Club Arnage

I had a thought... then I needed to sit down.

What percentage is the annual LM trip for the racing, now, this is not as simple as it may sound as I do not mean that if you go for five days and the race is 24 hours then that is 20%. What I am asking is what % does the racing make you want to go to LM?

For me it is a small % as I just love going to France, the driving, catching up with old acquaintances and sitting in a campsite for a week.

I know that the Classic is a bit different because of the access to the old bangers and fields of owners clubs, so for me there is slightly more attraction than the LM24

Just a thought... to pass the time - waiting.

>Martini...LB

80%
Watch as much of the race as possible.
Used to do the same for practice and qualifying, but have been 'distracted' by other activities for the last few years.   ;D
31 days till departure.  ;D

Mmmmmmm....... How to answer this. For me LM24 is far more than the race so I tried to break it down into its attractions (to me). Here goes:

Racing 70%
Camping 30%
Meeting mates 60%
Drive down 50%
Break from work etc 30%
Historic event nostalgia 30%


Hang on that's a total of 270 % !!!

Which to me is the point. It has a value far greater than the sum of its parts and something which cannot be quantified. Now I need a rest.

It changes fom year to year for me, depends on the competition. Some years I have not even got a ga pass, others I have have grandstand full pack and spent hours at the track.

But meeting up with good friends never gets old 22 years and counting ;D

Hard to put percentages on it really.

It varies from year to year - less interested in the racing results since the Saleens dropped out and I havent really formed an attachment to anyone else yet! 

Still love to see the cars and watch the night racing, listen to Radio LM, etc.

Having an extended break in France (which includes the pleasure of driving on French roads, food, drink, open spaces and so on) is definitely a big part of it for me and for that reason my "24 hours" generally extends to the best part of a fortnight!

F

I think you have hit the nail on the head there.  I reckon my percentages are about the same may be slightly larger.

As I've always said, 63% of people don't understand percentages, and only 47% can cope with them

From the time of my first trip in '94 it's been all about the event. The planning, the assembly of the team, organising the tickets, ferry / shuttle and hotels en route. Checking the gear, talking to people on here. From the time we leave home I'm on edge until we arrive on the campsite. Tents up, Barbie lit and beers cracked open and finally I can relax. The gang's all here safe and sound.
Wander up to the track and the first sight of a car on the track during practice reminds me why we're all here. Les Vingt Quattre Heures du Mans.
The look on the face of a newbie when he or she sees the cars at full chat for the first time is priceless and the camaraderie of all you Club Arnagers is unbelievable. 

100% everything.

You mean there's a race ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

And now the serious answer.

It's dwindling more and more every year for me.

The reason?  The sterility of the circuit.  Having taken the trip to Sebring a couple of years ago, I can confirm that it is ABSOLUTELY possible to sit less than 10 yards away from international standard motorsport, without catch fences, without 350 metre run off areas and without destroying the event by putting the crowd in the next town.  My biggest bug bear about Le-Mans, is that they are continuously taking elements away.  From the Mad Friday drag strip through the middle of Maison Blanc/Bleu Sud, to viewing areas such as the "funfair straight" - Lets be honest, you wouldn't be surprised to hear that they'd decided to close the Guinness bar this year.

So these days, the attraction is the people who attend the race - the good people of Club Arnage, The Brethren, Team Zarse, Robbo and his gang, Bob U, John S, Werner and the Germans, The Liverpool Boys, The Melans, and all of the other people - many of whom you never find out the name of (correction - never remember the names of!) - they're just the people who come to Le-Mans. 

Some of the best trips we've ever had, haven't ended up involving any racing.  Indeed probably the weekend to end all weekends, Nurburgring 2009, involved almost no racing at all. 

You're right, its all become too sterile, but this is what our leaders want.

What really worries me is that the extra extra extra safety features seems to dampen the enthusiam, so its less fun off piste/on the pist too.

I know we shouldn't be daft, but 1955 was a long time ago

Used to be all about mad friday and racing for me. Then I had kids. Now it's a chance to sleep, drink and get a hangover without being jumped on at 6am. And yeah, it is getting a bit sterile, but you'd only need one accident in which a few spectators got killed for the whole event to end forever - it aint 1955 any more. We tend to forget, these cars are seriously quick and occasionally they do fly. Wing Commander Webber knows that.

And Flight Lt Dumbreck.

Along with crash test pilot Davidson.

However, I disagree that spectator deaths would end the event.  Your ticket clearly states that Motorsport is dangerous.  It always amazes me that in Europe, we put catch fences around catch fences to avoid spectator injury and financial ruin - yet in a land where you get sued for looking at a barman in an inquisitive manner, you can almost sit on the track.... I know which one I think has the balance right as well.

<edited because "barman" originally said "batman" - which put a WHOLE different twist on the event!>

Watching the race is a big percentage for me, but the whole planning through the year, meeting up with friends at the track and the camping experience is also crucial. Love watching as the sun rises.

I'll put my two cent's in on this subject (that's about what its worth).  For me something happened when I began moving into my mid-thirties, I lost that wild intoxication for the contemporary incarnation of the sport, that I had when I was younger.  Much of it was because of the way the sport was evolving, as mentioned it was becoming ever more sterile, over regulated, that combined with some of the juvenile antics of the participants just sapped my enthusiasm.  I love the history of the sport, and still enjoy going to races, nothing beats the sights & smells of a race meeting, but for me know its about the whole event, not the racing.  There's very little about contemporary racing that I care about, be it F1, Indycar, sportscars, bike's, etc.  To me its pretty much all the same. For me know its about about the venues, and the atmosphere, could care less about pissing matches over which is better, ALMS or Grand-Am, MotoGP or Superbikes, etc.  I began to lose my enthusiasm for Le Mans, the race itself, the last couple of times I was there in '02 & '03.  When I first went in '96 all of the old tribunes were still there, the fairground was in its traditional location down by the esses, the straight run down the hill from the bridge to the esses was still intact, the old village was still there, etc.  It had a real sense of history.  Gradually all of these traditional landmarks vanished, and by my last LM 24hrs, the place seemed very sterile, and devoid of charisma, not helped by sights like razor wire topped walls.  The spectators are ridiculously far removed from the action compared to what I'm used to over here.  It really put me off.
I loved the people I met there, had a great time camping, boozing, swapping stories, but the race itslef had virtually become background noise.  I just didn't have any interest in watching it from two hundred yards away.
 I would say for me now, its about 25% about the racing, and the rest, the atmosphere & party.   That said, I'm passing on my first Indy 500 in forty years next Sunday, can't face being packed in iike sardines, in the baking sun, with the sweaty, 300lb guy next to me, to watch the pathetic mess Indycar racing has become.  Going to watch from a comfy bar stool down at the nicely air conditioned pub.
Fax

Thanks Fax, glad it was only two cents and not a full dollar, I got tired reading, agree with a lot of what you are saying though as probably a lot of people will do, which in itself is unusual  ;D

Take care over there.

>Martini...LB

PS. Just thought that I should add that I used to be up all hours watching the racing and very keen (yes Si I even knew the name of some of the cars and the drivers!!) So I am not a complete Lazy B, just leaving room for others.

M.

I also agree with Dave's % and the fact that it come to 270% is also correct for the sum of the whole Planning, Traveling, Mates, Parties etc etc, best boys weekend away possible. As for the race I love being on the Terraces for the build up, Anthems, the Start, Tertre Rouge at midnight, Arnage / Mulssane Sunday morning and the back to the terraces for the finish. The only bad bit is the exhaustion of the homeward journey.

Still really enjoy sitting on the terraces at 7 am Sunday, with an expresso and a croissant, seeing the closed garage doors confirming the attrition of the night.

Whilst I agree that Motorsport (as has every aspect of life) has become a little tamer over the years, it's still a great event. The 'race' isn't really a race when you know there will be a silver car on the top step come Sunday afternoon. But....

Sitting above the Chappelle esses at midnight, still in a T shirt and marvelling at the sheer performance of these cars. Mooching down to Tetre Rouge in the early hours when there's few people still around and listening to the cars heading down the Hunadieres nose to tail. Walking back down the empty grandstands just before dawn, the noise, the speed, the sense of occasion, the busy pit lane, the poignancy of a closed garage door and the broken dream that is hidden behind it ....

Tell me you would rather be at home watching the omnibus of Eastenders, and I'll call your fool and a liar!

I hate camping with a passion. I do like meeting friends old and new. I like driving through France. I like the odd beer, rillette, a crepe, a pastis with Uncle Martin. I like having a beer on the back of the ferry as we leave Pompy (and life's troubles for a few short days). It's all good. But if its the camping, Craic and friendship we go for then why wait once a year and traipse to France? You lot would declare war on France if they stopped the race.

I think it's time that some of you took a year off and tried watching it on TV whilst it rains outside and take stock.

Yes it's not as good as it was, but its still head and shoulders above anything else out there.

Si

Mostly the racing, but as Fax hints at, the rose tinted glasses have alot to answer for.

The cars are still as awesome at 7am on a sunday morning as they were 30 years ago, the track a bit less so, but the campsites easier to cope with.

I dont go expecting a close race or grandstand finish, I do go expecting to get away from the daily grind and kick back for a few days with like minded souls with a race as wonderful backdrop and the reason to be there in the first place.

whist my Motorsport church of worship is wide ,Ive had enough of the goodwood hoards ,even on the 'enthusiasts' fri (oh those were the days) grand prix out of rearch of the working class, so with the moon's aligning this year regards dates & her in doors, I want to spend a long weekend with people who 'get it' regards motorsport & escape the grind of the working life . yes, looking back at pics of my first race in 1993 makes you wish of some things hadn't changed, but its a rare chance to enjoy MY interest ,with only ME to please

Drinking draft beer,eating croque mousour wearing just shorts n a t-shirt ,sitting on a grassy mound as the sun rises on a sunday morning at tetre rouge , if you have to ask why........ 

I think it's time that some of you took a year off and tried watching it on TV whilst it rains outside and take stock.

well said mr B`stard

I remember Ian (Liverpool) doing that a few years ago, the year after the Pizza Hut food poisoning, and my phone going on the Tuesday with a text saying - I've made a mistake, I'll be there next year. I don't think I could dare not go, it would probably end up in a divorce.

99%

Hmm....that's pretty close to my thinking and the percentages as well.

It's an odd one for me as I spend around 35 days a year at racetracks, including being in the pit lane for F1, so there is very little novelty for me in seeing cars live and actually, if it's all about the race then you get a much better view and understanding of what is going on from home with a couple of TV feeds, RLM and a timing screen!

We've stayed home the last four years mainly because the fun had gone out of the camping, it was getting almost impossible to get reasonably priced pitches on MB and on our last trip I barely slept for the week because of the tossers with the truck who played their music until 5am.  I'm all for everyone having fun but the culture of LM is becoming too much like a stag weekend for for my liking and as this time of year I work bleeding hard and spend most of my free time at race circuits it had all become hard work.  

For me it is a lot about the traditions we've created, scrutineering and lunch in the maitre kanter, pottering around for a couple of days, going to the food market in LM, then LM for the drivers parade although rarely actually seeing any drivers as we'd get bored before they got to us but just enjoying the atmosphere - alternatively a nice lunch on the Friday at a lovely restaurant near a river.    

Race wise, watching qualifying, watching the support race from the MB banking, watching the start of the 24 from the Ford Chicane banking with a bottle of bubbly and plastic glasses - much as I'm used to live cars, the noise of the LM start is something very special.   Wandering around the track, out to Tetre Rouge for midnight and watching the fireworks over the village, sleeping for a couple of hours with the noise of the cars around me, up before dawn to walk along the tribunes, up to Dunlop for sunrise and then up around the Esses before going back for bacon butties.  

We're going back this year and I am looking forward to it, it'll be nice to revisit the places that we love - plus revisiting the location of our wedding party 6 years on!  

There will be a gap in things this year though, my Le Mans buddy Simon died two years ago this July, Simon was very much part of my LM experience and it's a bit of a pilgrimage for all of us this year...

Sorry, that's long!   I'm very much looking forward to seeing all of you, it's been too long....

It will be great to see you and Keith back at La Sarthe.

Thanks Barry, not long now  ;D

+1 for a percentage approaching 4 digits.

And as a relative newbie (9th attendance this year) I recognise the increasing sterility in the last 10 years but there are still opportunities to evade the sterility. 'nuff said - haven't been caught yet. And that makes it a unique experience for me with another category that scores 80%.

It changes for me, the racing is key, always has been and always will be but it's not just the race, it's the practice, the smells, the sights and everything that is on the periphery of the race that makes it for me. It's the one week a year where I can meet up with friends from around the world, eat too much bad food, drink way too much, and generally mis-behave and yes, I could do that anywhere, but it would not be Le Mans.

So, for me, the race is 100% as without that, all the planning, travelling, camp building, drinking, BBQs, mis-behavin' etc. just would not exist, but without all the the race would just be a race too, it's a symbiotic relationship  ;D