Club Arnage

Got my allocation today - dated 17th, postmarked 18th.

Many thanks again Termie  :)

I plan to pay by credit card - does faxing the form back work OK or is snailmail better? Or email?

BTW - was it just me who couldn't get in to CA the past week or so?

Out of interest what did you request and what have you been allocated?

Faxing back is fine - make sure your credit card number is clear on the form.

CA has been fine for me for the last week.

Forgot to mention - Arnage/Arnage. Does that make me the scouting party for 2009?

Yep, probberly... No reported problems elsewher

Hey the postman came here too, looks like we will be on the Beausejour campsite this year, all I seem to remember seeing was the swamp access to it while driving by last year.........hope we dont have rain this year :'(

Many thanks to Termie for her work  ;)

Got my allocation, which was submitted by Termie,  today, ordered MB and got BN tickets - could have been worse. Anyway, probably will try to get Expo again

Cheers

Werner

My allocation arrived today , wanted MB , but put BN 2nd and got BN. I was on BN in 06 and it was fine , in fact I think numbering it makes it more attractive for anyone arriving late.
And certainly much better than being truly bumped onto BSJ (or either of its 2 new satellite's!).

Thanks Termie.

Got my allocation letter yesterday.......asked for KN and was given TECHNOPARC.

Darn!

Anyone know what it is like?

Also, got this reply from the tourist information office......

Bonjour, Unfortunately, for reasons of public works inside the circuit, I have just been informed that 2 camping areas are closed for the most part (except for advertising agencies) : Maison BLanche and Karting Nord
So I propose you to choose betwin 2 others campings places :
TECHNOPARC : 47 € or  BLEU Nord : 53€
I am sorry for this trouble
Contact me back as soon as possible, please
Best regards

But I thought some others on here had managed to get MB, or is that from agents only?

I still haven't had my letter yet. Bastards. Either that or the f**k*ng postman's eaten it.

I'll probably end up in Paris.

Asked for HA, then Houx , then Tetre Rouge......
Got Houx non numbered, when I asked about electricity, the women answered "some"
Very helpful!!

Glad I ordered HA from Team Langustine

Having said all that, many, many thanks to Debs for her hard work!!

I'm on Bleu Nord, fine by me.  Got the ACO grandstand tickets which is the best news - nice Birthday present on top of yesterday's climb down by the French government.
 ;D
See you in June, guys!

Not going to Sebring, Termie? ::)

Not with the Euro so strong, our pensions are looking a little sad at present!

Too bad :-\

Finally got my allocation today, 15 times Bleu Nord (so no other campsite).
So at least the tickets are not bounced through to BSJ, what happened to some here >:(

Chris and Lisa, I'll contact you later...

Same with me - letter finally arrived today with allocation for BN.  Did get my T19 Lagache though, and I'll have a few spares.

Del

Allocation finally arrived - Bleu Nord  ::) - but I've got the Lagache 19 tickets I requested - may have some to spare.

Thanks Piglet - did that and got my receipt via post today  :)

Totally the wrong post here I know but is for 'your eyes only' so to speak, my allocation came in for Beausejour which the frogs can poke right up there arse, but I do have 4 ACO Durand grandstands which am also going to dump. If any of the regular readers here want them PM me immediately as they will go in the bin.

Rusty

I prefer to stand in orange smoke, but thanks anyway ;D

The seroiusly depleted SPS team (with some welcome virgins) are on BN as well, its gonna be like MB, but across the road ;D

DfH have MB tickets through an agency.

I have absolutely no idea what technopark is like, but since a lot of CA regulars got BN maybe that would be an option :)

looks like we are HA dude. better than bsj (ACO Analy Compliant Oganisation) As I had said... every year is different. This one in partiular.... we will show em how it's done....and the fireworks will be awesome

Letter recieved from the ACO today:-

Numbers 56532/135808 Dated 21/01/08, sent with Termie's Allocation

Booked.

Maison Blanche x6
General Admission x2
ACO Grandstand No18 x2

Recieved

Blue Nord x6
General Admission x2
ACO Grandstand No18 x2

BTW I am not an ACO Member!

So I am going to accept the grandstands, and general Admission, but I will ditch the Blue Nord unless I hear before Monday.

For the record Houx Annexe will be even bigger! Just got my tickets through and agent!

But that's like sooo far away from us :( What am I going to do when I need some sort of equipment during the week that nobody in DfH has thought of bringing?  :-\

I think I will now start making a kit with everything I might need in LM. Something pretty much like my handbag, just bigger and with larger tools and more stuff ;D

The one and only year I had ACO grandstand tickets, I thought you had to get into it through the main ACO building door at the back, which requires an ACO membership card. Could easily be wrong though...

Never needed that, Besides just tell them you lost you wallet.

Its a shame for those real ACO members who can't get a seat on their own grandstand!

Still, I got 2 anyway, and I'm an ACO member.

I had gone to renew my membership but seeing as the ACO told me over the phone I was not getting ANY of the tickets I wanted I saw little point in joining again. At the end of the day most of us join to save money on tickets. I do not know of any ticket agency that gives a discount for being an ACO member!

The amount of hassle we have had getting tickets year on year I am surprised there are any members!

Looks like we will be on BN, then.

Christopher, who did you get on the tourist board? When i tried they did not mention technoparc, thought we would try it this year and the tourist board prices are a bit cheaper than agency's.

I've just received this ACO email following my query as to why I was not allocated HA even though our booking went in on the first day of orders.  ::)

"Dear Sir,
Due to some works there are less places in Houx annexe, that’s the reason why you got Bleu Nord. People who have been coming for over 20 years got the priority. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Sincerely,
 
Service Réservation / Booking Office"


Ticket agencies that pay us a premium got the priority more likely!  (http://www.fadzter.com/smilies/thumbsdown.gif)   

I had a very similar 'conversation' with them, with the same results.  I wrote back saying I had been going for over 40 years, even attaching a copy of the 1967 program - to which I got this response:

Dear Sir,

We have some new contracts with some agencies and we allocated some places in Maison Blanche.

Furthermore, we have a system of regular clients and even some of these people who have places in Maison Blanche since more than 20 years won’t be able to go there because of the works.

Best regards,

At least they admitted that the agencies got priority.

How can they have records of people ordering 20 years ago??  You didn't have to book till the mid 90's - just turned up at the campsite and paid the man on the gate!

The big problem here, I believe, is that when we send emails to the ticket office, we are only dealing with the office staff, who are probably doing an excellent job within the confines of the remit handed down from the decision/policy makers in the upper echelons of the ACO.  It is those people that we have to get access to in order to have any chance of changing or influencing the policy.  I believe we would have a greater chance of being heard at such levels if we approached them as a body (CA??), rather than as individuals. 

Perhaps we need a person or committee to investigate how best to do this and to analyse various options like becoming a ticket agency, calling on any 'influential' contacts etc etc  (NB This is outside of the remit of the Fundraising Committee).

Any offers??

Del

There was a thread on the porsche club GB forum last year about their discussion with the ACO regarding their site, it may give some hint as to what is involved and who to contact.
I'll try to find it.
BTW I don't have a Porsche , but I would like one !

I'm pretty sure there is a preference for when you got onto their system but it does appear that they have shunted a higher percentage of tickets out to the agencies as the agencies seem to have loads of MB and HA this year.

The chap I bought a MB pass from on ebay a couple of years ago seemed to be magic list but all he did  was flogged his passes on ebay and took the money - I'm not even sure if he still goes.  I know they have to have some form of selection but it's not terribly encouraging for those of us who are clearly deemed to be at the bottom of the food chain!! 

It's what has fuelled our decision to probably stop going after this year.  We applied via Termies order but got BSJ.  Next year is only likely to be worse if HA goes and what are our chances of picking up Bleu Nord or MB tickets given that they are all numbered.   BSJ just doesn't work for us as a site because of access to the media centre.   We love the event, but there are plenty of other events we want to go to that don't give the level of difficulty so it'll be time for a break.

The other issue of course is what is going to happen when we get there - another year of enforcing fire lanes until Wednesday and then getting bored so we ended up with people pitched three inches away from us in what had previously been the fire lane.  I told them they would get moved and they said that Security put them there as there was no other room!!!   

I agree with you entirely Anita. My only hope is that numbered pitches would stop this sort of thing.

Many of us (you included this year by buying four tickets for two vehicles?) buy more pitches than we need for vehicular access to include space for gazebos, motorhomes,  (no longer allowed) paddling pools, and if DfH's case.....stages and bars. However, in my mind (and this may be controversial and if so I apologise) it's the people who walk on to a campsite with no ticket that they should be addressing, or those that buy one ticket for an HGV (with crap LOUD music) an take up 10 times more space than they paid for!) that should be thrown off to BSJ (or Marseilles)

I remember reading somewhere that trucks were not going to be allowed on MB.  Or has that always been the case??

Del

We heared that rumour already the last three years Del, so we'll wait and see what happens when our truck turns up.  :police:

I saw the guys with the truck last year, and asked the same question.

They told me that they were at the front of the que, and if they were not allowed on site, they had threatened to up-hook the unit and leave it at the front and block the entrance. So I think it was sheer ignorance, awkness and gung-ho attidute! After speaking to them, sounds about right. Glad I was not camp next to them.


But your right, if you look at the campsite details (the ACO one) if says no trucks, the only site seems to be BSJ.

Sounds like the ones camped near us, and opposite Piglet.

Their biggest fault, an absolute appaling taste of music

It did state that last year, but who cares!!

I was thinking that they might not get on MB if it was a new rule.

But then again, DfH would also have a problem if it was enforced.

Del

No it was not them! (unless it was the silver truck, loads of bikes and load bad taste music) -then it may ( ::) ) have been them.

Those are the same guys Neil. They where just across the road form our campsite, trackside.

That's them - absolute bunch of tossers.  Music up at full volume until 4am from the first Monday isn't much fun for those around them.  I went and spoke to them a couple of times and their response was that they were on holiday and they could do what the f**k they wanted  ::)   It's a charming attitude that appears to be quite common in Britain these days. 

To give the ACO their due, they tried to deal with them and there were a couple of nights mid week when it was deathly quiet.  Unfortunately we were in line of sight of their speakers  >:(

I suspect they will be on MB again this year.

Definate case of 'loads of money yobs' who will use an agency.

Good call Barry!

It could be quite interesting though as I'm guessing they'll need about 10 camping spaces in a straight line (thinking numbered pitches) to fit a truck like that on, if not more, and they are by no means guaranteed that formation (or going by the way the ACO allocated my Grandstand seats a couple of years ago they might not even get pitches together!!)

Great  ::)

We've pretty much decided that we're only going to get to MB on either Wednesday or Thursday, we'll probably go out on the Saturday but will camp elsewhere in France for the first part of the week.  I don't mind huge amounts of noise at the end of the week, it's Monday/Tuesday when everyone is knackered after getting down there and setting up. 

They had the same issue last year, and part of the 'let us do what we want, or I'll block the entrance' was that they could just pitch where they wanted. ::) They'll probably try the same stunt this year then.

Hi this is Steve, I am the bloke who has been first into MB last three years.  If you are talking about the Luton boys with the truck then I have heard they are going to BSJ.

Welcome to the site Steve - I hope you are right, that would be good news!

Have you managed to get MB tickets?   Who do you camp with? I'm trying to work out if I know you?

We've been next to Brenda and Nick, opposite the Pope and the PC Pirates for the last two years.

When we get into the camp P C Pirates Pope the Lawnmower boys and the rest go track side I go the other way and camp by the perimeter fence.  I am always wearing what looks like a cowboy hat (Its an aussi acoobra) the P C Pirates refer to me as Steve with the hat and I watch the race standing on a set of steps on the mound in MB. Assuming you have been on MB some time John Steel of the Lawnmower boys normally introduces me as "That idot who rolled the red pickup truck a few years ago".

After being issued Blue Nord and many phone calls to the ACO we appear to have our allication on MB.  The only confusing thing is we apprantly have been allicated more camping spaces than vehicles so I dont know is there will be diffrent tickets for plots and cars?  They cant organise it with 1 type of ticket let alone 2.

Only 120 days and counting

As for the trucks, it clearly states (in French) on their pdf file trucks will always be allowed to unload but officially not to park. By the time we are halfway unloading our truck, we will have the bar up and running, and so it's usually no problem for the security guys as we fill them up with free beer ;D

I remember the pick up, rumour had it that you had sold it, but was using it for Le Man first, was that true and did you drive it back with the low slung cab roof. ;)
Brian.

We spent 3 days hammering the roof back up and fitting plastic screen, then drove it home, the only real problem was driving on the wrong side of the road with no mirrors.

A bloke that works for me was going to have it as his company vehicle when I got back.  He was not happy.

I remember you Steve, the rolled red pickup. When I got there (MB Site) it had a cover over the roof. It was not till the next day when the cover was taken off that you saw the damage.

I also remember you hammering the roof back and sealing the roof. I lent you the gaffer tape!

Also I set up the shower (by the wall) which everyone used, as it was bloody hot that year.

Must have been 2001/02?  (I had a silver Disco at the time), not sure if I ever had a pic of the pick-up damage.

Small world.

We'll just tell them it is a dutch tent with wheels!! What do they know? ;D
To be fair, as long as we keep it on our allocated space, they can't really make a fuss about it can they? We have done it for two years in a row and never had any problems, so not expecting any this year either.