Casting the net a little wide - LeMans 2007
01-01-2007, 12:23 AM
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Casting the net a little wide - LeMans 2007
Posted last week on the UK and Europe regional forums...
Hi there. Assuming the RS Spyders will be running at LeMans next year, I am planning a trip from Montreal to watch the race. I will be travelling with my wife (fellow die-hard 993 nut) Natalie...
I am trying to get as much info as possible re. accomodations, travel from Paris, and general accessibility. I would greatly appreciate any guidance from fellow Rennlisters that make the trip. Do's and don'ts?
I am pretty flexible as to my travel plans (hotel? bed and breakfast?) and would love to meet up with likeminded P-car friends at the race.
Thanks in advance for any help and guidance.
Best Regards,
Matthew Lane
Hi there. Assuming the RS Spyders will be running at LeMans next year, I am planning a trip from Montreal to watch the race. I will be travelling with my wife (fellow die-hard 993 nut) Natalie...
I am trying to get as much info as possible re. accomodations, travel from Paris, and general accessibility. I would greatly appreciate any guidance from fellow Rennlisters that make the trip. Do's and don'ts?
I am pretty flexible as to my travel plans (hotel? bed and breakfast?) and would love to meet up with likeminded P-car friends at the race.
Thanks in advance for any help and guidance.
Best Regards,
Matthew Lane
01-02-2007, 12:52 AM
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>>Assuming the RS Spyders will be running at LeMans next year, I am planning a trip from Montreal to watch the race.>>
A safer assumption would be that no RS Spyders will be running at Le Mans in 2007. Penske has already said as much. Dyson has no recent history of wanting to run there. Unless Porsche plans to run their own entry, I don't see it happening.
>>I will be travelling with my wife (fellow die-hard 993 nut) Natalie...>>
Will it be a trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, or will it be a vacation in France that happens to coincide with the 24 Hours of Le Mans?
>>I am trying to get as much info as possible re. accomodations, travel from Paris, and general accessibility. I would greatly appreciate any guidance from fellow Rennlisters that make the trip. Do's and don'ts?>>
If you can, fly into Orly rather than CdG. Orly puts you on the south side of Paris so you won't have to negotiate Paris' insane traffic and incomprehensible highway system. If you fly into CdG, take the train to Le Mans and rent a car there. If you fly into CdG and insist on renting a car there, bring plenty of Alka Seltzer for the drive through Paris.
If it's a "vacation in France that happens to coincide with the 24 Hours", get a lovely hotel room somewhere on the Loire River. Use that as your base, and travel to Le Mans for either the Wednesday or the Thursday practice and then as much of the race as you can manage. Use the rest of the time to tour wineries, chateaus, cathedrals, etc. Plan to arrive at the track by 7:30am on Saturday morning for the race, and you will avoid much of the traffic.
If it's a "trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans", then stay with a local family who offers a room in their house (and breakfast each morning) during the week of the race. The ACO works with a service that will pair you with a family based on criteria that you provide ($, proximity to track, size of bed needed, number of rooms needed). If the trip centers around the 24 Hours, you'll be spending little time in your room, and the time you *do* spend there, you'll want to be as far away from the crowds as possible.
http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans...gement_gb.html
If it's a "trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans", then here's the (rough) schedule. Don't miss any of it.
Monday afternoon - Scrutineering downtown (pick your favorite few cars from the scrutineering schedule and be there for those only)
Tuesday morning/afternoon - Scrutineering downtown (try to visit the ACO museum at the track at some point during the day)
Wednesday - Practice/Qualifying 7pm-9pm, 10pm-12mid (arrive at the track by 5pm to tour the pits)
Thursday - Practice/Qualifying 7pm-9pm, 10pm-12mid
Friday - Parade des Pilotes (Drivers' Parade) downtown, late in afternoon / early in evening. Plan to arrive downtown for lunch and an afternoon of shopping. Stay for the parade. If you try to time your travel into downtown just for the parade, good luck trying to find a place to park.
Saturday - Warm-up at 9am (?). Race starts at 4pm. Shuttles take spectators to different parts of the track. See as much of it as you can. Do *not* spend all your time between the Ford Chicane and Tertre Rouge. Spend much of it there, just not all of it. If you need a few hours of sleep (and are staying close by), head to your room at midnight. Be back at the track before 6am for sunrise.
A safer assumption would be that no RS Spyders will be running at Le Mans in 2007. Penske has already said as much. Dyson has no recent history of wanting to run there. Unless Porsche plans to run their own entry, I don't see it happening.
>>I will be travelling with my wife (fellow die-hard 993 nut) Natalie...>>
Will it be a trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, or will it be a vacation in France that happens to coincide with the 24 Hours of Le Mans?
>>I am trying to get as much info as possible re. accomodations, travel from Paris, and general accessibility. I would greatly appreciate any guidance from fellow Rennlisters that make the trip. Do's and don'ts?>>
If you can, fly into Orly rather than CdG. Orly puts you on the south side of Paris so you won't have to negotiate Paris' insane traffic and incomprehensible highway system. If you fly into CdG, take the train to Le Mans and rent a car there. If you fly into CdG and insist on renting a car there, bring plenty of Alka Seltzer for the drive through Paris.
If it's a "vacation in France that happens to coincide with the 24 Hours", get a lovely hotel room somewhere on the Loire River. Use that as your base, and travel to Le Mans for either the Wednesday or the Thursday practice and then as much of the race as you can manage. Use the rest of the time to tour wineries, chateaus, cathedrals, etc. Plan to arrive at the track by 7:30am on Saturday morning for the race, and you will avoid much of the traffic.
If it's a "trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans", then stay with a local family who offers a room in their house (and breakfast each morning) during the week of the race. The ACO works with a service that will pair you with a family based on criteria that you provide ($, proximity to track, size of bed needed, number of rooms needed). If the trip centers around the 24 Hours, you'll be spending little time in your room, and the time you *do* spend there, you'll want to be as far away from the crowds as possible.
http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans...gement_gb.html
If it's a "trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans", then here's the (rough) schedule. Don't miss any of it.
Monday afternoon - Scrutineering downtown (pick your favorite few cars from the scrutineering schedule and be there for those only)
Tuesday morning/afternoon - Scrutineering downtown (try to visit the ACO museum at the track at some point during the day)
Wednesday - Practice/Qualifying 7pm-9pm, 10pm-12mid (arrive at the track by 5pm to tour the pits)
Thursday - Practice/Qualifying 7pm-9pm, 10pm-12mid
Friday - Parade des Pilotes (Drivers' Parade) downtown, late in afternoon / early in evening. Plan to arrive downtown for lunch and an afternoon of shopping. Stay for the parade. If you try to time your travel into downtown just for the parade, good luck trying to find a place to park.
Saturday - Warm-up at 9am (?). Race starts at 4pm. Shuttles take spectators to different parts of the track. See as much of it as you can. Do *not* spend all your time between the Ford Chicane and Tertre Rouge. Spend much of it there, just not all of it. If you need a few hours of sleep (and are staying close by), head to your room at midnight. Be back at the track before 6am for sunrise.