|
|
The Race
The 24 Heures du Mans
was first raced in 1923 and has been going strong every
year since then with the exception of 1936, when strikes
in the French Automobile industry caused its
cancellation and a few years in the 40s when it was
cancelled due to a local upset on mainland Europe. The
traditional dates are the second weekend in June but
this has been altered for various reasons, the most
recent being 1998 when it was brought forward one week
because of the Coupe du Monde. It starts this
year at 1500hrs on Saturday 14th June and it
should come as no surprise to you that it ends at
1500hrs on Sunday 15th June. This is one hour
earlier than the traditional 1600hrs start and from bits
and pieces I have gleaned, is likely to be the start
time in future. I believe that it is a more popular time
for TV coverage and thus potentially gives increased
revenue. The famous start where the drivers run across
the track, get in the cars and tear off no longer
happens and it is now a rolling start from behind a pace
car. This is quite an achievement in itself considering
they have to do over eight miles and then cross the
start line at just the right time.
The Circuit
There have been numerous changes to the circuit and there is
another for 2008. What difference this will make to the
previous length of 13.881 kms or 8.626 miles has not as
yet been announced. The vast majority of this is on
public roads that are closed not only for the race but
also for prequalifying/ testing which takes place in May
and the four sessions of full qualifying on the
Wednesday and Thursday before the race. For those of you
who are of or are approaching ‘a certain age’ you may
remember the fuss and palaver that went on for the
Birmingham Superprix in the Eighties! Courtesy of our
satellite connection we have heard rumours that Uncle
Ken Livingstone was contemplating a (motor) race round
London….I’m not holding my breath. The Tour de France is
probably as far as he’ll get. The Isle of Man seems to
have a more pragmatic approach.
The Cars
The rules governing the cars have obviously changed over the years
However, these are not open wheel single seater Formula
One type cars, they are GTs and Sports Prototypes. Some
are open topped, some enclosed. There has been a move
over recent years to make the cars similar to those that
you could buy (Camelot and six numbers permitting) and
drive yourself. Traditionally there was always a large
contingent of Porches but more recently there have been
Chrysler Vipers, Lotus Esprits, Morgan, Marcos, Aston
Martin and Panoz. Any of these in their roadgoing
versions could be seen at Tesco on a Saturday, which you
could hardly say for a McLaren Mercedes! The organising
club, the A.C.O., has always supported Sports Prototypes
and there will be a number of these “specials” at Le
Mans unless the A.C.O. have their wings clipped by FIA,
the motorsport’s governing body, or the sheer economics
of these cars precludes them. There are usually major
factory supported teams like Toyota, Chrysler and
Porsche as well as small privateers who run on a
shoestring and work their ***** off just to get the car
over the finish line. The grid is now a maximum of 55
cars. Britain has had its fair share of success with
overall wins by Aston Martin, Jaguar and more recently
Bentley.
The Drivers
The roll call of Le Mans winners includes some names that are
probably known to non-racing fans, e.g. Graham Hill,
Derek Bell, Phil Hill, Martin Brundle and Johnny
Herbert. There are some quite well known also-rans
including Stirling Moss, Eddie Irvine, Tiff Needell and
some German called Schumacher (M). One of the
interesting things is the attraction that this race has
always held for the so-called “gentleman racer” or
privateer who has, normally by some quirk of birth, got
sufficient money to fund his own car and team. There are
three drivers per car with strict limits on how many
hours each can drive. British drivers are always well
represented, normally second only to the French in
numbers.
Where Is It?
North West France,
approximately 250 miles from Calais, 130 miles from St.
Malo, 120 miles from Le Havre and 100 miles from Caen.
All routes are easy and the road network is improving
every year.
Where to Stay?
Hotels, chambres d’hôte (B&Bs) if you book early enough are
available but they are likely to be some way away and
you’ve got to travel into and out of the circuit, or the
way we’ve done it for nineteen glorious years, camping.
There are a number of sites at the circuit, all fairly
basic, some inside the circuit and others on the
perimeter. Without doubt the circuit’s campsites give
the best access, but tickets for them are as rare as
hen’s teeth. This has led some local entrepreneurs to
open their property up for camping. Although we have no
direct experience of these, they are probably as good as
the circuit’s in terms of facilities. Some adverts for
these appear in the motorsport mags.
How Much?
This is the big plus! In
comparison to the megabucks world of Formula One, Le
Mans is excellent value. For about £130 per person in a
group of four, you can have camping from the Tuesday
before the race to the Monday afterwards, admission to
the four sessions of qualifying, pit walkabout on the
Friday, entrance to the race for the full duration and a
reserved grandstand seat in about the best grandstand on
the start/finish line. If you don’t want the grandstand
the cost drops to about £60. Other grandstands are
available from about £45 extra. In comparison to F1 it
is an absolute bargain but if you wish to contribute to
Bernie’s pension fund – go ahead, but for me it is no
contest!
Food & Drink
We’ve been going for twenty one years and have managed to avoid
thirst and malnutrition but not indigestion. Chicken and
chips were on sale behind the main grandstands on the
race days in 2005 for about £5. More exotic fayre is
available at more exotic prices. Barbecues are almost
mandatory and add to the great social occasion. Enough
said?
And Finally…
In excess of 50,000 Brits go every year to what is arguably
the greatest motor race in the world. Unless you
actively dislike motor racing it is worth going at least
once, the atmosphere is something else. But be warned….
not many go just the once; it does seem to be
habit-forming! |
