hello and help!!

[Lazy B'stard]

Le mans virgins require help and guidance for 2004.
Where, what who etc. which campsite? best route and ferry? will our shagged out motor make the trip? Any help will be repaid in beer. see you there?

[BigH]

My dearest Sconefinger,
You have indeed shown great wisdom and an impressive sense of cyber-direction to reach this sober and learned site.
Amongst our team of gifted men, women and variants someone, somewhere will have an answer to your questions, and I'm not just talking about the mean unladen velocity of an African Swallow.
You will find the best campsite, your pitch will be perfect, your neighbours willing and youthful. Your shagged out motor will make it, in fact it will positively benefit from the trip. The route will be short, direct and brief and your generosity with chilled beers will send you to bed with a warm glow of wellbeing and fondness for your fellow man.
Now, what port are you heading for, when are you travelling and do you have a younger, broadminded sister? Or brother?
We would be honoured to prepare your itinerary, set your timetable and drink your beer. All I ask is that you leave this younger sister, (what's her name by the way?) with me and the boys for the weekend.
Personally, I can recommend life on a remote Scottish island.
H

[smokie]

Hi sconefinger

Check out here for local info

Suggest you browse the forum for tips on your other questions. Everyone has their own favourite campsite, crossing etc and it really depends what suits your needs and budget.

[gibberish]

Hi there Sconefinger.  There's a wealth of info on this site if you look around.  Ferry might depend on where you are coming from, how many of you there are, how long you are going over for etc. etc.  Routes from Portsmouth will involve less driving in France, but Dover is cheaper.

Most of  the people on this forum prefer maison Blanche for camping with some liking Houx ot Houx Annex.  I fear that it is now too loate to get any of those.  Go to lemans.org and send them an e-mail with your camping and ticket requirements.  Book NOW, and good luck.

[Lazy B'stard]

Thankyou Thankyou! armed with this info I shall repair at once to the hovel that houses my friends to get a head count and a hand full of deposit money(some of this will be spent purchasing a younger sister for BigH!)

Rough plan is Portsmouth to St. Malo on the Wed night and erm... thats it so far.

(stupid and probably obvious) question#1. Is it possible to be back in the uk for work on the tuesday if you stay over on the sunday night? what is the traffic situation on the monday morning??
question#2. Whats the best vehicle to go in? modern dull-mobile? classic shed? van? camper? or give it death hire car?
question#3. if the maison and houx campsites are already full whats the next best option?
question#4 is there any chance of walking all the way around the circuit?, I know its naughty but would like to see what 200+ looks like on the mulsanne

probably the first of many questions.

Finally, its still six months away and I am already having trouble sleeping etc. will the excitement wane or will it get worse?
Thanks again for the help guys
sconio

[Stu]

Hi Sconefinger

#1 Its no problem to get back to work on the Tuesday. You can stop Sunday night and get the early ferry from Caen. I travel from the North East and am easily home for Monday night. The hard bit is the adjustment back to work after such an epic previous week. Early booking ensures a place though.

#2 I would take my ferrari 360 but I don't have one so I have to take my Synergie this year and camp. Its nice to take something exotic, but the more stuff you can carry, the more comfortable it is.

#3 Most sites are good when you get on them. Tickets will be hard to get now, but there are always tickets for sale or swap on this board nearer the time. You can buy an entrance ticket when you are there.

#4 search the board for this as its already been discussed. You can get partly down the Mulsanne using covert operatins at night.

If you require any more help, please feel free to ask.

Stu

[gibberish]

Sconefinger

We travel via Calais, and its fine fro a 2.45 ferry on Monday, so St malo etc should be no problem.  Agree with Stu that the more you
can carry in an almost certainly unstylish vehicle, the more comfortable you will be (you'll need it).

I'm going to try some covert viewing next year, but it's very dodgy stuff.  You definately cannot walk right around the circuit.

Booking for campsites now, you will probably end up with Beacejour which is near the Porche curves, but 20 mins walk from main circuit entrance.

Anticipation does not seem to recede at any time

[Lazy B'stard]

Oh dear, left the ticket buying too late then would anybody recomend buying tickets through an agent??

Is anyone else taking the st.malo option??

Covert viewing eh, I deffo aint gonna sleep now, how jolly exciting can someone point me in the right direction as to where this has been discussed on this fine forum.

cheers

[BigH]

Darling Sconefinger,
It's a slow morning...
Look at the 'Useful Info' section under general discussion for, surprisingly, useful info.
Under no circumstances attempt the nightime journey to Mulsanne sober or with a map, or indeed any form of directions or preparations. Except Preparation H, obviously; it can get humid in a mans shorts during those balmy summer evenings. The fastest part of the circuit these days is the run down to Indianapolis, although personally I can't tell the difference between 210 and 220. Mulsanne has a certain romance about it. I suggest taking along a brace of pheasants to drape over your shoulder or to tuck in your waxed jacket, if stopped by the gendarmes they will provide an excellent alibi. Failing that, a corpse in a rolled up carpet will suffice.
Look at the map on the aforementioned page, you can walk from Tetre Rouge at the top of the page, to Maison Blanche/Porsche Curves near the bottom. A good two hour walk. You can visit Arnage and Indianapolis, and Mulsanne corner either in your car/bike or on a bus. It's walkable if you're a good walker and can be arsed.
I've done the St Malo crossing (from Poole) the last two years, and it's worked ok. The ferry wasn't full, the crossing was pleasant (via Jersey) and it's a fast and simple drive to Le Mans. On the down side, I was the only LM traffic on the boat and the road, so it lacks the atmosphere of the other crossings. I'm still undecided for 2004. Calais is a long drive, but some great roads (if you go off piste) and you have the option of dicing with exotica. Later in the week, there will be the option of diced carrots, but that's for another thread.
As for tickets, you will pay maybe 300% over the odds through an agency, and will probably be forced to buy into their ferry crossing or hospitality (which is a joke, I've never seen glummer people than the ones in their "exclusive hospitality centres") I reckon, and I'm happy to be contradicted, that the best bet is wait until a few months before the race and keep an eye on the Sale or Swap section on this forum, plenty tickets come up, you've just got to be quick. Visit that section now, and scroll back to April/May/June to get a feel for it, and make your own mind up.
Keep me posted on the sister progress, I've started shaving already in anticipation.
H

[Ruptured Duck Motorsport]

Welcome spongefinger!

The wise and learned ones have spoken, I will restict my post to a welcome.  

[jpchenet]

Welcome Sconefinger!!

We also travel from Portsmouth but we take the overnighter to Caen. It is then only a 90 mile drive the other side, which can be done easily in a couple of hours.

We stay at the campsite/layby Sunday night then leave late Monday morning for the journey back to Caen. Traffic is invariably busier but as long as we leave by 12 noon we've never been worried about missing the afternoon ferry back (It's about 5'ish) even after stopping for some lunch and shopping en route.

Whereabouts are you based. There's a few of us form the South of England who will probably get together for a beer or two before next June. You'd be more than welcome to come along!!

[Lazy B'stard]

thanks all, plans firming up nicely (er steady there bigH, plans are firming up ,nowt else) This is indeed a good place for us virgins.
Re.jpchenet, i'm oop int top corner, but will call in for that beer on the way down next june
Re.bigH, I was told all the classic car beardy types went via St.Malo, being the lesser spotted non-beardy classic type owner myself I planned to hide amongst them (they are useful for collecting up the bits of 'the shed' that drop off along the way!) Would be fun to have a couple of dices along the way with the exotica tho.
cheers all

[Steve Pyro]

Is it ScOne finger or Scon finger (or tomato or tomAto etc).

Anyway, we travel back to Calais on Monday morning, leaving about 09:00 (having pissed it up on Sunday night).  It's a bit of a sprint, the last bit is all dual carriage way / peage via Rouen, for the 17:00 ferry.  But I'm back at work for Tuesday morning.

Dover / Calais gives you a wide choice of regular ferries or there's the tunnel option.  Depending on where you come from in the UK, you either end up doing the long driving in England or France, you pay's your money etc.

From April / May on, they'll be posts up on this forum for available camping tickets, circuit entrance tickets you can buy on the day.

Meantime, join in with the rest of us by whiling away the next 6 months posting trivia, Le mans chat and complete rubbish  
Oh, and welcome by the way.

[Robbo SPS]

Scone Finger 0 Or Mr Non Beardy Wierdy !!

If you live up north like , i would recommend a route from Portsmouth ,that way you get a few hours to sleep , eat and prepare to be bored on the M6.

I have never worried about getting invloved with other ar groups, they are alwyas having fun , although the Morgans seem to be a little slower than most....

I always leave on monday morning about 9am , and most year JUST egt to Le Havre  in time. The N138 from Alencon to Gace is always slow as there is ONE set of Traffic lights in the middle of nowhere and that slows everything down.

You mention having a sports type car...Have you tried you owners club ....

MERC BENZ are advertising this month for packages....

Otherwise , HELLO , have you seen the T shirts, fancy one......

[Lazy B'stard]

Hello Steve, its scOn finger like they say oop in yorkshire. Dover/ Calais is sounding tempting for the sprint back, but still fancy the Portsmouth option for the outbound, ponder ponder.Thanks for the welcome, six months will soon pass lad!!
Hello Robbo, not keen on the classic clubs meself but a little atmos on the ferry and a couple o dices on the road would all help to make the journey more fun. I don't think the Mb owners club would embrace several lads in a Merc Vito tho!!. I have the option of using one of my classics but as my new learned friends gibberish and stu have said, size and carrying ability over style and speed rule( although i have just read Brock Yates' excellent book on the cannonball, pub conversations are now running along the 'lets put a 440ci wedge in it with a 250 gallon tank and gun it none stop' direction) Unless something cheap and tasty turns up in the meantime that is!!
Thanks again to all in the good ship Arnage.