Club Arnage

Just noticed in this year's blurb, unless you have a parking ticket for the relervant parking at these spectator areas , you can't park there. >:(


They do seem to have dropped the early arrival surcharges on the campsites however.

Yep another way to extort 8 euro from us  >:(

That will be €16 if you want to park at both.

According to the blurb the free shuttle bus will run from 3pm Saturday to 6pm Sunday, no mention of the break during the night that occured in previous years.

Thinking of bringing a push bike

yea right - there is still time to put the squeeze on us...........

In 2008 busses ran till 24h00 on Saturday, started 00h00 Sunday. Should be a pic in this years guide if it passes editorial scrutiny  :)

Bugger.  Good spot.  another change for the worse - at least it's free for the practice sessions, but that's not the point.  I do wonder how they will deal with it when the car park is full and there's a queue of cars with tickets.....a lot of gallic shrugging I should imagine....

MG Mark

The Q for the bus last year was very civilized opposite expo however it was a different scenario waiting down at Arnage at 1am, punches flying as both Danes and Frenchies jumped the line. It got very out of hand and was rather unpleasant to see. >:( We walked back instead,  this year I'll bike it down. 

I've just had a good look at the t&c's as this was bugging me a bit.  It is clearly stated that normal GE tickets still entitle you to park at both Mulsanne and Arnage.  The new tickets are for those who want to go to Mulsanne/Arnage ONLY - a new cheaper way of doing the race.  These new tickets also include general entry at the main part of the circuit on practice days but not during the race proper.

Deb, unless you're looking at a different brochure from the one I have, I think you are reading it wrong. GE tickets do give access to Arnage and Mulsanne enclosures, but on foot.
The brochure I have says that only holders of the relevant parking passes can park in Arnage and Mulsanne car parks, but that a GE ticket entitles you to free use of the shuttle busses.

Gotcha.  Must read it again!  And book a ticket... :)

Wont be too far for us to cycle to Arnage to show Princess Alex the Astons rolling through in the dark;D

Did that in 2003 walking back from Mulsanne corner in the early hours & somehow ended up in the bar @ Tertre Rouge some hours later absolutely knackered. Won't be doing that again  ;D

Does this mean you have to get a parking ticket beforehand, or can you pay at the entrance to the car park?

Del

Depends how much you want one  ;)

Does anyone know how to get the parking ticket for the Arnage and Mulsanne car parks?  ???

Thanks.

I think you have to order them from the ticket office like other carpark tickets.

Darn.

I'll take a look.

Thank you.

Good question!

In the past we have turned up at both Arnage and Mulsanne corners already having parking / camping passes for somewhere else; we just got waved through.

Now you have to have a dedicated parking pass (at additional cost) to park there. They have been on sale on the ACO web site since January but can you get one 'one the door'?

If you can't it will be a very long slow journey on race day to be directed back around the other side of the circuit to queue up to get back into the main parking areas.

If you want to have a good view of the cars around a couple of interesting corners then try the Porsche Curves viewing area which is easily walkable from the main circuit and camping areas. You only need a General Entrance ticket and a good pair of shoes.

Importantly though, there hasn't been a bar or food outlet in the past so 'bring your own' to be safe.

Depending on when you plan to arrive and where you are staying, it used to be possible to get all tickets from the ACO local shops. (they are similar to our AA town centre shops)

Before we discovered the delights of camping, we used to stay in a hotel in Alencon. On Friday evening we would get our entrance and parking tickets from the ACO shop in town. It was only open for a short time (5 - 7 in the evening) but it may be an option if you are still keen.

Hmmm. Looking at the brochure on http://www.lemans.org/sport/sport/calendrier/pdf/2009/24h09_gb.pdf ... it quite clearly says:

Only holders of a <<Mulsanne>> or <<Arnage>> parking pass will be allowed to access with their light vehicles into the Mulsanne and Arnage parks. Free shutle services outside the circuit will enable spectators to access the Mulsanne and Arnage curves upon simple presentation of their entrance ticket (see condition).

Hurrumph!

Last year I drove to Mulsanne on Sunday morning, I justed parked along the road (just as everybody else). Less than a 5 minute walk to the spectator area, and no parking pass needed.

Looking forward to "Carnage at Arnage" this year  ;D

I can see a few cars ending up in the ditches!!

Just got this reply from the ACO ticket office.......

Dear Sir,

Unfortunately, we have no more car-parks to sell in these fields, you will have to buy one at your arrival unless they let you in with the car-park you have already if you have one.

Yours faithfully.

Service Billetterie / Booking Office

That's nice & specific of the ACO, eh? :) Well, you might have to buy these tickets, or they might let you in without one ...

I bet the Gendermes are out in force to stop people parking on the verges *if* the ACO decides to only give entry to the car parks to ticket holders. They have learned a lot from the good old British bobby when it comes to extracting the filthy lucre.

As much as I like the sights and sounds at Arnage at night during the race, I'm getting bored with the aggravation of getting there, I might try it Sunday mid-morning sometime, or I might just give it a miss this year.
I can see there being all sorts of problems with people not having tickets for the car parks, so they'll either just end up letting everyone in as before or there'll be even longer queues!

What they might do, if they were clever (I know we are talking about the ACO however) would be to control access to the road up to Arnage corner, and not let anyone without a ticket near the carpark.

If they don't, it will be utter chaos, there are a lot of people who do not keep track of changes like this, and will just try to get there as they have done every year. ie the French spectators

I just got a slightly clearer, if surprising, response from them.  Seems all the Arnage and Mulsanne parking tickets have now sold out !

"No you need one ticket for Arnage car park, and one ticket for Mulsanne car park if you want to park in both car parks. However these car parks are fully booked by now!
You will only be able to purchase general entrance tickets upon arrival at Le Mans.
They are still some car parks available (Vert, Rouge, Blanc, Antarès Sud, Expo, Rotonde). These are not close to the Arnage Mulsanne areas but you can ride shuttle buses from the circuit main entrance to Arnage or Mulsanne."

I'm surprised they've sold out already though.  I fear it may be a case of writing off a visit to Arnage on the Saturday evening as the queues for the buses are likely to be pretty big if only a very limited number of cars are allowed down there.

I felt like that a few years ago, gave it a miss one year, but have walked there the last two or three. It's not really that far and you'd make quicker progress than if you were driving. Stick a few stubbies in a nice little shoulder bag and off you go, frites and coffee to perk you up before heading back.
H

Has anyone on CA actually managed to get a parking ticket for either Arnage or Mulsanne?

 ???

H

Do you walk a different route from that for cars i.e. towards Arnage village and take a left just before you get there?

Don't even bother going there Saturday evening/night.

We go to Arnage 7am on Sunday after buying some croissants at the Arnage bakery.
No traffic, no cops and plenty space to park.

Stuey, - yep, same route there as the cars/traffic, and unlike the cars we take the same route back. We get there quicker, have no hassle parking, no worries about drink/drive, - it's what I believe is known as a no-brainer.
H

Thanks for that maybe I will give this a go. Did the three peaks last year, so with a rucksack full of stubbies this should be a doddle.   ;D