24 Heures du Mans

I went in 1998. Rented a motorhome in Paris and stayed at the track. It was an incredible experience that I would love to repeat some day.

 

BTW it's du, you don't need the le cuz it's part of the du lol. de + le = du

I know, French is weird.

 

Got more specific details?

I've always been thinking about going to Le Mans myself, but couldn't figure out where to spend the night. And camping is definitely not an option.

 

I went with a couple of Brits who made all the arrangements. We rented the motorhome in Paris, drove to Le Mans and parked it at the track. Many people do it. The trick, though, if you have any plans of sleeping, is to park in an area that is far enough away from the racing surface for the noise level to be bearable.

I spent Thursday touring Paris and we drove to the track on Friday morning.

The only thing I didn't like were the French people. They were very antagonistic to Americans, and I'm not a brash, in-your-face kind of guy. I can't imagine what they're like today with the present Anti-American attitude in Europe. Having to deal with them is the one thing that may keep me from repeating the experience.

 

Considering how antagonistic we are to our fellow Americans, it can't really be surprising that this happens at a car race in another country!

 

Actually you're wrong. I've never had an American treat me the way the French did. Yes, I was in their country and I didn't speak their language, but there were also a hundred thousand Brits at the race, many of whom were in the same boat as me.

With out going into too much detail, there was a vendor at the race who decided he would make me pay for not speaking French. Meanwhile he was serving Brits who also didn't speak French. It was a definite Anti-American statement and totally uncalled for. Yes, you can say that some redneck in the middle of Oklahoma may have done something similar to a Frenchman at some point, but so what? That type of crap is uncalled for in any country at any time, especially by a vendor who is supposed to be serving his customers, not trying to embarrass them.

I came away from the race thinking that France is a beautiful country populated by ugly people.

 

I think it'***** or miss, no matter where you go. I just returned from Paris, and after encountering so many people I have nothing but pleasant things to say. At the same time, I've had some less-than-pleasant experiences in Indy. Bottom line is, the world's full of dou*he bags (didn't know that was on the no-no list). Here and abroad. I agree with you 100% that it's uncalled for, but at the same time I won't let it affect what I choose to do. If some bitter track-side vendor wants to be a prick, then f**k him. Move on and enjoy the race.

 

Totally agree. I went to France in the summer and had no negative experience whatsoever. There are morons in every country. Of course it does help, that I speak French if I have to.

Bill, got an URL or phone number for those RVs in Paris? Just rent one with a valid US drivers license? Do I need to make advance reservation for a camping place at the track side?

 

I agree, too, it just made for an unpleasant experience. My experience may have differed from others because the hotel my friends reserved for me in Paris was in a non-tourist area, so I got to see the 'real' French people, not the ones on their best behavior. I met just as many friendly French people as "D" Bags. In any event, the race was an amazing experience. It reminded me very much of Watkins Glen in the Seventies, believe it or not.

One of the most interesting things about attending the race is that Europeans actually use their cars. I saw spectators arrive in Ford GT's, 250 SWB's, TVR's, etc. If you didn't know better you would think that the Lotus 7/Caterham was the best selling car in Europe. They were everywhere. Very impressive.

Sorry, but I have no info on the RV rental since my Britsh mates arranged everything. We didn't get a race special or anything like that. He just rang up an RV dealer and worked a deal.

 

Nice observation and having lived most of my life in Europe I agree. I used to say that spending some extra time in the parking lot might be just as interesting as the motorsports event itself.

I remember once going to the start of the Ralley Monte Carlo, which was fun by itself. But before the race I spent a good hour just going through the lot, where people arrived in Renault Alpines and Audi Quattros to mention a few. It was a blast.

 

Some info that may help with the planning.

Thursday evening they do night practice, starting around 10pm IIRC, there's a Chinese Restaurant on the Mulsanne Straight where you can eat then take your chair outside to stand on and see over the fence, the cars are about 6 feet away!!!! well worth the effort.

Friday is a day of rest and you can drive the public parts of the circuit but watch for the Police!

Saturday AM over the last few years they have run historic Ferrari/Maserati races, it's great to see P4's, 166's 250's etc running on the circuit.

Join the French Auto Club (De L'Oeust I think!, the ones that organise it anyway, it only costs around $30 and you can then use their private bars (where the beer is cold!) and they serve decent food as well

Take some ear plugs if you want to get some sleep on any of the campsites, it's not just the cars on track, it's a massive party atmosphere and has the noise to go with it

 

Thanks Mark and Bill for the good points!

 

Now I want to go! Hmmmmm, maybe we can buy a cheap old RV, drive it around Europe all summer and hit all the major races. Just need a place to store it in between race dates.