Is it possible to cycle the entire circuit ?

[lynxd67]

Nice thought, but the D-type is without brakes at the moment - awaiting a new master brake cylinder which broke on the circuit a few weeks back - a brown trousers moment indeed! I found the video of Hawthorn on Youtube. Have alook here at how dangerous the course was in those days. Gods indeed, the drivers of the day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk2irKVQB4I

[Nick M]

  - I bet that was a little 'exciting' !!   Hope you get it fixed soon - saw the car at Mulsanne last year and it's lovely.  Mind you, the C-Type is rather nice too !!


Another film I rather like is "La Ronde Infernale" which was made in, I think, the late 60's or very early 70's.   Again, it's quite eye-opening to see the circuit then, and the total absence of things we take for granted now, such as armco, run-off areas and frequent marshall posts.

[lynxd67]

For those coming to the Classic, the C-type will oft be seen at the bar a couple of hundred yards from the circuit entrance but this weekend is at Monthlery doing both the banked oval and the other course which is pure magic - just like a mini Nurburgring. You have a choice - armco or trees if you lose it - and there is one looooong curve left which is 100mph plus - if you dare - plus something approaching the corkscrew at Laguna Seca which is sharp right and completely blind on a crest. It's taken me a long time to get that line right! If ever you get the chance to go there it is a must, even though the old oval has seen better days and it is better not to try and take the high line since the concrete blocks of which the circuit is constructed have lifted in places and last year, at 150mph in the third lane on the banking the D-type took off and I found myself on landing with the box in neutral. I stayed in the second lane after that

[Nick M]

Err, blimey !!   

For some reason I had always thought Monthlery was pretty flat, possibly because of the banked layout which doesn't normally lend itself to elevation changes.  But it sounds rather more 'interesting' than that !

[oldtimer]

I found the video of Hawthorn on Youtube. Have alook here at how dangerous the course was in those days. Gods indeed, the drivers of the day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk2irKVQB4I

Interesting how he refers to the "terrible accident" of the previous year as if he were not involved at all.  A coping mechanism I suppose.

[hgb]

For those coming to the Classic, the C-type will oft be seen at the bar a couple of hundred yards from the circuit entrance but this weekend is at Monthlery doing both the banked oval and the other course which is pure magic - just like a mini Nurburgring.

That's great to hear !!! I thought they closed Monthléry in 2005. Excellent to hear that it's still used. "Say 'oui' to Monthléry" obviously worked, then. It's the last racing circuit with a banking. Is Francois O'Born still involved ?

[nickliv]

//New in 2010 :BE FREE TO WALK AROUND, AND FREE OF CHARGE, INSIDE THE "24 Heures du Mans" CIRCUIT ENCLOSURE (outside races).

(That's in the 'passion 24 VIP list of goodies)

[termietermite]

//New in 2010 :BE FREE TO WALK AROUND, AND FREE OF CHARGE, INSIDE THE "24 Heures du Mans" CIRCUIT ENCLOSURE (outside races).

(That's in the 'passion 24 VIP list of goodies)

Non members can do this do on payment of 5€.  However, whether they'd let you cycle round is another matter, and not - I imagine - during a race week.

[Gordonwr]

Just watched the U tube clip again and the difference is amazing, especially the fact that Tetre Rouge used to be a 1st gear corner, now look at it !!!

[lofty]

no.had to stop and camp for couple of days in between.

[Nick M]

Is it possible, say on the Thursday evening or Friday morning, to cycle round the whole lap of the circuit ? For example, if we started at the Porsche curves, could we cycle up the pit straight and under the Dunlop bridge round to Tetre Rouge ?

Or is there stuff going on which would prevent that ? Or even, would the security bods get grumpy ?  I know there are some fairly substantial fences / barriers around by Tetre Rouge, but was working on the basis that they would probably have been removed by then, so there may only be some temporary barriers to negotiate.

Well, the answer is yes, it is possible

No barriers, no security (though we were probably on CCTV from the moment we humped the bikes over the barrier at the Porsche curves...) and the big white barriers had all been taken down.

The hill up to the Dunlop Bridge is quite long and gets a bit steep though...