pirahna

My flight is booked, leaving SJC early Saturday!

MarkD

Wow, fantastic...

For a fleeting moment, as I read through this thread I thought "I could pull this off... Somehow..."

Looking forward to the subsequent posts and pics!
Have a great trip

pirahna

But I told her this was going to be a trip of Porsche factory tours, Porsche, Mercedes, maybe BMW museums and 24 hour long races. She realized that this would probably not be fun for her. Besides, she recently started a new job and there was no way she could get time off on this short of notice. So my wife's begrudging approval was granted (I better get her a good gift while I am there).

I paid for the flight this morning and booked 2 nights in some small city I can't pronounce about an hour outside of Le Mans. I'm still waiting to hear from Porsche about any availability of a factory tour before I book the rest of the nights.

pirahna

I rented a small 4 door hatchback. I am sure I would be fine sleeping in the back of that but I am not sure what the rules are for that or how close you can park to the course. If anyone has any info on this it would be much appreciated!

Sutts74

I'm loving this whole story ! It's an epic adventure that I feel we can all be a small part of. Please update as much as possible. I'm hooked.

JDHertz11

I managed to visit the Porsche, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Lamborghini and Ferrari factories on our vacation last summer. It cost me a Louis Vuitton bag or two to keep the peace! Keep a sesperate thread going with photos like I did last year. Check it out in my signature. Going to Paris in a few weeks but I haven't planned any car related tours... YET... Enjoy your trip and report back often...

budge96

As far as I know you can camp (car or tent ) in any number of places around the venue..
I'ts regular roads that go throught Sarthe and Le Mans so even though
cordoned off there is plenty of space .
It's also a 24 hour event so if your anything like me and the bagillion French race fans they stay up around the clock partying..you won't believe it !
Have fun this I am envious didn't see this thread ealy enough Or I'd be there
was thinking of makling the trip in the first place !
Bert

pirahna

Your post made me go do a search. Turns out there are several areas around the track that are designated camping areas. All but one of them was already sold out so that made my decision easy. I will now be camping at AA BEAUSEJOUR campsite. Thanks for the info!

haygeebaby

Ok - Pirahna my man. Ticket transfer in progress.
I was a little down when I realised I had too many business problems to fix and couldn't go to Lemans. It's a bucket list thing I need to do one day.
But I'm feeling excited that you are going. I will see Lemans this year through your eyes and your experience.
Spur of the moment shyt like this is fun. Makes you feel like life is worth living sometimes.
I hope you enjoy the journey my friend.

BTW - on the ticket pickup information site - it says you cannot pick up the tickets from the venue on race day. So will have to grab the ticket on Friday or before.

pirahna

Thanks Ken! I saw the note about picking up before race day in the email you sent. I plan to arrive either Thursday or Friday AM.

Hopefully will have more plans to share tomorrow morning...

sanyata

This is a fantastic turn of events. It is great to see piranha do something so spontaneous as I can tell you this is not something normally in his toolbox. As he mentioned earlier work has been particularly stressful lately and doing this should add measurably to his well being and life experiences. Haygeebaby what a generous gift to offer, your karma bank is overflowing! Well done both of you.

pirahna

Just heard back from the Porsche factory and all the tours are filled for next week. I will still be hitting up the museums though.

JPP

Wait ... don't give up hope. When you get to the museum, make sure you arrive early enough to cue up with the morning tour crowd and tell the guide that you would like to join them if there's a no-show. I've been 3 times and every single time there's at least 3-4 no-shows and they always let other people who are there with no reservation on that tour. It's WELL worth the little bit of work. Man ... I'm getting excited for you just thinking about it

Paul902

This is awesome! Pirahna, keep us posted. Ken, good on ya!

pirahna

That is exactly what I planned to do, thanks for giving me confirmation that I might have success.