ACO membership renewal

[smokie]

Just got an email saying my membership is due for renewal. Although the link doesn't work, I found the page to renew on, and it looks like they have done away with the cheap Passion level of membership (which I think was around €40) so you now have to have the ACO Racing Auto at €109. Maybe the ticket discount is proportionally higher too (or maybe not :-) )

Am I missing something?

[Doris]

Am I missing something?

Usually the race Smokester....   
Dx

[smokie]

I meant anything important :-)

[smokie]

Have now received a letter about my renewal. confirms the €109.

[Landy_Jon]

Yep - new looking website.
Am still translating it...

[Pilgrim]

So what are the ACO members-only areas like, now that I'm a member?

[Landy_Jon]

Last year there was only one, the year before 2 that I found!

- A bar with decent beer and commemorative glasses  (printed with last years winners - collect the set - the glasses are resuable)
- comfy seats to rest the aching limbs to watch the big TV
- reasonable food
- good private viewing of the track (Dunlop curve in 2016 (and with the ford chicane 2015)
- space
- a goody bag on arrival of all the programmes and entrants and stuff when you first go to the ACO lounge
- ability to sign a spouse/partner to the ACO area for free
- ability to buy cheap race tickets and camping (up to 6 I think)
- sign some(4 or 6) paying (15Eu?) guests to ACO lounge for the whole time.
- the privilege of having an ACO wristband to show your status as you walk around.
- um, that's about it.
- oh yes: around christmas you'll get another set of all the race material in a nice box with a photo (photstat signed by the winners) of a car
- did I say comfy chairs and a big TV to watch the action on inside?
- comfy chairs!
- toilets

[geoffd]

Last year there was only one, the year before 2 that I found!

- A bar with decent beer and commemorative glasses  (printed with last years winners - collect the set - the glasses are resuable)
- comfy seats to rest the aching limbs to watch the big TV
- reasonable food
- good private viewing of the track (Dunlop curve in 2016 (and with the ford chicane 2015)
- space
- a goody bag on arrival of all the programmes and entrants and stuff when you first go to the ACO lounge
- ability to sign a spouse/partner to the ACO area for free
- ability to buy cheap race tickets and camping (up to 6 I think)
- sign some(4 or 6) paying (15Eu?) guests to ACO lounge for the whole time.
- the privilege of having an ACO wristband to show your status as you walk around.
- um, that's about it.
- oh yes: around christmas you'll get another set of all the race material in a nice box with a photo (photstat signed by the winners) of a car
- did I say comfy chairs and a big TV to watch the action on inside?
- comfy chairs!
- toilets

And clean showers!

Food and drink is 10% cheaper than other on circuit outlets, plus there is discount in the ACO shops.

Whilst the membership is not as cheap as it once was, it's still possible to save a reasonable amount of the cost on purchases, i.e. tickets, food  & merchandise.

[Landy_Jon]

That's odd as my membership went down this year!

It might have been a special offer but the money saved on using the full quota of camping and tickets as well as a few stocking fillers for chrimbo usually goes towards balancing it all out. 

Other benefits I remembered today:

- 2 a car stickers (one saying ACO and the other ACO Member - haven't worked out why yet - and I have several as I can't get the old one off).
- a snazzy little credit card sized membership card.
- more car stickers (which fade in 12 months!) bespoke for the race year.
- a poster of the event.
- Also got a signed (photostat) poster in the Christmas box as well (I assume it was the winners - not a clue!)
- free entry to the Le Mans museum.
- Vehicle access to the inside of the circuit outside of races (see photo below)
- the smug knowledge that you can navigate the English language version of the ACO website knowing that it was translated from French to English via German, Swiss, Chinese, Swahili, back to German, then Italian and finally English (well that's what it seems like)
- comfy chairs.