Club Arnage

Hi there,

I’m back from Le Mans and once again it was a blast. Great to catch up with lots of you again! I feel really sorry for the Toyota guys, but an old adage in Motor racing has become the truth once again: “To finish first, you first have to finish”. In 30 years I’ve seen already a fair amount of cars retiring in the last half hour of the race, but since it never was the overall leader and it never was in the really very last lap this never made headlines. Le Mans is tough, mean, cruel and doesn’t allow the slightest mistake.

Back to the topic of this post:

Most of you know that I’ve been publishing the CA Guide since the beginning of it; many of you have contributed to it in the past. Putting the annual CA Guide together was something which I really loved to do and it had become a fixed part of my pre-Le Mans routine for 11 years now. However, 2 weeks ago when I compiled the final pdf-version of the 2016 edition I made the decision that this would be my last one.

Why? Let’s face it: The guide has become obsolete.

When we started this project back in 2006 there was only little information about the race and almost no practical information for race visitors on the internet available. Some bits and pieces were spread over various forums but there was no central source. Even a proper entry list was hard to come by. In those days collecting the information and putting all of it in the CA Guide really made sense and created value. For many years the CA Guide was the only complete source of information for English speaking race visitors and especially for the newbies. I remember the 2011 edition had a volume of 154 pages…

But times have changed; nowadays there is a lot of excellent, high quality information available on the web, most notably:

• The spotter’s guide at www.spotterguides.com: Entry list, track map, basic race week schedule and info about the 4 classes squeezed on just 3 pages. This is very handy to print out and take to the race track; actually this is all you need. It’s a great format, excellent quality; we couldn’t do it any better!
• The 24h Website in its English version: Even the ACO has got its act together now and is providing a proper website with plenty of information about the race and additional stuff for planning your visit at La Sarthe: St. Saturnin, Drivers parade, scrutineering, support races, ceremony of hands etc., it’s all in there.
• The English version of the ACO app “24 on site”: Has all you need while watching the race –circuit description, race week schedule, sporting regs, entry list and a lot more - for Android and iPhones.

Scanning through all the information which these sources provide I found that the CA Guide doesn’t really create additional value any more. Almost all of the information which I had put in the 2016 edition was available there too, and some of it in even better quality. So I decided to skip printing a copy of the guide for myself this year. Instead I printed out just the spotter’s guide and downloaded the ACO and WEC apps to my smartphone at home – you can use most of it even without internet connection! And I did fine with that during the race weekend, I had all the information I needed at hand and I didn’t have to carry tons of paper.

Printed guidebooks are a thing of the past; nowadays mobile apps are the deal. The CA Guide as an app? I thought about it for a moment, but let’s be honest: What could we provide which isn’t already available in the ACO or WEC apps?

The CA Guide was way ahead of anything else when we started it in 2006; but I think it has outlived its usefulness now and it’s time for the funeral.

Some of you will ask: What about the support for our chosen charities? I’m sure we can find other ways to raise funds for them; this could be a topic for another thread.

I think different about parts of the CA wiki though, especially the campsite descriptions. Currently these are not available in good quality anywhere else. I think we should continue to maintain or even extend this section of the wiki so newbies can properly prepare their pilgrimage. The same applies to the information for visitors with disabilities. May be it’s an idea to shift our focus to the preparation phase for the Le Mans camper – and provide this online only. Your opinions, please!

However, if anyone wants to take over and continue publishing the CA Guide I’ll be glad to assist and transfer my knowledge.

Werner

Hi Werner, big thanks for the efforts, the CA guide was a big help in 2006 and 07, where we visit the Le Mans for the first and second time on our own.

With regards

Ninka from Denmark

Thanks Werner, yes you are right, there is nowhere to take the CA guide forward, you have done a magnificent job yourself and co ordinated the many superb contributions from others. Top job.

When I came across the guide it was very handy indeed and many thanks for the effort from you and everyone else over the years for producing such a good document
I can fully understand the reasons why the guide as a guide has probably been overtaken by other multi-media sources but is there scope for retaining some elements of it (ie camping, transit, general observations about how to get the best from Le Mans etc) to be on this forum as a CA focused source of info?  I would of course be happy to contribute/help as a veteran camper, european and intercontinental traveller and sometimes writer.

Just a thought.

JW

thanks for all the work you did on this Werner!

Sign of the times. The guide was very helpful in my first years of visiting Le Mans so thank you to all who contributed.

Werner, a big thank you for the time and effort you have put in over the years. On a different note, I shall feel substantially less pressure next test day! And you'll be pleased to know that the camera worked fine once I'd sorted out the gremlins.

 ;D - Good to hear your camera is OK!

Yes, the CA wiki should be continued and excatly the topics you suggest (camping, travel routes etc...) should be maintained, because this is not really covered anywhere else. See http://www.clubarnage.com/wiki/doku.php?id=ca_guide:toc and feel free to add any stuff

Will do Werner.

Thanks again.

I'll give the wiki a new structure soon, e.g. seperate chpaters for each campsite.

Hi Werner,
     I agree the guide is a little out dated.  But that said it is a complete guide.  There is IMHO nothing to match it.  Maintaining it is a major undertaking. I sure you will agree that many parts of the guide have changed only slightly since the first publication.  But the sections on things like the entry list takes a lot of work.  So keeping the wiki is a great idea.  Yes you can find most of the information in other places on the internet but the CA guide has most of it all in one place.

Thank you for having the idea and for making it happen.  Plus thank you to all of the contributors over the years.

T

PS.  It was great to see you made the trip.  (I knew you would! :-)

t

The guide has been a valuable guide and has helped many people and I have been pleased to have played a small part in it, but l agree that times have moved on and the need has reduced as most info is available at your finger tip.

The updating of the wiki would be good as it provides a year round resource to people thinking ahead. If I can help with that I will do.

Thank you Werner for the original idea and making it happen each year!

Werner,

I'm not sure that I can begin to fully appreciate the amount of work and dedication that has goes into The Guide each year, but I know that it is very high.

I'm sure that you know from what I have written on this forum that I hold The  Guide in the highest regard.

I have strong views about what it is and where it goes. Let us have a separate topic on what we do next.

In terms of raising charity funds, although I am keen to see money raised, as I see it CA exists for the people first and foremost.

For me, I am pleased to be associated with Club Arnage and the guide that it produces that brings me so much pleasure to read and use.

Aricus

I too would like to add my thanks and appreciation

Although I kind of agree that it's time for a re-think, unlike previous years I only used the guide this year, albeit in electronic form, for my 'virtual' weekend, why have fragments when you can have it all in one place

I would hope that the guide will continue, as far as I am concerned it's unique

Werner,

You've done a fantastic job starting it, producing it, and updating it each year and we are all enormously grateful for that. But I think that it is better - and still more relevant - than you think.

When a mate of mine who has been going for over 30 years downloaded and read it for the first time this year after sending him the link, he was blown away by it. The simple reason was that, apart from its accuracy and obvious effort to inform everyone, he didn't have to go to multiple places to find what he needed - everything was there in one place - the history, the tech regs (importantly, what they mean in real terms), the entries and teams, where to go, what to see, where to stay and so on - but most importantly, in one place....

So perhaps we need to review/update selected portions, how it is published etc, but perhaps a review and a re-birth rather than a full stop finish?

MG Mark

Werner, you have done a fantastic job with the guide, and to echo above it was the first, and best guide out there for the fan, everything in one place. You have put a lot of time and effort into this (at times Herculean) task, and you have my support and thanks

It has been a great honour to contribute to it. There are certain chapters that will always be relevant, and I will be happy to join with anyone who wants to keep the the online publication going

Just a simple thank you for your work

Werner,

It is the end of an era for the guide. Your efforts in compiling it for the last decade have been appreciated by thousands of Le Mans race fans. You have my heartfelt gratitude for your dedication to the task.

I agree that the guide as it currently stands is less fit for purpose than it was eleven years ago, however I think it is possible to re-think it and make it relevant again. I'm not sure exactly the route we need to take to make that happen, but I'm sure the CA community will find a way.

Dave D / GF

First of all thanks Werner, its been a fantastic aid for many years and has guided many virgins through there first time.
i think the guide should remain as a basic guide without the current cars and teams just a a reference.

But maybe it is time for some of our younger users to decide how to take the guide into the future as they understand the modern hand held world better than the Less young guys that have been using the forum for years

Nick

But Nick - Are there many younger than you???

I haven't printed anything out for years and I think 2014 and 2015 were just downloaded to tablet. (2016 was forgotten and my programs fro the last 4 years are still sealed in cellophane - sad isn't it).

What do we want to achieve?

Ahh thanks Dave ;D

Massive thank you Werner. The guide was an integral part of our weekend away, reading it on the way down and referring to it through the weekend.  Unrivalled in its completeness and back before everything was Googlable enabled us newbies to experiences bits of LM we ever knew about.  I still have a number of beaten up copies knocking around the back of the BMW.  It was with immense pride that I had a piece published regarding the race result one year.

But in summary, thanks!