Club Arnage

Greetings ! I will coming over the for the first time next year. Our accomodations are just off D139, between Arnage, and Porsche Curves. Any tips on getting over to the entrances ? How does one access the areas in front of the tribunes over near Dunlop Bridge and The Esses ? Any reason to spring for a tribune seat for race day ? Many thanks for any help.

Welcome to Club Arnage.

If you are "just off D139, between Arnage, and Porsche Curves" that might mean you will be stranded there whenever the track is live, because the D139 IS the circuit. Are you camping or B&B?

 

Hi, welcome to WEC addiction!!

Getting to most parts of the circuit involve one thing, well two actually, your feet! Take good boots and be prepared to walk, its a big circuit and the surrounding roads are pretty well gridlocked during the race weekend. There is a little 'train' thingy that trawls around the main areas of the exterior which you can hop onto and get to the main entrances but these are random, infrequent and usually very full.

If you want to go into Le Mans itself by car best do it on Friday or before, there is a good tram service which runs from inside the circuit if you plan to visit over the race weekend.

Tribune? We do but its really about how you plan to view the race, mainly moving around or mainly static? Whichever, one of the little tripod style seat things are a minimum requirement IMHO, cheap, lightweight, convenient and available at the circuit. That said, if it rains (and it has been known to  :o) a tribune seat is a Godsend.

Best advice? Read the Club Arnage Guide, available near here, and don't be afraid to ask.     

I will be staying in a private home, just off of D139; alas, the intersection of the lane and the circuit is barricaded. I am hoping to walk the small lanes over the the main tribunes, and plan to take the long way around as it were, just to get the short distance to Arnage Corner. Is there a spot to see both the exit of Indianapolis and Arnage ? We will be on foot always, and save for a "place of our own", I am still not sure of a tribune seat. If so, what is the best way to obtain the tickets ( an agency , or ACO ? ). What about the "steps" in front of the seats ? Are those considered part of the tribune, or can one stand there with his General Admission ?

You only need a GA to access the terraces in front of the stands.

Thanks for the word on the terraced steps in front of the tribunes. What about crossing the open fields outside the track ( those next to D139 ). Wandering through the French countryside on the way to Circuit de la Sarthe would seem a pleasant enough way to spend time, but a short cut is always nice.

I forgot to say:

Welcome to Club Arnage!

Hello dude, will you be Inside or outside the track?

My lodging is just outside the track, but i won't to go inside as well.

With the track 'live' the nearest place where you can cross to the infield is the road tunnel under the Porsche curves.

If you give us an idea of where you are staying / address, we could give you an idea of your best options to get inside the ticketed area.
The D139 runs from south of Arnage Corner north towards the Porsche Curves (ie the live track) and then on towards the circuit main entrance.

We will be staying on Chemin des Bordages.

Based upon that info and Google Maps https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Chemin+des+Bordages,+72230+Arnage,+France/@47.9304171,0.2048835,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x47e28fd2366db2b5:0xeda75e145976b85c (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Chemin+des+Bordages,+72230+Arnage,+France/@47.9304171,0.2048835,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x47e28fd2366db2b5:0xeda75e145976b85c) you will need to head north / west towards the D92 (the Arnage village east west road), then turn right (east) on the D92 until you are back at the D139 (there is a roundabout here).
Then head north up the D139 to the grandstands / main entrance or you can also view the racing adjacent to the roundabout (the Porsche Curves viewing area).
Unless you have a car park pass near the main entrance, walking or cycling is your best option.

Hopefully the attached makes some sense to you.

MERCI ! Perfect sense. Just the way it had looked to me as well. Going over to Arnage Corner is as clear as it looks, or not ? All those open fields ? No viewing from along there; only the cordoned off spot one sees in all the videos ? How about a good butcher/cheese/wine merchant, other than SuperU  8) ? We'll be on foot.
Oh, and it's really true, I don't need to get my ticket until I arrive on Wed ? I keep thinking of a tribune seat; Raccordament, or Panorama ???

Entrance ticket (GA) you don't need to get till you arrive, however grandstand seats will need to be got in advance.

Is there a particular agency you guys find best ? I will leaving the 'States on 5 June, with what seems to be the policy of all to not ship tickets until around 1 June, I get nervous.

They can only ship the tickets once the ACO have printed them.  Recently, it has been the beginning of May, as they can't leave it too late as they are also tickets for the test day, two weeks beforehand.  There are a number of reputable agents in the UK such as Just Tickets and 1st Tickets.  They can usually predict any problems with the tickets.

You mentioned Dunlop and the Esses.  I recall the front of the Dunlop stand is roped off to ease ticket checking, but you can spectate either side.  There is an excellent viewing area on the other side of the track, but this may have been lost to corporate hospitality.  I think the esses are visible now, and the track all the way down to Tetre Rouge.  It was a bit overgrown a few years back.

It looks like you're not far away from the viewing area inside Indianapolis down to Arnage, but as for getting there....  They used to make a dirt road to connect the other two roads at Arnage corner crossroads.  I really ought to go there again

Does anyone have information as to the road work between Mulsanne & Arnage ?

Sportscar 365 do http://sportscar365.com/lemans/lemans24/le-mans-circuit-work-underway/ (http://sportscar365.com/lemans/lemans24/le-mans-circuit-work-underway/)

Thanks. This can't be good.

Hello Cecil,

Welcome to Club Arnage!
Looking at where you are staying, the nearest viewing area for you would be on the outside at Porsche Curves (accessible) just by the bridge where the circuit goes over the D92.
This is one of my favourite places to view (photo) - especially as the sun comes up on Sunday morning - you get a great view of the first light falling over the various campsites, and right up to ferris wheel and ACO tower by the pits straight. Also you can just see across to the Dunlop Bridge.
(You can access the inside of those curves by walking through the Beausejour camp site).
Also from the Bridge or BSJ, you can catch the little trains or shuttle buses to either the Antares Entrance (The tram stop) which is the entrance on the inside or Tertre Rouge, or via a combination of trains you can get to the Main entrance near to the Auto Museum but on the inside of the circuit in the hospitality village.

You can also access the GA area at the entrance to Arnage corner and walk down to the exit of Indianapolis, but not any further than the corner (so not up the Indianapolis straight).

From experience, you might run into problems taking to the fields, better to stick to the beaten tracks.
I think that you will quickly be moved on by Fat Controllers or even Gendarme if you are trying to view from an "unofficial" area. But maybe if you speak to the locals in Arnage there might be "known" places.

If you are shorter than say 6foot, you might be better getting a Grandstand (Tribunes) seat if you want a good view of the Start and Finish (Plus better for Photo Ops!). The standing terrace is OK, but you will need to get there at 7am to get a good spot and wait until the start!!
Any stand on the outside circuit gives better views than the tribunes above the pit boxes.

Dean

Order the tickets from the ACO and they give you an option to collect them from their offices when you arrive.

If you are collecting note that the circuit collection office this year was on the other side of the airport and the D323, not the Rotunda. Quite a hike from the main circuit entrance. If I can figure out how to get a map into a posting I'll post an image up to indicate where it is.

Agreed Pretzel I would say without a car the , new last year, pickup location is almost impossible to access. While not too difficult to find now that I know where it is  ;D  I am not sure I would want to go on a bicycle either.
Do post a map.
Phil

Rue Maurice Trintignant, 72000 Mans (Le), France ‎
47°57'4.37"N
0°11'44.13"E

I suspect that the offices at La Rotunde will be open again in 2015 as it was used for Porsche hospitality this year!
If the shiny new Porsche building has beeen finished!

Looks like CLKGTRLM1 has beaten me to it with the location details. Just to add to it here's the map anyhow......

Thanks very much, to all of you guys. Happy Holidays, from California. A three week trip to France is under my tree this year ! :D 8)

Greetings one & all,
At this point, I feel my mate & I  have formed Plan A. Arrive Paris, 6 June, and get the lay of the land, as it were. Depart from Montparnasse, Wednesday morning. Take the tram to the end of the line ( can one take a tram from Le mans to Arnage ? ), where will have a ride to our home for the rest of the week. Walk to the Porsche Curves, and buy General Admission for the week, and locating viewing spots for the big day. Seems a spot on the terraces would be fine to watch the start, and the hear the singing of all of the National Athems. Any thoughts ???

If you want to see the start at the terrace, be there early, very early !  There's no tram to Arnage.  During the race there is a shuttle bus, which could get very busy and take away a lot time waiting to get on one.

Oh, and if you're 3 weeks in France, rent a car and get to the Nurburgring for 2 days (700 km drive), or take a train to Aachen and rent a car down there.  Make sure to pass by Reims to see the remains of the old track.

Once we have our General Admission ticket ( bought at the gate at Porsche Curve, Wednesday afternoon (???) ) , do we have access to the circuit around the clock ? HOW early for the terraces on Saturday ?  :o 8)

Yes, a General Admission ticket gives access within the circuit right through to Sunday after the race (and into Monday for those camping on site).

Each entrance has a couple of staff that scan your ticket 'in' and then scan it 'out' when you leave the circuit.  Keep your ticket on you at all times.

Regarding the terraces, as soon as you like is a fair answer.  There's warm ups and support races starting from around 0930 Saturday morning.  So if you want a spot on the concrete terraces at the start / finish, best you take your breakfast with you  ;D

Thanks. I was planning on a breakfast picnic as it were. May i ask about the entrance at Porsche Curves, please ? Where is it exactly, and is it true that I can just walk over on Wednesday afternoon and buy my General ticket ? Are there SRO view points at the top of the Paddock tribune ( #34?).

I'm not aware of General Admission tickets being offered for sale at Porsche Curves (no ticket booth).  You'll have to walk further up the road towards the main start finish straight where the grandstands are to purchase your ticket from a booth.
You can climb up into the Paddock Tribune (in fact, any tribune AFAIK) up until race day, when you'll need a Tribune ticket.

IIRC nearest ticket booth to Porsche curves is at the entrance to Maison Blanche.

 :D 8) Thanks. I thought I could buy them closer to our home ( just N of Arnage, off of D139 ). Seems to be a challenge getting from our place to what is SO close. I guess tramping off through the open filed along the way to Arnage corner is out. Once the circuit is closed to traffic, could I walk from the roundabout  by Porsche Curves, on along the road to the Main Entrance ? Only a General Admission ticket to get to the terraces, correct ?

Hi Cecli,
             Yes you can walk from PC roundabout to Main Entrance passing Maison Blanche camp site and entrance.
You mention riding the Tram to Antares. Look for the machine to buy your ticket to ride BEFORE you get on the tram.
The final stop is a couple hundred yards from an Entrance which has a ticket booth if you want to buy it there.
Your choice of residence has you not very far from anything while being close to nothing  :o
Phil

Cecli from the outside of the circuit if you walk Under the bridge just after Porsche curves at the entrance of BJ camping you can buy GA tickets then catch the Reggie bus up the Inside of the circuit straght to the tram.

Thank SO much gentlemen. It's hard for me to realize that I really am going to be able to do this .
Here' a toast to Phil Hill.

The hardest thing to realize is how you are going to come back to LM year after year once you have experienced the great race.
Wishing you the best time. Not long now!
Heed the advice on here - these guys know their stuff!

See you in France  ;D

We have got onto the terraces fairly late some years, 2pm ish, due to England rugby matches, its been a bit of a scrum but managed it.
If you want to experience the build up get up there about 11 am. If you want to see the support race and warm up about 9 am, or a bit earlier.
You're going to be there Wednesday, no need to panic or rush, practice is earlier, from about 6, check CA guide, but qualy doesn't start till 10 pm.
Chill and enjoy.
Entrance tickets sold at, main gate, entrance to Maison Blanche, that's half way between the Porsche curves and the main entrance, and also at the entrance by Karting Nord and Tetre Rouge, not certain of the last two, can someone confirm.
Most of all you will never see or do every thing in one visit, this will be my 14th visit, and I still haven't done/seen everything I want to, plan your priorities, don't try to do to much, just enjoy.

We could not buy tickets at Karting Nord (on Wednesday) last year.
Not sure about the outside of Tertre Rouge (The entrance by the Bar), but definitely at Antares (the INSIDE of Tertre Rouge).
If you are arriving on Wednesday by tram, get your GA tickets then.......................The Antares entrance is straight ahead on the roundabout where you alight the tram.

We just bit the bullet, and purchased a pair of seat in Chinetti. I figured in the end, this is a "trip of a lifetime", so why fight the scrum. A place to meet seems like a good idea. We're up at the top of the first aisle. HOT DOG !!!

No.  This is a lifetime, a way of life, an addiction.

No about about that, Lorry. Just trying to be realistic. One never knows.

.     Agree Lorry. First visit was 91 for a stag do. Very little interest in motor racing apart from knowing a few F1 names. Saw the cars, heard the Mazda, fell in love. Been back every year since. An addiction for sure.

Hi Cecil,
             The pre-race build up is worth watching from a grand stand ( tribune) seat.
While not low cost they are just cheap plastic seats. Bring ear protection.....the French announcer and the acoustics are both terrible and loud. Did we mention you will need an FM radio and ear buds under those ear protectors.
Phil

Thanks, Phil. Somehow, I knew ear protection might be a good idea ( "it's along race" ). Has anyone used an E ticket ?

Hi Cecil, when you say E-ticket, do you mean those sold this year for the first time, to be delivered to the recipient by email as opposed to having physical tickets shipped?

If so, we have done this for this year and (apart from a couple of ACO IT issues, which are not uncommon) have received ours and printed them out. I also ordered on behalf of another CA'er and have sent them to him, and he has also printed them successfully. Certainly saves any worries about shipping, and I will do the same again for next year.

Pete B.

Those are they, Pete. The restrictions on the paper they are printed on seems SO specific. We have a slightly different size paper  here in the "States. I just can not see getting there, and being told, "sorry lads, these are no good". We shall hope for only the best.  8) ??? :P :angel:

Hello Cecil as long as the bar code can be scanned ot should be ok i would think. But i've been wrong before! Oh and normaly dress code is flip-flops and wellies.

Hi Cecil,
           I and many others use clear ticket holders hung around our necks. Keeps the ticket flat and makes scanning the bar code easier. Word of caution with self printed tickets the ink might transfer to the ticket holder.
Are you going to Sebring?
Phil

Suggest having the email backup somewhere easy to find on your cell.
If all else fails, it should be able to scan from screen?

I wonder if the will use the Barcode for the stands this year.  If not it's a bit open to abuse with print your own.  With regard to the ink coming off in plastic wallet.  Last year i tried out using the "Red laser" app on my phone.  If you not familiar with "Red Laser" it's designed to scan and store "loyalty Cards" but it can be used for most bar codes.  The scanned barcode for my GE ticket worked just fine at the turnstyles.  I didn't try it at the manned entrances just in case they didn't like the idea. So this year I'm going to use that and just take self printed tickets for backup. Then keep it in a plastic bag to cover for the unlikely event of rain.  :-)

t.

Thanks for the idea Tom, might give the Red Laser thing a try ourselves.

Pete B.

Our E tickets are for Chinetti Tribune. I guess we could have them printed our Hotel, before we leave Paris. here, E tickets are a way of life, but the directions for Le Mans are SO specific; I can just see being turned away by someone that I had no idea of what they were saying other than NON !!!

Hi Cecil,
              I am guessing they want A4 paper which is close enough to our 8 1/2 x 11. While easy enough to tell side by side  I doubt even a vigilant French gate keeper will be able to tell without something to compare.
However be aware it is France and this is the first year.....so it may all go horribly wrong. If it does you will not
be alone  ;D  It's all part of the adventure.
Phil

 :o ;D ::)