I will check that out, thank you.
Do you fly an SR22?
Hello!
Usually we fly quite a lot to LeMans (one of the big players is located close to our home base…) but this year I didn’t get a flight myself. The race weekend is quite stressful from a pilot’s point of view. They have a slot system, endless wait for fuel, lots of traffic, narrow parking spots, etc. Still they are friendly and helpful all the time. If you want a hotel within 50km from Le Mans you have to book one year in advance. Some years ago we were flying to LeMans with several aircraft and our company sent out one of our operations guys with a minivan to operate a shuttle service for the crews to a hotel somewhere on the Atlantic coast…
The race itself is rather disappointing from a spectators point of view. There are three dozen race cars distributed over a track of 15km length and when you sit in the motodrome you can see a car pass by every ten seconds or so. But they don’t race each other because there are so many categories that real competitors are very far apart. At night you can really only see the headlights and nothing else.
In the pits it is all very quiet (compared to formula one). A normal pit stop takes a minute or more, they top up the fuel, wash the windscreens, change wheels (the smaller teams one at a time because they only have two mechanics…), the drivers swap places and have a little chat while doing so (“there is some strange noise when shifting to fifth gear and watch that idiot in the golden Corvette…”). One year I was given a team badge which allowed access to everywhere but the best place to be really was the catering tent …
As written above, the test weekend two weeks before the race is much better. The airfield is quiet, no slots, no wait for the fuel. There will be plenty of hotel rooms available in town (which is quite nice – I can recommend a visit to the cathedral and the big flea market on Sunday morning) and everything will only cost one half than during the race weekend.
Monza which was mentioned above is a lot better. A wonderful location within that “royal park” and the F1 grand prix takes place during the best season in this part of the world: late summer/early autumn. Not so hot that one is sweating all the time (as in Le Mans) but warm enough for short sleeves. The rest of the family can go shopping in Milan while daddy watches the race. Again I would recommend the training sessions on Saturday which cost much less – but still a lot – compared to the race itself and are actually more interesting than the race. When we fly people to the race we use Linate, but for a light plane Bresso would be more convenient.
The Race part was really a bit different this year: especially the GT class put up a great show. After 23 hours the leading Corvette in that class and the following Aston Martin were 0.6 seconds apart! But like many sports … you see it best on TV. and you don’t get the replays “Live” ;-)
I would go there for the atmosphere.
And yes, I am still thinking about going to Monza. Not this year, becasue we’ll be away, but maybe next.
In the meantime I got feedback from a German guy who was in Le Mans from Friday to Sunday with his Robin and he said it was easy, and that you just have to call for PPR.
Alexis wrote:
But like many sports … you see it best on TV.
There are large screens at the motodrome in Le Mans where they show the interesting bits of the race so you will not miss the interesting bits. What I find funny/strange in Le Mans are those private drivers who drive their Lamborgini or Porsche by normal road to the race track. There they remove the number plates and swap the exhaust for a racing exhaust and fit racing tyres which their mechanic buddy has delivered there in his family car. Then they “race” the for the first ten laps, push the car into the garage for 23 hours and and drive again during the last two laps when the 24 hours end. By this, they will have fulfilled the rules to enter the classification (a minimum number of laps and still driving after 24 hours) and receive a nice framed certificate which they can hang over their office desk “I am a LeMans race car driver”.
Haha! I would do that, for the fun of it … but I guess a C class AMG will not qualify. By the way: There was no Lamborghini this year, but many 488 Ferraris and Porsche 911 turbos …
Alexis wrote:
There was no Lamborghini this year, but many 488 Ferraris and Porsche 911 turbos …
Did any of the Ferraris last the full 24 hours? The one year I spent the full race on the track, from all the “normal” cars only some Porsches and Corvettes (and one Renault Alpine!) managed the whole distance. All the Italian cars (and the remaining non-Italian ones as well) either gave up due to technical problems or spent the middle 23 hours in the garage.
No, the 488 Ferraris did very well! A Corvette was leading the GTpro category for about 23:55 and was overtook by an Aston Martin on the LAST lap.
The real drama was when the #1 LMP1 Porsche had to retire after about 20 hours leading the field by 14 laps … but then #2 won which had to be repaired for more than an hour last night!
In my former hobby-job as a coach driver I was maybe 10 times to Le Mans and I’ve also been to a number of F1 Gp’s. While Monza, Monaco and Spa is nice places – each has their own advantage as a circuit – none of my F1 experiences came close to what you get at Le Mans.
I still remember my first visit to a F1 circuit seeing two Minardi racers approach a curve with a speed where I was sure they would not be able to stay on the track. After my senses was adjusted it all seemed normal. On the opposite side of where I was on the stands, I saw people in one of the paddocks. Nicely dressed, eating and drinking with their backs turned to the race all the time. They pay a lot of money to be there, but they are not there for the race. The race is fine, but the atmosphere is nothing like Le Mans.
On Le mans you are all together. As accommodation is far from luxury most of the 300.000 spectators are enthusiastic about racing. In the middle of a grass field filled with tents you’ll find people with very nice – very high value cars, arriving to have some beers, watch the race and sleep in a tent next to their Farrari / Aston Martin.
I was part of an event where you would buy a ticket, space for camping, pre-ordered and placed tents if wanted, but most importantly a big party tent with monitors showing the race. In this way you can combine the experience at the track, watching the positions on the monitors, shuttle bus to Arnage in the night to see the red gloving brake disc’s, and non-stop party for 4 days.
Regarding pit access Friday sees an open pit lane and the traditional Le Mans drivers’ parade through the centre of Le Mans town – all with a normal ticket.
Thank you for this insight – Le Mans sounds like something i might like!
what_next wrote:
What I find funny/strange in Le Mans are those private drivers who drive their Lamborgini or Porsche by normal road to the race track. There they remove the number plates and swap the exhaust for a racing exhaust and fit racing tyres … they “race” the for the first ten laps, push the car into the garage for 23 hours and and drive again during the last two laps when the 24 hours end. By this, they will … receive a nice framed certificate which they can hang over their office desk “I am a LeMans race car driver”.
This is complete nonsense and anyone who has driven an ACO GTE (or FIA GT3) spec car will know that they have nothing in common with the road car except for the underlying chassis. And even the “amateur” drivers are mostly very capable, experienced and have achieved at a very high level prior to achieving an International C race license.
