T23 is The Place To Be!

Tickets Purchased for Le Mans 2014!

General Access Passes and Grandstand Seats:
Grandstand T23, Raccordement (aka La Sarthe, Maison Blance, or the Ford Chicane)
Row G: Seats 122,123,124,125
Row F: Seats 121,122,123,124,125

Tickets will be printed and mailed sometime around April 2014 and shipped to the US.  Will distribute once we receive them.

We highly regard the racing valor of Luigi Chinetti, Woolf Barnato and Robert Benoist that is shown at the dedicated tribute grandstands for each of these drivers at the end of the S/F straightaway.  But after much consideration and several email and facetime hours reviewing video, images, travel reviews and messageboard posts of viewlines around the track, our thought has adjusted.  I don't believe the seating position from Chinetti (T15) and the other far straightaway grandstands will match the final turns of the course named after good 'ol Detroit Iron.   The Ford Chicane has risen as the best bet for grandstand seating at Le Mans:

• Well covered grandstand area
• Close proximity to the vehicles on the course
• Extended view time of the cars at a slower, curvy section of the course
• Long view down the fast S/F straight
• View of the pit entry
• Line of sight to a jumbotron screen (maybe bring some binoculars!)

Being on the Ford Chicane may give all our American blood a bit of warmth in a foreign land.  Plus, the grandstand is directly adjacent to the giant Ferris Wheel, which will be another treat!

Below is a video of a view from T23 Raccordement - special thanks to the video author for his message reply this morning about the seats.  Several snapshots of analysis for the seating position are also below. 

Meet you all there at 3pm, June 14!

 

A Ticketing Bargain

To keep everyone's interest level on high and to stoke your commitment to get some tickets real soon (let's say Monday morning, Nov11, before the ACO closes at 11am EST!?), I just ran some numbers for clarity and comparison fun:


GA = general admission cost, EUR55 as ACO member

GS = grandstand seat cost, been looking in the EUR75-100-ish range

ACO = ACO level 2 membership costs, EUR102

LD = cost of long distance call to France (optional to include, if we're really tracking ALL reimbursable costs)

S = shipping costs

P = number of persons purchasing on an ACO membership


GA + GS + (ACO/P) + (LD/P) + (S/P) = per ticket cost


So the cost per ticket will be in the neighborhood of EUR 175 or $235, maybe a bit less with lower cost grandstand seats, maybe a little higher with more costly seats, fewer persons sharing the ACO costs, or a strike in France causes a surge in long distance telephone charges or shipping costs.

I honestly had not been too concerned if the costs was +/- a bit from this range. If someone is committed to attend, this will be only a small portion of trip costs compared to airfare, hotel, rail, etc.  That's all for you to decide how to travel and enjoy yourself while in France.


By comparison in the sporting world, this is a relative bargain:

Tickets to Game 6 of the World Series were going for $1000 each

Seats to the upcoming Super Bowl start at $800 each

Lowest costs seats to the final match of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil are $440

So on a per minute basis, LeMans is a clear winner:

	Ticket Cost	Approx playing time  (min)	Cost/min
LeMans	$235	1440	$0.16
World Series	$1000	150	$6.67
Super Bowl	$800	60	$13.33
World Cup	$440	90	$4.89

BTW, I want to go to a game at Fenway next season.  I've never been there.  Anyone want to come along?

Ticket Update Part 2

Who's ready to buy general access and grandstand tickets?

Since this morning's ticketing post, for the past 12 hours my father has been diligently monitoring the ticket sales for seats in the grandstands for LeMans 2014.  Sales appear to be moving along briskly for seats higher up in the grandstands, under the shelter of the overhead canopies.  The canopies will be good protection from the sun but more importantly, the rain that is very likely to occur sometime during the race.

My father also joined ACO this morning.  Joining from the US can't be done online, so it requires calling France during regular business hours.  They were very friendly and the process took only about 15 minutes.  The number to dial from the US is 011 333 243 40 25 40.  Joining gives immediate access to the online ticket sales.

With the sales pace and membership in hand, we're ready to buy now, maybe even tomorrow (Friday, Nov8).  Of those 6 tickets, 4 or 5 are already spoken for.  So another person will need to join ACO and buy another batch of 6.  If it's coordinated, it can all be done with adjacency in the stands.  Please think about it and make a decision quickly.  Feel free to contact me directly.  We are considering seats in the Bernato (T14), Singher (T13) or Benoist (T12) which are in the EUR75-100 range at ACO pricing.  In addition to the grandstand seats, a general admission pass is also required to the venue, which is approximately EUR55 for ACO members and EUR75 at the general public price.

Purchase by the general public begins November 18.

Ticketing Update!

Tickets are now available for the race.

My father spent some time looking through all the options yesterday and talking to a few people in the UK and Europe.  The best method seems to be joining the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and purchasing tickets through the club.  The Level 2 membership is EUR102, which is about $135, allowing purchase of up to 6 tickets and have the tickets shipped to the US.

Right now, only ACO members can purchase tickets.  It opens to the general public in a couple of days but we are suspecting that many of the tickets will be scooped up by the various UK and European travel agencies and brokerages houses.

So if you are reading this and interested to go to LeMans, this is the moment to buy the grandstand tickets and other access passes.

Chime in now for a head count.  The total can then be broken into groups of 6 to buy the tickets, with 1 person out of each group joining ACO and making the purchase.  If we're lucky, the seats can all be near to one another in the same grandstand.  I will look for that prime grandstand later today or tonight.

The Blue Jacket

It has been a few weeks since the first flurry of excitement began with the initial planning for the journey to LeMans in 2014.  What has happened since?  The word has been spread amongst friends, family and colleagues and there is a burgeoning group that is making the trip. 

Not a whole lot has occurred yet on the logistical planning front.  I checked the ACO ticketing site at lemans.org this morning and it only displays the message "See you soon for the sales opening of the 2014 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans!" Once it goes live, will start to think about some deadlines to buy a batch of grandstand tickets.

And, unfortunately, I did not get that box of earmuffs I mentioned in the previous post.  Note to self - buy first, blog later.  The box was already sold when I came back to buy it a few hours after posting about it.  Oh well.

With all that said, here's a random LeMans encounter: I traveled to Montreal in early October and about an hour after disembarking from the plane into a French-speaking region of the world, I find this gentleman wearing his blue LeMans Dunlop jacket.  He had stepped off a bus with a tour group walking up to the Notre Dame Basilica on Place d'Armes square in Montreal.  Note the matching tone blue mini umbrella in his hand - this outfit was very intentional!

 

  

Earmuffs - Lot of 10

Race cars are loud.  Spectating at races can border upon deafening.

While watching a 6 hour race at Watkins Glenn this past summer, I sat at the very top of the grandstands at the start/finish line for the final hour of the race.  The sound of the cars was overwhelming.  Maybe it was the wind direction.  Maybe it combined with the resonance of the engines off the banks of aluminum seating.   The experience was nearly intolerable.  Having a good set of earmuffs is going to be key to surviving a 24 hour race.

I figure the earmuffs offer two good options for use.

1. Placed over earbuds so a radio broadcast can be heard, while reducing the continual drone of the race cars
2. Combine with in-ear plugs for added sound reduction - I've read that NASCAR and NHRA folks do this

A bit of research turned up the Howard Leight Thunder T3 as a good option "designed with all-day comfort in mind. Thunder headband earmuffs feature a unique dual headband for better positioning and breathability, and a non-deforming outer headband that minimizes pressure on the head....The Thunder series features patented Air Flow Control™ technology for optimal attenuation across all frequencies and also snap-in ear cushions for easy maintenance."

These cost about $25-30 each.  However, I found a lot of 10 on Ebay for $99.  Anyone interested?  I may just buy them.  Can you guess what you are receiving for Christmas?

Le Mans on the Screen

A selection from the wide array of films on Le Mans:

Le Mans, 1971
The classic film with Steve McQueen.  Found it on several short sequential YouTube selections:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4


You will be disappointed with the cut-off of the final few second of the race in part 4 - you will have to watch the final laps here in Italian (maybe the Ferrari sound has been enhanced?):


and then the final dramatic close of the movie here



Truth in 24
Documentation of Audi's racing

2008


2011



Patrick Dempsey: Racing LeMans
A new 4 part series on Velocity which just began in late August 2013.

The Ultimate Endurance Race
Brief film on the Toyota team in 2013



Le Mans: 100 Years of Passion
Documentary made for the 100th edition of the race.

Le Mans Information + Initial Logistics

It is a muggy overcast day today, so I an scanning through and finding a trove information about Le Mans.  I am going to drop the selected best bits into this single post while I have all of it on screen.

TRAVEL BASIS
In case you missed the prior post, the itinerary is based upon Jalopnik's travel to the 2013 race.

REFERENCE MAPS
2 maps and links  I found useful:

This Google Map outlines the race circuit and various amenities in and around the track, including the center of the city of Le Mans and the tram line (line is red, stations are magenta).  Guetteloupe is the local tram stop closest to the LeMans circuit, confirmed by this map and Jalopnik.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=211964758181165286585.00045456c0bfe02d2ab95

Another Google Map by the UK group Travel Destinations.  This one details the location of each grandstand and the Jumbotron viewing screens.

 https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=112612220050027596864.0004546dfab3cdb67d299&t=h&z=14

The same travel company also has some useful general maps and info about the race and travel to the event.

http://www.lemansrace.com/dpage.html?pageid=45
http://www.lemansrace.com/dpage.html?pageid=7

 

Finally, here is one other link I found from another UK group, Race Tours, that highlights several of the viewing locations around the circuit:
http://www.racetours.co.uk/Le%20Mans%20where%20to%20watch.htm

Ticket Information

A few days ago, my father emailed to the Le Mans organization for ticket information, here is the reply received:

From: Internet Billetterie <ticket@lemans.org>

Subject: RE: Tickets for 2014 Le Mans

Date: August 30, 2013 3:57:49 AM CDT

To: C R Demel

Dear Madam, Sir,

Thank you for your interest in the legendary race of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Even though the dates for next year have been made official - 14th and 15th June 2014 - the tickets are not available yet and therefore we do not take reservations for the moment.
Ticket sales will open first for ACO members at the beginning of November 2013, then mid-November for the general public.

Please visit our website (www.lemans.org) regularly to know the exact date of opening and reiterate your booking at that time.

Best regards,
Internet Billetterie
Service Billetterie
Mail:  ticket@lemans.org 

I figure the interest for the 2014 Le Mans trip can brew for a couple months to see how many folks want to go, then organize and purchase a block of tickets on XX date (whatever deadline we set for ourselves, maybe around Thanksgiving or early December 2013?).  

Right now, I am thinking to just purchase the general access pass and some decent grandstand seats.  The grandstand seats can be used for the start and end of the race, a dry place to go back to during the event, and provide a potential access point for the mob scene that goes down on the track at the conclusion 3pm on Sunday.

Truth in 24

A bit of background.  More to come.

This post is the basis for how we're going to do it: A Jalop's Guide to Attending the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The rough outline:

• Arrive in Paris
• Morning train to Le Mans, Saturday, June 14
• 24 Hour Race, start at 3pm Saturday
• Race End, 3pm Sunday
• Evening train back to Paris (or some other fantastic location), Sunday, June 15

Go ahead and mark your calendar now for Le Mans: June 14-15, 2014

No More Waiting

2014 is the year to go.