Club Arnage

Does anyone have any photos/video of the SPS bus from Friday night at houx.

.....couldn't miss us ..... we had about six illegals on the roof!!!!

Saw Robbo on the roof, no pic though  :-[

Miss Wet T-shirt Le Mans 2006!!

That's painful to think of Robbo in a wet T shirt on top of a bus....ugh...

was it a white sherpa van with a load of scallys on the roof mooning? ;D ;D ;D if it was I have a picture its rather blurred as i was too busy laughing (and probably a bit inebriated ) Ive not worked out yet how to post piccys on here yet but I could e-mail it :D

....no a mini bus "with a load of scallys on the roof", but a pic would be great anyway!!

cheeky sod...

We all stood there and said " Suger, were just about to reach our Bagdad, Leggit "

So the driver, stopped in the middle....


But, wwhats with throwing Beer ????

Sorry meant to say white sherpa mini bus !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And beer bottles. The problem as I see it is that not everyone wants to burn out or do doughnuts but the piss head thugs cant seem to accept this so it can get nasty especially when you tell them NO
Best option was to drive right up behind a camper or similar.

.....that would be great!

sihickey@hotmail.com

I don't understand this either. I spent 40 minutes outside MB on Fri afternoon.

People are prepared to use their exotic machinery and waste expensive rubber to provide a spectacle to the assembled throng, who feel it is in order to use super soakers or in some cases buckets of "fluid" to show their appreciation. And also to try every trick to soak those who won't join in the fun, including super soakers through a partially open sunroof and in one case, the passenger door being opened and the French driver being absolutely soaked while the car was still moving..

I also saw paper water bombs being thrown into open car windows - one hit a Porsche driver near the eye - when his passenger got out to remonstrate he was booed and had to make a quick retreat, but someone thought it deserved lobbing a full 1.5l water bottle at the back of the car - direct hit.

Idiots. People like this spoil the good humoured fun for the rest of us.

Well said  Smokie, erm sorry, I mean Geoffrey Morgan! These people are nothing more than louts. I just don't understand what's funny about throwing water at complete strangers. The least you should expect is a good kicking.

My sentiments as well. I would'nt be to happy with my full leather exotic motor (thats if I had one) and mobile phone etc getting soaked because i did'nt spin the wheels. I had to laugh though when outside MB on Friday afternoon when a small people carrier stopped after getting  soakered and out the back came a load of people with full buckets of water and launched them at the culprits.

I spent half an hour down at the Houx Annexe roundabout on Friday and was not best pleased with all that was going on. Bottles thrown, people knocked over and basically anyone french was heckled and soaked. A french girl was pulled from her bike (which was taken from her briefly) and someone tried to squirt water down her shorts. Now maybe I'm overreacting but the girl wasn't far from being assaulted. Whatever, she was left humiliated and had to walk from the roundabout whilst 1000+ brits (and to be fair a handful of French) jeered her. The thing that I cant believe is that I couldn't see a single person in the crowd who didn't think this was fair game! So I'm glad to hear there are at least some amongst you that also have issues with some of the Friday antics! Surely its possible to have some fun and still have some respect for people and property  ??? Whinge over!

It does seem to have gone too far.  A bit of a lark is one thing, but this is going too far.

As for the cars, I saw several being towed home on Monday.  Remember the comment of RLM "Has anyone got a half shalf for a Cobra replica and a welding set?"

a few of us were going round the roundabout on friday.

we stopped due to:

1) too many people
2) people throwing fireworks underneath the car
3) water bombs thrown at us - they fekking hurt when they dont explode and some british twat slammed it directly on my head.  when i got out the car to ask why, he ran away. 
4) the last reason was beer directly poured into the car.   My mate jumped out of the following car to ask physically him why; luckily for said twat, my mate  and we had to stop the twat being knocked to the ground.

for fuks sake, we put on a show, which cost my mate a set of tyres, half a tank of fuel and a clutch.  the idiots ruined it for everyone else.


this was us:

(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d120/Mulryan/Le%20Mans/LeMans2006098.jpg)

My group always keep well away from the roundabout or between MB and Bleu.  As we are normally in a bunch of loud, lairy, open topped cars, crowds EXPECT us to perform.
I know the price of my tyres and my bodywork and the un-nerving ability my car has for snap loss of traction at the rear end and a tendancy to kick sideways.

Perhaps I'm an old fart who has gone all responsible and sensible, but I don't relish the aftermarth of a sideways incident gone wrong and half a dozen dead and dying bystanders who have been wiped out by 1.5 tonnes of car.

So, if I don't 'perform', why the f**k should I be soaked and jeered by a bunch of beered up arseholes?

we went past blue n i think it was traveling towards the main entrance at about 2.30 in the afternoon on the friday when we saw a large old american convertable deciding to do a burn out to please the crowd,  egged on by quite a few people as well. as he tried to start the wheels spinning there was a loud bang and all went quiet from the spectators. i think it was a drive shaft that went. i doubt he will be doing that agin next year.

I also think that it is all going a bit too far  what was for a while good humoured fun on Friday outside Maison Blanche turned into complete thuggery and intimidation including the opening of coach belly lockers and the stealing of others peoples property.

Well you came to see us on MB a few times!  ;)

We paid a brief visit to the annexe roundabout and saw some clown in a French plated Pug (a hire car?) understeer his way round countless times. not alot of skill needed there, but it was lucky for his mate that he did not run into something solid as he has one leg out the window and the other on the dash, his knackers would have been ripped off had he shot forward.

He looked very cool, and we where in complete of awe.

Top marks to the Dutch guys with the flat bed and trailer. the fire hose and pump cooled alot of people down!

Bugger, I forgot about that  ::)

When I first went 5 years ago we were camped right out the back of the Houx Annexe roundabout and after some clown lost it in a caterham and came straight for our tent only being prevented from wiping it and us out by a very unfortunate tree, I have stayed away from there. I much prefer the safer fun to be had in Le Mans town centre on the Friday.

We were aiming for the town but the bus queue was phonomenal.  Can't wait for that tramway... Spent a fun half hour at the roundabout but that was evidently before things got out of hand.  Definately didn't want to be near the front though and certainly cursed the clowns who just chucked their beer bottles on the ground for the rest of us to fall over.  Any news on the newlyweds in the Picasso and the couple in the Carmen Ghia replica whom it is said were stretchered off? :-\

Has Bernies car made it back yet, I wonder?  What hire car did he get lumped with in the end?

I fully agree with Smokie, Steve and the others.

I avoid the bit outside MB/Blue Sud and Houx.   My car is nothing fancy but you can't really spin the wheels due to Engine management/traction control etc.   

Add to that if the car should get damaged I have to explain that to the Car fleet manager.  The company are good enough to provide the documentation and recovery service at no cost to me.   The least I can do is try to get the car there and back in one piece.

I'm a bit supprised they have not clamped down on it myself after that Beema totalled a 2CV a few years ago.   I think it was the shunt at Indianapolis that mean you can't drive that section anymore.  I guess that the adopt a policy of if kill themseves it's not a problem.

t.

Well, I shall not go again,
1. some twat in a clio going 'round and 'round with his nob passenger hanging his leg out of the window
2. no consideration for drivers safety or car, or even motorbikes, as water pistols were used to spray heads,faces,eyes
3. even worse some sprayed were driving classic cars
4. Idiot with MX5 who ran people over on the actual roundabout... try a driving school
5, another one with a Nissan who could not get the arse out
6, nob on a petrol scooter riding around with his leg out

7, AND WHAT ABOUT THE COMPLETE NOBS WHO TURNED THE DIRECTIONAL SIGN THE WRONG WAY AROUND ON THE ROUNDABOUT, THIS CAUGHT TWO PEOPLE OUT THAT I SAW, ONE A NEAR MISS.
You know who you you are...was it a black tshirt with yellow writing?


Thanks to the two BMW drivers who did donuts

>Martini...

Blimey - glad I didnt know that at the last track day!   :o

4. Idiot with MX5 who ran people over on the actual roundabout... try a driving school

My dad ended up on the bonnet of the MX5 - it was trying to do a donut, but found grip half way round and drove onto the roundabout. We were already standing back, as he had almost driven on before.

No lasting damage. Thanks if you came up and checked if he was OK.

All perfectly controllable on a racing track or runway with runoffs and no pedestrians 5 feet away Fran.  :-*

Were you aware my better half span the Trans Am 720 degrees at the October track day?  No damage to the car, other cars or herself - just a slight loss of bottle  ;)

Yes, I spoke to her briefly before she went, but have kept quiet about it in a spirit of sisterhood!  :)

Also some knobs apparently were trying (I don't know if they succeeded) to push the sculpture in the middle of the roundabout over. This kind of mindless vandalism has no place in Le Mans. In fact it has no place in society. Its this kind of yobbish behaviour that gives British people abroad a bad name. I say British, but I was verbally abused by two English pillocks walking through the funfair on Saturday night because I was wearing a Saltire. Now I am used to the banter associated with being a Scottish football supporter, but was I at a football match. NO. I was attending a bloody motor race and was wearing the Saltire over my CA T-shirt to show my support for McNish and the Scuderia Ecosse boys. These two dicks were lucky me and Chaos' other halfs were there otherwise they may have become aquainted with a Glasgow kiss.
Everywhere we went on Friday night in town with the Saltire we got no grief from the Danes, Dutch, French, Germans etc, only the English. No wonder we want our independence.  The hooligan element should stay at home and I am all in favour of the French riot police coming in an lifting anyone seen vandalising, throwing bottles, chucking buckets of water etc. A weekend in a french jail and a magistrates appearance would hopefully disuade a few from returning.

I think it's the stag weekends / boys drinking weekends away that are the problem. I had mine in Prague a few years ago, and lots of my mates turned into ar5ehole5, - trying to drink 36 pints in a day 'cos they heard it had been done by someone else etc.  so I ditched them and went round some art galleries.

Not your standard stag behaviour I know, but I enjoyed myself more than I would have if I was comatose.

Maybe if the crs had a presence and cracked down on the hooligans, but were good natured with the other displays, the problems would stop. Probably a bit much to hope though.

Mind you the dutch guys with the water cannon were good to watch.

Nick, i guess we could look to the law, but in the first instance it needs to come from us, the fan base, to set the right example, if you look at some of the other motoring websites they actually encourage this behaviour.

if we leave it to the law, it'll be no for all of us, not just a few.  can you imagine being Shepperd about by the gendarmes, just to make sure we don't get into mischief.  not for me thank you, it'll be like a football match.

at the moment the gendarmes are very tolerant and put up with a lot, it will only need an accident or worse still a death and the house we'll be on us.

The perfect vehicle for keen rougher fans.
(http://i11.ebayimg.com/02/i/07/79/ff/fd_1_b.JPG)

We followed you onto the roundabout and i watched, thinking great lad, but shame idiots ruin it. Kate and MArtin no longer take the TVR out after some tit had thrown red wine in the car.

I had to mention to somem of my group about soakera at night, as it was bloody cold and none of us would have liked it.

We WILL NOT spray water in peoples eyes doing tricks , on bikes, cycles, moto's open or classic cars, but if folk have got guns or in one case a mini bus full of them, we will fire at will .But i think we know where to draw the line.

Some idiots dont. Simple answer, leave the cars off Houx, mention this is why, and the idiots will soon Chuck off ?

Mentioned this last year and thankfully I didn't see any of it this year, but my mate almost has his eye put out by some stupid twot with a paintball gun firing at screens and having a riccochet into Stu's face.

The CRS should be close enough to deal with nasty types. I agree we should try to stop some of it but I dont want to end up listening to RLM from a hospital bed. Yobs are yobs whereever they are and sadly modern Britain seems to be outstanding at producing 'em.

Oh God I'm really getting old now...

 :(

I do recall a particuarly good shot at a rather buxom young lady wearing a low cut top at Houx. She was quite amused as were the lads close by, good clean fun, shame others take it too far.

....aye 'twas a great shot as she bent down. Right down the top. Wonder who that was  ;D

Yeah its getting stupid now. People who take their cars round and put on a show dont deserve to have water thrown at them. Its the idiots in the cars that constantly go round and round and round that just ruin it. Some of the cars going round were worth upwards of 20000-30000 and i dont think they appreciated been squirted with beer, wine or anything else the yobs decided to fill their pistols with. Anyone who jumps out the back of their car/van with super soakers, yeah fair game its all in good fun, but these people take it to far. I dont know who the idiots were who pulled the road signs down and toppled the sculpture but its not on. There were several pretty pathetic people driving round that roundabout, the guy in the clio rent a car, he came onto the curb and knocked a kid over, the guy in the MX5 couldnt drive any better than the guy in the Red Subaru, and the guy in the Subaru only looked about 18.
I decided that it would be a good idea to climb up the security lodge to keep out of the way and to get a good view. I really think its getting to the point were someone is going to be seriously hurt.
Its all good fun when there is a few water fights and a few cars showing off, like the two BMW's, good show, but when people vandalise and trash other peoples cars its just stupid and isnt needed.
If only we could rid of these young trouble causing yobs, it would be so much more fun.
I havnt managed to go and see outside MB or Bleu yet but it sounds all the same, its a shame but maybe one day itl change.

Tell me you have photographic evidence of the buxom wench ???? ;D ;D ;D

...alas no unless the "Rhinos" got a shot?

Some of the 7's next to us who normally go down, stayed away this year for the same reasons. Don't mind having a laugh, but don't want stuff thrown at them or in the car. One of them came through Arnage and some idiot ran out of a bar with a barrel of water (ish) and tipped it into the car.......

Yup, we arrived in the Sprite early Friday evening and I got a ballon full of (I hope) water whacked into my neck as did my other half.   The gits might have well just slapped us and had done with it.  Not to mention super soakers in the face.


Little boys who can't take their drink have notoriously short attention spans though so hopefully they'll move on to hockey or yacht racing in a year or two.

I TOTALLY AGREE,

it's full of bloody chavs, all pissed up and being twats, we ended up having to get out of arnage by the main entrance to the circuit, we had beer thrown at the sreeen water shot at us the usual i suppose, hopefully this however is just natural evolution, in other words when someone does lose it on the roundabout they may well maim the twats watchin, i think personally it ruins what is otherwise a great event !

it will soon be known as "Quiet Friday".......

and we will all be telling stories about the days it was called "Mad Friday".

sorry dude... if i had known it was you, would have waved!

This is my first posting.

I've been to LM 7 times since '98. I remember Mad Friday was all good natured and one could be assured great entertainment from die hard LM fans exhibiting their loved motors and wrecking a set of tires or two.

I have to agree to the comments. Over the years there has been a YOB elliment descend upon the sacred ground that is Circuit de la Sarthe.

Regretably we can't stop these individuals at the boarders. Some is good natured, which I experienced this year touring round in a Gulf coloured MG Midget . However we stopped in Arnage to witness some poor bloke have his Cateram "filled" with water!

If us regular joe's complain to the local plod, we'll no doubt end up with a Quite Friday. I think it's down to the true fans to do something.

No individual is to keen to complain, what the "hot spots" might do well to have are marshalls  keeping the fun in check. You have 4 or 5 recognisable blokes overseeing the entertainment we might see more motors cruising and laying down rubber etc.........

But who's organised enough to put people out there to do it???

Hello all, my first post too.

I have gone to LM for the last few years and have given the r/bout a miss because it would make me ashamed and angry that other so called race fans have to act like morons and spoil enjoyment for others who want to be entertained or who want to entertain.

I currently have 200SX, with which I often have its ar5e end sliding about in areas that aren't going to damage public or property, but driving through hospots like Blue, r/bout etc people are constantly stopping me and forcefully telling me to do donuts, drift and basically break my car! Seems to me if you don't ablige you get pelted with something, if you do some morons still pelt you with something!!

Still had a fantatastic week down there despite the morons.

Thats a pity.......make note .....Must try harder....I'm afraid you will have to do a hundred lines " I will photograph all buxom wenches" on my desk by monday morning please ;D ;D ;D

The guy that had his Caterham filled with water at Arnage was in our group.
A squirt with a water pistol is one thing but a bucket of water is completely out of order. >:(

The guy I was with had a quiet word with the offending ar5ehol5, explaining that people spend £1000s buidling their cars and don't need a bucket of water dumped in it. His responce was "yer, I never thought of that"!!!

5 mins later, he's still at it with other unsuspecting drivers.

What can you do?  Find somewhere else to exhibit?

Hope your mate's car dried out OK.

As we were walking across to Houx, there seemed to be some bits of old tarmac with high banking around them which were completely empty and looked great for a burnout - safer for the crowd etc.  A germ of a plan?

It a shame that you are not safe when driving home either!

Whilst driving through Beaumont there was a big group of people, with blue T-shirts on, at a cafe/bar next to a r/bout that thought it amusing to pour a bucket of water through the sunroof of one of our convoy. Car is only 3 weeks old, £1000 worth of camera equipment (luckily happened to be covered by a fleece) and 2 very p155ed off occupants!

Both passengers and the Caterham dried out eventually.

I was in the BMW Convertible a few cars in front, I dread to think what damage would have been caused had the water ended up in our car. :'(

I've not made it to the Houx roundabout at all during the few years that I have been to lemans.

I've been outside Bleu on a number of occasions and down the indianapolis/arnage.

From the post on this forum and Pistonheads it would seem that Houx annexe does have a larger contingent of yobs than other sites for whatever reason, and the behaviour at the roundabout it worse due to that as well as the road being used mainly as access to the sites rather than a norma throughroute.

We passed Bleu in an open topped car at about luchtime on the Friday and were squirted a few times , fair game we expected it.
It could be that the worst behaviour happens later in the day after more alcohol has been consumed so best avoided later in the day.

As to the yobbishness dying out , I somehow doubt it. Le Mans is easy and cheap to get to and due to the internet more people than ever before know how good it is. Campsites are (where possible) being made bigger to accomodate them.

Mad Friady seems unfortunately to be  another victim of the cheap booze and Brits malaise and the only remedy seems to be heavier policing.

There was not just Brits on the annexe roundabout, but a good number of Danes and locals, some dreesed as if they where on an evening out with they little dogs.

What scared me more than anything was the amount of young children there, some had water pistols some just watching. A couple had go-peds and there was some young girls riding around the site on a Quad at great speed.
I dread to think what would have happened had they met some of the jerks driving around head on.

Alot of people from other sites also made they way down there on friday. I spoke to a guy who had come from Basejour as he had heard about it.

I suspect I am part of the problem, if you take away the audience then the performers go away. My couple of hours there Friday will be my last.

I'd like to add that it must be remembered that Houx Annexe also contains a number of higher class of alcohol drinkers :D

A little bit of fun at Le Mans is expected but from what I'm reading here some went way too far on Friday night. Egging on drivers capable of showing off their wheels is one thing, throwing buckets of water into cars is another entirely.

Sadly once things like this begin it's pretty hard to put a stop to it. The last couple of years I recall the gendarmes turning up around 9-10ish to put a stop to it, I fear heavier policing would just mean no mad friday at all.

That said I've a plan for Friday next year already!! In the shopping center we used I found a couple of flyers for some local discotheque's This year there was a foam party, next year I'm hoping for the bunny girls that they sometimes have  :-* ;)

I'll refrain from posting the website address for now, we'll keep this one to ourselves eh??

As we were walking across to Houx, there seemed to be some bits of old tarmac with high banking around them which were completely empty and looked great for a burnout - safer for the crowd etc.  A germ of a plan?

Those bits of tarmac are what our group suspect is an old rally cross track. There are a few good straights and a nice twisty section, mostly covered with grit. Each year a few brave chaps take there chosen vehicles around the corners. Great viewing from the banks and relitively safe for spectators (if somewhat dusty).

Along the track the dirt banks are lined with crash barriers! Pretty unforgiving!!! This year  I'm aware of two cars (Scooby and BMW 520) that will need some body work attention. But no one was hurt, just pride dented.

Ofcourse, to get there, each car needs a Houx camping pass.

Unless the germ of an idea can be developed into a master plan ??

Get out your car, knock ten bells of sh*t out of them and pummel their face into the tarmac ! I am guessing they won't do it again.

Sure, Chris - and after you've been set-upon by the baying mob and beaten to a lifeless pulp, you can be satisfied that justice has been served. I think this phenomenon is called 'pack behavior' i.e. the assailants only have the bottle to perform the assault, when backed-up by the rest of the pack.
My feeling is that unless you wish to to put yourself and your cherished car at risk to these low-life pond-dwellers, stay the hell away.... and in situations where there is no alternative (as happened to me in 2001) aim your car at the a-hole blocking your path and do your best to run the neandethal bastard over. 
What is this 'Mad Friday' crap anyway? Why does anyone feel that this event gives carte-blanche to illegal, downright dangerous and utterly childish behavoir? Anyone participating in or spectating who gets injured or worse, only has themselves to blame, as far as I'm concerned. This ain't harmless fun. If you feel the need to demonstrate what a hot-shot you are get a competition license and do it properly, instead of acting like a bunch of brainless TWOCers. Jeeezus, where's the Tylenol? 

The problem there Chris was that "the crowd" seemed to take the side of the offenders from what I saw.

You're absoloutly right.  In fact, having seen this happen over a number of years, and have some idiot try to pour beer into my car at the roundabout this year. I would quite happily see the whole Friday event shut down by the gendarme.  It's no longer any fun, just dangerous and I don't like the feeling that it's not safe to take your car out of the campsite on a public road, just because it's Friday.  Complain to the police and hopefully the whole thing will be clamped down on.

For all the reasons mentioned in this thread I will not be returning to Houx roundabout nor the road alongside MB / Bleu.

Went to these areas last year and got a face full of verbal abuse, punching the car and face full of water……and I was attempting burnouts.

I did not bother going to these areas this year.

It seems that many of today's Le Mans goers are trying to create a 'new' Le Mans atmosphere that revolves around stupidity and lack of respect.

That is not the atmosphere I believe I read about many years ago, that convinced me to start the annual pilgrimage to Le Mans.

I will continue to go for the race and keep my fun to the group of mates I go with. The idiots I saw this year seem to think that just because they find it funny then everyone else will.

We went to ARnage on Friday night for a few hours and a few beers and to see the nice cars...

On arriving, whilst trying to park, some "person" thought it nessacery to throw his beer at me.

Being slightly short tempered i remioved myself from the van, and walked gently up to him and his mates.

I asked him if he wished to buy me a drink as his last effort to give me a drink had missed my mouth and landed on my shirt.

No fisty cuffs, despite a few worries from my chasing pack of mates, but i explained that i thought he was a bit of a c ock and then left with fluck you very much, master bater.

Again an area i wont be going next year, as its lost its sparkle. Les flicks were there, so that argument isnt valid.

I thinjk one day it will end up in a huge fight, as Brits nerver take things lying down and it will ruin the event for a long time to come.

So...

Lets all ridicule the idiots. Oh next year, if some turd throws beer over me...

We will have a 25 gallon water tub for him.

Make it a little more obnoxious, Robbo, like the contents of the porta-potti.

I endorse most of the comments already given, and also feel that there is a major accident waiting to happen.

I recall several years ago, before Friday became 'mad', they used to have burnup sessions on a quarter mile stretch of tarmac in the middle of parking Bleu (maybe this is now in the middle of Camping Bleu Nord??).  It was good fun, relatively safe, and off the public road and no cause for aggro to anyone.  Unfortunately, it crept over on to the road, and over the last 10 years or so, has 'developed' into what it is today.  Like others have stated, I never go near the black spots either in the car or as a spectator.

There is enough fun to be had at LM without the dangerous stupidity of these antics.

Rant over - time for bed said Zebidee......

Del

Lighten up fellas - Mad Friday is part of the fun. Le Mans wouldn't be the same without a bit of free sprited pratting around. Nothing wrong with trashing a few tyres.

The problem comes when things go too far - like the idiot who managed to park his MX5 among the spectators on the Houx Annexe roundabout while trying to do a donut - taking out a couple of spectators on the way. Or the bloke who let his kids stand at the front - and let them stay there after one of them had been hit by another car.

Sooner or later someone will get seriously hurt, and the gendarmes will really clamp down. Then its over- for good.

I agree with most of it.. I had to run the MB gauntlet on friday night going to arnage in my old mitsubish galant estate with 8 people in it :o just held back while the burnouts and water pistols etc went for it.. then fly through..

We were in the harlequin (out the back) having a drunken meal while it was going on in arnage, and the froggy police would stop them, then let them carry on.. crazy dutch mainly( good larf tho!!) but nothing too serious.. but methinks it will go too far soon..

roll on next year ;D

Andy

Radar, I don't think we are heavied down.  As you go on say, things are starting to go too far because people are either too stupid or too drunk (or both) to realise it and we're just discussing that.

Surely the people who pour beer or p1ss into other people's cars wouldn't want it done to their Citroen Saxos!

Well that seems to me to be part of the problem. Its all good fun and games up to a point and I for one, who used to indulge in the odd smokey tyre stint,  now looks for an alternative route. You seem to contradict yourself Radar, in one sense you are asking us to lighten up because its ok to pratt around and then you see sense and comment that it has gone to far.
This subject was commented upon last year and I for one warned the Le Mans virgins in our group this to avoid the trouble areas.
Last year I was in the Se7en, which is quite capable of doing doughnuts and burning lumps out of the tarmac, and I was stopped by a couple of drunken w***ers just before the level crossing in Arnage who inspite of the local gendarmerie watching wanted me to do something silly. I gave both of them some Northern verbage and they eventually moved out of the way. I really dont mind the water pistol or super soaker challenge, its quite good fun and fairly harmless but beyond that its just pure vandalism and thuggery. ::)

I take your point. Pouring beer or buckets of water into cars or having a go at people cos they don't want to burn a clutch out isn't on. Personally, I just hope the abusive schmucks get bored and find something else to do.

That said, I think the general pratting about in cars is part of the Le Mans experience - in the UK it would never be tolerated, and the odd burnout doesn't harm anyone. Immature? Certainly, but its still fun. And in the past, it didn't get out of hand

Yes, the past couple of years there have been too many idiots, and if we're not careful someone will get badly hurt, the police will clamp down, or both. Maybe a clampdown for a year is what's needed, I don't know.

But my point is - is it really that bad? Yes there is some pond-life around, but Le Mans is still the best weekend of the year as far as I'm concerned. I will definitely be back next year. Why let the idiots put you off?

Perhaps the point is that they're turning something we all once enjoyed and which was once harmless fun into a prattfest.  Wouldn't keep me away from the race either - just Houx R'bt on Friday.

I remember those days too, I also remember moving my tent as I was somewhat concerned about the chances of a car ending up in it!  However was fantastic and relatively safe and off the public road.  Even watched a transit beat a porsche over the course!

Never been to HA roundabout or Blue.

I used to regularly do Indianapolis on friday midday before going to LM square until les Flick seemed to shut all that down after the Ferrari/Seat hit and run incident a couple of years ago. ( all captured on video too )
Shame really as it was great fun watching Arnie Webb and the rest of his crew from the Catreham Club pulling their stunts.

Whatever happened to the drag racing in Houx Annexe on Sunday evenings ?
That was a top shout, albiet incredibly dusty. There was no hooligan element at all, just good nature, oh and a few broken motors. Hey but that was the price of playing.

Rusty

the drag racing  also used to happen in down the centre of Houx campsite as well back in the '80's on a Sunday.

remember seeing a jag (racing a 2cv) pile into a lamppost which quickly came down, luckily between occupied tents!  1990?

Guys
I stopped going a couple of years ago when my mate's SEAT was hit by a Ferrari going the other way attempting a burn-out in the wet. There was even a WAV file somewhere on the web showing the incident, but my son had to report the accident and set les flics into a nationwide hunt for the other guy who pi@@ed off with large chunks of bodywork hanging off.
It all got sorted out but the same year, I was not prepared to burn-out in Arnage village ( the bar by the mini island ) as my clutch was slightly dickey, when the boyos sat outside waving down any driver with a sports car and throwing beer.
I've been going for 7 years now, camp outside of the circuit so limited pikey probs, do the Hotel de France run, pit walk, and shame....this was my first year for the drivers parade because I was not really upto driving into town previously.
Yup.. I'm getting to be Captain Sensible as the years go on, but managed to avoid having my tent stripped by Pikeys, excessive sun-burn, avoided having my family run over spectating at Houx, appreciated Radio Le Mans despite a weak signal at Mulsanne, and yes, thought the Milton Keynes make-over of the village was not before time, and finally avoided a speeding ticket getting there so for me its been the best year yet.

Regards

Bryan C

PS - Has anybody got any photos pf the Brazilain Dancing Girls...obviously for educational purposes only. Perhaps added to the 'Girls' thread which was very popular before we all set off.