamping at Porsche Curves with Travel Destinations.

anyone else going? ive been reading all the trip guides i can find, not sure what to expect but on the edge of my seat!

andyt11 · 06-09-2014, 07:41 AM

Never been, and I'm actually struggling to find any coverage on TV too.

5String43 · 06-09-2014, 09:33 AM

Re: TV coverage - Looks like Fox Sports 1 and 2 have at least some of it.

TVRacer.com - TV Racing Schedule

tevake · 09:39 AM

You are in for a great trip!
I drove over from central Germany in 2010 for the L M Classic, truly fantastic experience . It's quite a trip each way! The middle part of France is somewhat like our plains states vast ag fields and open spaces, to bad they don't have autobahn speeds there.

The station wagon I rented served nicely both on the trip back and forth and as a sheltered place to catch some winks while there, there is a lot of noise from the track and from your neighbors in the camping area! Major partying going down. :-)
Good idea to stock up a cooler with food and drinks with lots of ice before entering the track area. There are vendors there but they may be a long way from where you camp.
A folding chair with straps for carrying is good to have, I found different vantage points to watch from and did a LOT of walking around to see as much as possible. So it was nice to be able to sit down to hang in good spots for a while.

I had tickets for The grandstands near the start/finish line across fron the pits, but the noise there kept me from spending much time there. Have ear protection with you.
The Classic was a true bucket list experience for me. And with Porsche debuting the new Hybred prototype this year at the 24hrs it should big fun .
Take lots of pics to share with us.
The parking lots and camping areas are a great car show in them selves.

Cheers Richard

Ps. This is a true endurance event for the spectators too!

OffCamber00 · OffCamber00's Garage

John - VERY interested in your experiences with Travel Destinations following your return. I'm a die-hard midweek fan and the glamping sounds like the best option for maximum race immersion whilst still having a bit of luxury (if you can call it that). Sending you a PM.

Needless to say i'm very jealous. Have an awesome week and be safe!

mat

LakeCleElum · 06-09-2014, 10:49 AM

John - Can't make Le Mans, but rode a motorcycle to the front gate of Spa yesterday.

In Dusseldorf 2nite, Bremen Tues and then Prague the rest of the week b4 heading to Lake Como and then a convention in Austria....Have fun and send us pic's for sure.......

I should have put this on my schedule, but didn't think of it?

FLYGEEZER · 06-09-2014, 11:15 AM

I can only wish ! Fun money "tapped out" from an over extended Daytona Speedweek.

strupgolf · 06-09-2014, 01:05 PM

The "holy grail"of motorsports imo. Hope you have a great time and post some pics when you have time. It's on my list of things to do also.

JohnJL · 06-10-2014, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andyt11

Never been, and I'm actually struggling to find any coverage on TV too.

Racer magazine says Fox Sports 1 and 2 are carrying a combined 22 hours.

JohnJL · 06-10-2014, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

John - Can't make Le Mans, but rode a motorcycle to the front gate of Spa yesterday.

In Dusseldorf 2nite, Bremen Tues and then Prague the rest of the week b4 heading to Lake Como and then a convention in Austria....Have fun and send us pic's for sure.......

I should have put this on my schedule, but didn't think of it?

Sounds like you could make the Austrian GP.

JohnJL · 06-19-2014, 11:29 PM

Well I had an awesome Le Mans experience. Definitely met and exceeded my expectations.

I arrived on a red-eye flight from Toronto into Frankfurt where my friend Doug met me. This was a big effort for him too...he is in the process of moving to Frankfurt from NYC and was there on his house-hunting trip. He went an bought a car the morning I arrived (a Skoda Superb turbowagon, a great roadtrip and family car, and will do 210kms/hr without complaint) and picked me up straight from the airport. Actually he did better than that, he picked up the car, went to the Getrinktmarkt and picked up 4 cases of beer and a case of wine...

The drive was 780kms and mainly uneventful except for 1.5 hours traffic around Paris. Beautiful countryside. The roadsigns in France are very amusing, especially the brown tourist signs that I suppose are supposed to capture the theme of the region you are in. I didn't catch a lot of pics of those but the images included a squirrel holding either a beaker or a bong, a nuclear plant cooling tower, and an exhausted-looking miner. Who else knew there are active oil pumping derrik fields east of Paris?

Arrival was a bit difficult as we came in at dusk after the ticketcounter was closed. I had booked with Travel Destinations but they didn't send the tickets beforehand so it was a negotiation to get through the gate to our campsite. This was one of the bugs the TRavel Destinations people said they would work out next time. This was their first Le Mans. An earnest attempt at French and a refusal to move out of the way got us through the gate.

The Travel Destination people were great. Porters were waiting for us to move our stuff into the very nice Honeybell tents which were well appointed. Air matresses with fresh sheets and duvets, carpet on the floor, rugs, tables, umbrellas, Le Mans radios, all very well done. Expensive but better than advertised which is so rare. Our tent was within 50 meters of the Porsche Curve hill which made for outstanding viewing and easy access to go from the hill to the tent or their bar for supplies or shelter during the two brief downpours at the start.

Friday is "Mad Friday" with the most fun coming from the Danish camping areas near the Porsche Curves. Traffic queueing along a road is encouraged by ~300 fans and a few instigators to do burnouts...I think the consensus was a Toyota van and a Smartcar both driven by Danish vets were the winners. Both burned their tires down to what must have been the cords. The fans, ourselves included, were just about pissing ourselves with laughter. BTW, the assortment of exotic cars was incredible. More Porsches, Ferraris, Lambos, Konniggseggs (?), Astons but also wildly modified VW T1 and T2s, Triumphs, Morgans, Spykers, Minis, etc. I guess to be espected when y ou assemble a couple hundred petrolheads but very impressive nonetheless.

Here are some early pics, I need to take the kids to the park now but will post more later...

JohnJL · 06-19-2014, 11:38 PM

first pics

JohnJL · 06-20-2014, 01:15 AM

more from Friday

Though the cars were on display for the open pitwalk on Friday, the LMP1 teams in particular took pains to cover up parts of the cars. All the Toyotas, Porsches and Audis had covers over their ducting.

JohnJL · 06-20-2014, 01:15 AM

Whats up with Pelican's upload, it keeps rotating the pics?

OffCamber00 · OffCamber00's Garage

Thanks for the write up. Did the headsets come w/ the package or did you bring those? Did you go into town on Friday for any reveling or did you stay at the track? What kind of supplies were available at the track? Did you need to go grocery shopping or anything?

thanks,
mat

stealthn · 06-20-2014, 05:44 AM

Wow thanks for sharing!

<-- green with envy

JohnJL · 06:54 AM

Ill post more tonight/tomorrow. Yes, much revelling. Ill pick up from Friday morning soon. Continuing detox...

Those are my headsets. You need to bring your own supplies unless you want to buy every meal from a greasy stand, which is also ok. The most scarce commodity was ice for the esky.

The atmosphere was great. With 200,000 + people and no Police presence to speak of its was great to see no bad attitudes, no aggro, nothing other than fun and good natured attitudes even under tantric states of intoxication...

OffCamber00 · OffCamber00's Garage

Awesome. Can't wait to hear more.

JohnJL · 06-20-2014, 12:42 PM

So that was up to Friday morning. The pits are open all day, and there are thousands and thousands of people filing through a 30 meter space so its a bit crazy. Even crazier until 11:00 when the organozers figured out there was only one entrance/exit and finally decided t open anther gate.

Porsche was in full effect, the sponsorship was everywhere. All along the main straight, which is actually a dramatic uphill, they had ~10 of the Le Mans winners on display under small tents. No placards or description of any kind which was a shame for those uninitiated in the ways of Porsche, but a great display...here are some pics...

JohnJL · 06-20-2014, 12:49 PM

more

So I'll admit that this is the 3rd time I've been up close and personal with this car, including having sat in it in the Stuttgart museum just last year thanks to a very slow day and a friendly guide..but this is the first time I've noticed its asymmetrical. Note the big "snorkel" intake on the left side but nothing n the right...did any driver in period ever complain of an off-center aero center or did they sort it out through other unnoticed aero?