Maison Blanche camping

[Jay (Team Cannonball)]

The great unwashed in BSJ - I'll have you know BSJ has the finest showers in all of Le Mans 

[Dirk3D_NL]

if necessary we probably will go back to BSJ, we have proven to be able to party there as well

[wishy]

Jay,

No offence meant.....I too have been on BSJ twice.

The first time I was on there when it was opened .........it was a field with no facilities at all.Really making for the "great unwashed".

Now it is for a bunch of "softies" ......just like us on MB.

What I meant though ,was that we may all be pushed off MB due to it's locality to the circuit,therfore making ideal for possible club use rather than general camping as has been suggested.

But we do stand a chance....afterall we are Club Arnage.!!!!

[Rhino]

Having camped on BSJ for the last couple of years, i thought last year they were having trouble packing them in on the Saturday morning.
With increased French interest this year it could be another record crowd. They will probably be a bit more vigilant on all campsites.

[Robbo SPS]

Maybe we are to blame ??

I know that the entitlement per ticket is litle more than a car and tent next to it. Its not a lot of space.

We bought 7 tickets last year for 5 vehicles and i think we just about had enough space and weren't infringing the rules.

The more and more they  - is the kermit fuzz do this, makes me consier not bothering going at all.

2 of us started in 99 and now we take 26. All of which hadnt ever tried the event....

This year we are on Bleu Nord, as i could only muster a potential 3 MB tickets from a ring around. It will be a shame to be away from the party, but we are just going to take a few push bikes for better transport....

For the Moto 24 we are again in MB with our special ACO tents where they keep the riff raff out.

Maybe the 24 is going to go that way.

Rows and rows of ACO branded tents. . . . . . .

[Piglet]

It irritates me that groups like DfH get pointed at when the subject of space per pass is mentioned when, as Rick says there were more than enough passes to cover off the space that DFH, Del, JPC and Rick's groups had last year.  Most of us on here made damn sure last year that we had enough passes to go around as we thought the ACO were going to be tough on space allocation last year.

I wonder whether some of the other groups would be able to say the same thing?   The groups that turn up with a big motorhome and then park the rest of their cars out in the carparks take up a lot more space than their one or two passes allow them.

It's interesting that on all of the threads on CA about space the one thing we are all agreed on is that there should be an allocation of space per pass and that the ACO should enforce it whereas on some other sites there is more discussion about the cost of having to buy additional tickets...

[Andy]

this is getting out of hand, can any of our anglo french friends please talk to some land owners.
for JPC DFH Etc is the ACO just taking the urine or what.
so for future space me and my motorbike will get would be for me to put a tarp over the bike for a tent..... bolx. Paddy can i pitch on the top of the lorry?
T he ACO are getting greedy, that includes the worry of traders legal or illegal, just try selling in the track and someone is on your back.
good point made about writing to the ACO general but being french may fall on deaf eyes.
It might be back to the residents' back gardens as it once was.......

[Big_M]

Zoned and allocated pitches cause other problems.

I have stayed in Houx for the last 3 years where the pitches are marked in rows.  Last year whoever marked out the pitches must of had the plan upside down as normally they avoid the areas with big trees.  But we had large areas without trees or pitches and were trying to pitch tents around tree trunks.

Plus the pitch is just big enough to take a tent and a car.  Previously I have gone in a group and we lump together our pitches and use the space as parking, tent and communal.  Problem is some people do similar but use the access space in the rows to park their cars.  One poor guy was arriving late - hence selecting Houx where his pitch was allocated - only to discover that he couldn't actually get his car to the pitch as the access was blocked.  The camp marshalls just shrugged their shoulders and walked away.  When the guy asked the owners to move their cars he received a load of verbal abuse.

This wasn't helped by some people photocopying their pitch passes as we discovered three cars had the same pitch number.

All these guys were Brits - makes you proud don't it - the only saving grace was that they appeared to be northerners.   

Plus if you are making a group buy - don't expect your pitches to be together - you may find that someone else has a pitch in the middle of your allocation.

I can never make up my mind if the French are naturally difficult or if it is something they have to work at.

[Brian(Liverpool boys)]

All these guys were Brits - makes you proud don't it - the only saving grace was that they appeared to be northerners.

What has being from the North got to do with it, and please explain why it was a saving grace, and how do Northeners appear to be like to you

Comments like that do not go down well with Northeners that play by the book, and this site that has a lot of members North of Watford gap could do without bigoted comments like that.

Angry from the North.

[Big_M]

Sorry - poor attempt at humour   

Just that a normally good weekend was tarnished by some inconsiderate individuals who appeared unable to respond to a polite request to move their cars so the guy could access his pitch.

Most of us just want to go to Le Mans, watch a bit of racing and have a good time.  Unfortunately a minority of people seem to be hell bent on being animals.

In the last 3 years I have seen the atmosphere changing. We were on a coach to Le Mans town for Friday night - on the way back some spectators lining the roads to the camp sites thought it was acceptable to try and dent every panel of the coach as it passed. 

I can understand to a point why the French are bringing in some rules and regulations - the no swimming pools was probably as a result of a few people emptying them on the Sunday and soaking everyone else nearby who were staying an extra night.

It is always a minority that spoil it for the majority.

[Snoring Rhino]

I can understand to a point why the French are bringing in some rules and regulations - the no swimming pools was probably as a result of a few people emptying them on the Sunday and soaking everyone else nearby who were staying an extra night.

Sorry your wrong again, France had a similar water shortage to us last year, hence the ban on pools and given that all water is metered and a medium sized pool will take 20,000 ltrs, most did not think it was unreasonable. Dont know if will ever be eased, but I dont know of any instances of tents being flooded out.

[Big_M]

Sorry your wrong again, France had a similar water shortage to us last year, hence the ban on pools

The ban on pools didn't extend to the houses locally.  A lot of the properties in the area around the circuit had similar sized temporary pools in their gardens as noticed on the bus back from Arnarge.  But I agree that it does seem unfair that the campsites have unlimited access to water supply if the locals have to pay by usage.

We got the distinct impression that the pool ban would be permanent - water supply or not - especially due to the changes in fixing to the standpipes to allow a timed flow.

[Werner]

Sorry your wrong again, France had a similar water shortage to us last year, hence the ban on pools

The ban on pools didn't extend to the houses locally.  A lot of the properties in the area around the circuit had similar sized temporary pools in their gardens as noticed on the bus back from Arnarge.  But I agree that it does seem unfair that the campsites have unlimited access to water supply if the locals have to pay by usage.

We got the distinct impression that the pool ban would be permanent - water supply or not - especially due to the changes in fixing to the standpipes to allow a timed flow.

As far as I know this was a local law last year, because of the water shortage, there was also e.g. a hose pipe ban for private households in force, so from my understanding the ACO HAD to ban pools to comply with this law. Situation might be different this year, we just should watch out for the latest news on the web about this topic.

Cheers

Werner

[Piglet]

I think the pool issue was very much an ACOism for last year.  Locally families had pools and the stores were happily selling pools. 

Im sure it was related to the water shortage but I think it was also a good excuse to avoid the space taken up by pools, reduce the water used and avoid any problems of pools being emptied onto others tents (more of an issue in Houx I think because of the layout of pitches). 

I dont think we will see pools back on the campsites as we did previously. 

[Mr. Invincible Mou]

I think the pool issue was very much an ACOism for last year.  Locally families had pools and the stores were happily selling pools. 
 

Plus any other Pool Conspiracy Post !!

 

Why is it people constantly seem to blame the ACO for just about everything they don't like.

It was made very clear last year, that the pools were banned due to water shortages, just as we had water shortages in the South of England. In fact my hosepipe ban was only lifted a week ago.

There were links to an official French Government (assuming a .gouv.fr link is official) site, which detailed the restrictions (out of date link here = http://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=741 ), but I guess it is perfectly reasonable to assume that the ACO got the Government to implement this restriction purely to upset the Brits at the 24 hours 

Just as we cannot be held responsible for what our neighbours do in times of drought, you cannot hold the ACO responsible for those people living near the track abusing any restrictions. What you HAVE to expect, however, is that as a large corporate body, they themselves are liable to enforce said restrictions on people using their property and services.

What everyone seems to be missing, is that generally the 24 hour event is becomming more popular every year, and with the growing numbers of visitors comes a growing responsibility to accomodate them. Unfortuantely, often the way to control larger numbers, is to implement tighter restrictions and to enforce them. I guess we have two choices, accept the changes, live with them and get on with enjoying ourselves, or protest and stop going. I can pretty much assure you though, that there are enough new visitors, that the ACO probably would not be too concerned at people staying away in protest.