Le Mans 24hr 2014 - Advice gratefully received!

[dave_t]

My mate and I have just booked to go to Le Mans 24hr in the Westfield. It's something we've been talking about for a couple of years, and we've finally got round to it!  I'm very excited about it all!

 

We are travelling out on the Chunnel around mid-day on Thursday and back on Sunday evening, and we're booked into the Houx campsite.

 

We are both complete novices as regards Le Mans. I've watched coverage on television, but that's about it.  I'm also a novice in travelling any sort of significant mileage in the Westfield. I've been on a couple of 100+ mile trips in a day, but that's the maximum.

 

Any advice will therefore be gratefully received!  What should we consider when travelling?  Any top tips on things to do/ take?  What should be do when we get there? 

[XTR2Turbo]

Number one tip don't speed in France during leMans week

Other than that enjoy

[s2rrr]

Plenty of supermarkets for the beer, enjoy the trip.

 

Bob

[Playo]

Yep watch your speed. The police will literally be hiding in trees dressed in camo holding a speed gun

[Lawrie]

Its much the same as England, except they tend to use mobile speed guns.  This may be a motorbike cop with a hairdryer behind a piece of bridgework, or a Gendarme leaning across the roof of his parked blue Renault estate.  They've now introduced  Renault Méganes and Peugeot 208s that have a large unit on top of the dash and have 360 degree mobile coverage.  I usually see a speed trap at some stage, but they are few and far between, but better hidden.

 

Why rush?  Westfields aren't much fun on the motorway, but there are many Roman roads, such as the D338 (N138) which are ideal.  There is an automatic 30 limit in all towns and villages.  Le Mans is about 5 hours from Calais, and fuel stops can be a problem, as like the UK, most filling stations have closed as the supermarkets have taken over.  The small towns are bypassed, and finding the local supermarket isn't easy, but a little research will help.

 

Houx is quite civilised, Houx annexe is the opposite.  Clearly, you don't have much space for luggage.  Local supermarkets sell everything. Be prepared for rain and sun.  What were you planning for food.  Some is available on the circuit. 

 

There are websites for Le Mans enthusiasts, for example Beermountain.com which includes a forum where you can ask embarrassing questions, and ClubArnage who publish a .pdf guide every year.

 

What else do you want to know?

 

 

What else do you want to know

[dave_t]

That's very good advice about speed traps (and beer, Bob  ) ... and fully taken on board

 

You've hit on one of the issues that's worrying me, Lawrie ... petrol stops.  We've been talking about taking the 'N' roads rather than the motorway/ payage. But at 120 miles between fills, things need to work out nicely.  Its good advice to do some careful route planning beforehand.  I might see if there are POI files available for the TomTom, listing French petrol stations.

 

And the other issue ... which is carrying enough stuff.   I've never been away in the Westy before, and we are going to be challenged for room with needing to take a tent, sleeping bags, tool kit, etc.  How the hell do people fit stuff into/ onto the Wesfield? Do people take camping seats along, for instance??

 

And how much food would you suggest taking along?  We were thinking of trying to get hold of everything there (realising that this will be expensive), rather than carrying stuff with us. We were thinking of just taking a Trangia and some mugs along so that we can have a brew whenever we like

[Tom Frankland (T3OMF)]

Dave, we (3 Westfields) are going as well but we are doing a road trip around France the week before 

 

We are staying at the Bleu Nord camp-site and have paid a little extra to park next to the track.

[Dicko10]

  Beer, Fast racing and no sleep for the weekend

 

  What a great weekend you guys are in for.

 

  Been twice and loved it both times.

 

  Have a great time.

[Aerodynamix Ltd]

Dave , 

           I'm meeting Tom there as he will be doing a rather long road trip first . Feel free to give me a shout before you go and give me your number etc . I'll be travelling out Thursday but have opted for Portsmouth-Caen ferry crossing due to fuel as noted and less road time , I'm having a new tank built so am going to go for a reasonable size to stretch as much as I can . A couple of friends are travelling out with me in a tintop although returning later than me as I will need to get back to work . 

   I'm in the same boat as you as being my first time , I have also been advised to look at the beermountain pages on 1st tickets as has several guides and recommendations as to what you need from basic to ridiculous (I've had a quick look but thats it). I'm going to take as much as I can within reason but won't get too hung up on it if I can't get in what I would like to , I think you just have to accept it'll cost a certain amount and enjoy it

   I'm sure you will have some more useful comments along shortly though .

[Lawrie]

I ought to come clean and admit that I'm a moderator on the Beermountain forum.

Firstly, my old Garmin, with euro maps shows filling stations. As half of these are supermarkets, its useful for finding them too. I coped on a range of 100 miles, which meant filling up every 75 miles. There are enough signs showing where the supermarkets are, and they tend to be open 24/7 as they are unmanned and and take cards. Filling stations tend to work to set hours and close. E.g. the monday before the race is a bank holiday, so everything will be shut, except the unmanned supermarket pumps and the motorway service area.

I always had a backup car with all the kit, but many go in Westfields or Caterhams. You can buy a lot in the local supermarkets, provided you don't leave it too late till they're sold out. I'd start with tools, tent, bedding and cooking, and see what you can fit in. A bag to fit in the passenger footwell could take quite a lot, and bags can be tied on to the top of the boot, plus odd items like folding chairs can be strapped to the spare wheel, if you have one. Bulky items such as chairs and barbeques are cheap and can be bought there and

discarded.

A bit of planning will go a long way - see what you need and what will fit. And keep asking questions

Personally, I shall be taking the caravan, TV, Goped, fridge full of beer etc. You'll have to see how the other half live

[Bigjas]

I've been going to Le Mans since 1992, travelled down in tintops, vans, minibuses, motorbikes and in 2010 I took my GT40 rep to the Le Mans Classic.  The GT40 has a similar space problem to the Westfield.  We took the bare essentials crammed in side the cabin and then started to strap tools and spares around the car wherever we could find spare space.  Things like beer, food, tents, sleeping bags, chairs were all bought from the supermarket in Arnarge (its very cheap).  We then left it all there for the French Gypos to salvage on sunday evening.  I booked the ferry from Portsmouth - Caen as its only approx 100 miles from Le Mans so petrol was not too much of an issue.  Calais is a different matter though and one year we too the bikes down and ran out of fuel on a number of occasions on that trip.

 

Its a great trip/adventure, just make sure you have European Roadside Assistance, it lowers the stress and makes the trip more enjoyable.  We broke down in Le Mans on the way home, I managed to fix it on the side of the road but it was nice to know that if I couldn't, we would be ok.

 

Make sure you're ready for all weather.  We have had 40 degrees and wall to wall sunshine and constant rain too over the years.

 

Hope this helps a little

 

Jas

[Lawrie]

Good advice Jas.

[Rory's Dad]

I've come close to running out of fuel on a number of occasions.  I have no bootbox so have room to strap on a 5 litre plastic fuel can on top of some polystyrene on top of the tank.  I travel a little easier knowing that it's there in an emergency.

[Lawrie]

If you're in a convoy, then its not a problem, which is the first solution.

Really, it not that different to the UK, and if they can get to Dover, I'm sure they'll cope sausageside.

If you know the effective range, a quick look at a map will give you towns or service areas for fuel stops. A quick look on Google earth or similar will show where the supermarkets are.

The main problem is Sunday. France seems to shut, but motorwar service areas are open, and most pumps take cards. A few years back, I was running out of fuel near Rouen late at night, and couldn't find any fuel, so got onto the motorway to Caen, which has a service area 5 miles up the road. It cost me 2 euros in tolls

[Mark (smokey mow)]

This will be my 15th year at Le Mans (if my counting is correct ) I've done the camping and bivvy at the circuit in the past but these days as my Dad is getting older we stay locally at La Ferte Bernard in a hotel.

I've done the trip once in the Westfield, the year I built it, sailing from Dover to Calais which meant a drive of around 250 miles in France via our normal route along the A28 via Rouen. There's always plenty of options to stop for fuel along the way either at the services which are plentiful, or you'll normally find a supermarket not far from a major junction.

Packing the car for two is going to be a challenge, but be creative when stowing some of the lesser needed items you may carry. I had tools, oil, coolant and spares under the bonnet on the scuttle panel cable tied to the side of the battery. Our main bags of clothing were carried in the boot, and then theres room between the seats for one daypack and. Then a second either under the passenger knees or in the passenger footwell.

Food and drink at the circuit isn't cheep but there's plenty of choice and places to buy from. We tend to stop at calais to buy some lunch to eat later for the first day and then use one of the several supermarkets outside the circuit to by food and drink for the other days once we've dropped off all our kit.

Night qualifying is the evening you arrive on Thursday, so I'd reccomend taking a drive up to Mulsanne and Arnarge corners to watch it (both the car parks are free). It can be a PITA to get there during the race over the weekend and the busses get pretty busy which is why we go during qualifying. There's plenty of nice cafe's around that area to grab a quick meal in between the two sessions, we normally eat here. http://goo.gl/maps/tBHTQ

Friday all day the pit lane is open for a walkabout, it's free and a good chance to get close to the cars but it does get busy. Don't forget to also track down the nearby classic pit.

Friday afternoon/evening in the main town there will be the drivers parade and carnival. There's trams that run from the circuit into the main square, or for the non-drinkers you could always drive. There's pleny of bars in the square for beer and food, get comfortable as sometimes things can run slowly and rarely do they start on time

Finally don't forget your waterproof coat and trousers, it will rain at somepoint over the weekend.