[DeTomaso] Le Mans Classic 2016 - Start thinking about it!
Charles McCall
charlesmccall at gmail.com
Sun Oct 4 14:41:47 EDT 2015
Hi all
It may seem awfully early to start planning, but the truth is that it isn't!
Camping allocation planning began back in June, when I was contacted to see
how many camping plots should be reserved for the DeTomaso Club of Spain and
friends for 2016. At the moment, there are 35 plots reserved in my name. As
a reference, last year we used 29 for our happy little group.
If you are even thinking about attending, my strong recommendation would be
to reserve tickets now. They are not requiring any deposit until much later
- last year it was January. Camping tickets ALWAYS sell out months in
advance, so if you don't have reservations made and then you decide to
attend, the only possibility is if you can find someone else who has
cancelled.
To reserve your camping plots, the procedure is the same as in past years.
You need to contact Just Tickets at sales at justtickets.co.uk and pass on your
data, indicating that you are with the McCall party. To save on shipping, we
will have the tickets sent to one, single address of a yet-to-be-determined
volunteer in the UK. Tickets may then be handed out to attendees during the
pre-Le Mans Classic tour (yes, there will be a tour, more about that later).
Or you may have them sent to you home, as you wish. One important change
from previous years is that a little company you may have heard of called
"Porsche" decided to erect some sort of convention center right smack in the
middle of Maison Blanche Campsite, more or less where we camped last year. I
haven't seen it, but the campsite size has been dramatically reduced as a
result. When speaking with Just Tickets about the situation they tell me
that if I insist on camping there that it can be possible, but the group
will not be together. They have offered us a large group of plots together
in Bleu Nord, which is in the same neighbourhood, albeit slightly further
from the entrance. This campground has showers and running water like Maison
Blanche so we'll try this
If you have already been, then you know what this is all about and you
should contact Just Tickets. If you don't, then here's a little information.
If attending Le Mans Classic, you have two options for accommodations. You
can either go the boring route and find some hotel with luxury items like
electricity and a bed with sheets, or you can go the "adventurous and fun"
route and camp. The boring route does has some advantages, but it does have
some serious handicaps as well. Being able to camp directly at the track
means that you don't have to suffer in traffic jams coming or going to the
track. There are 250,000 people attending the event, and if you time your
arrival poorly you can be 249,999 in line. Camping is actually quite
reasonably priced. Prices for this year have not yet been announced, but the
camping pass is good for 4 nights if you are so interested - from Thursday,
when we arrive, until Monday morning.
The campsite has hot and cold running water and showers. Some people even
use them! The experience is somewhat mind-blowing, as you erect your tent in
the midst of 20 DeTomasos, and your next door neighbour has brought a Jaguar
XK120, the car next to him is a 1929 Bentley Blower, and next to him,
sitting there in the dust and dirt, is a pair of Maseratis. The majority of
the cars in the campsite are classics, and people have driven a long ways to
attend this event in their pride and joy. Just walking through the campsite
is a treat
You will need to purchase a camping pass and two general entry tickets from
Just Tickets. The camping pass gets your car into the campsite and
corresponds to a numbered plot. This plot is large enough for your car and
one tent, or if your car is small you could fit two tents fairly easily. The
General Entry ticket gets you inside the racetrack for the event. Each
person attending needs a General Entry pass. You also have the option of
purchasing Grand Stand passes - this gives you a reserved seat to watch the
event, and some reserved seats have shade. Some people purchase the
grandstand option and others don't. It is certainly not mandatory as you can
see pretty well from the ground, and the track is 13+km long, so there are
plenty of good viewing points along the way.
An option that IS highly recommended is the Paddock Pass option. This gets
you into the pits during the entire weekend so that you can see the cars up
close. Many times you can speak to the mechanics, if things are quiet.. you
can speak to the owners and drivers.. you can watch the frantic preparation
in some cases, and look at the mechanical details of the amazing machines on
display.
As far as meals go, you can eat in Arnage, the town right down the street
from the campsite and watch the parade of fantastic cars roll by. You can
eat inside the track at any one of a number of restaurants. You can eat in
the campsite - there are a number of grocery stores nearby and if you bring
a propane stove like we do you can have hot meals in the campsite. We
usually combine the three options according to whim. So you can tailor the
weekend according to your preference and budget.
If you have questions, happy to help.
-------------- next part --------------
Hi all
It may seem awfully early to start planning, but the truth is that it
isn't! Camping allocation planning began back in June, when I was
contacted to see how many camping plots should be reserved for the
DeTomaso Club of Spain and friends for 2016. At the moment, there are
35 plots reserved in my name. As a reference, last year we used 29 for
our happy little group...
If you are even thinking about attending, my strong recommendation
would be to reserve tickets now. They are not requiring any deposit
until much later - last year it was January. Camping tickets ALWAYS
sell out months in advance, so if you don't have reservations made and
then you decide to attend, the only possibility is if you can find
someone else who has cancelled.
To reserve your camping plots, the procedure is the same as in past
years. You need to contact Just Tickets at [1]sales at justtickets.co.uk
and pass on your data, indicating that you are with the McCall party.
To save on shipping, we will have the tickets sent to one, single
address of a yet-to-be-determined volunteer in the UK. Tickets may then
be handed out to attendees during the pre-Le Mans Classic tour (yes,
there will be a tour, more about that later). Or you may have them sent
to you home, as you wish. One important change from previous years is
that a little company you may have heard of called "Porsche" decided to
erect some sort of convention center right smack in the middle of
Maison Blanche Campsite, more or less where we camped last year. I
haven't seen it, but the campsite size has been dramatically reduced as
a result. When speaking with Just Tickets about the situation they tell
me that if I insist on camping there that it can be possible, but the
group will not be together. They have offered us a large group of plots
together in Bleu Nord, which is in the same neighbourhood, albeit
slightly further from the entrance. This campground has showers and
running water like Maison Blanche so we'll try this
If you have already been, then you know what this is all about and you
should contact Just Tickets. If you don't, then here's a little
information.
If attending Le Mans Classic, you have two options for accommodations.
You can either go the boring route and find some hotel with luxury
items like electricity and a bed with sheets, or you can go the
"adventurous and fun" route and camp. The boring route does has some
advantages, but it does have some serious handicaps as well. Being able
to camp directly at the track means that you don't have to suffer in
traffic jams coming or going to the track. There are 250,000 people
attending the event, and if you time your arrival poorly you can be
249,999 in line. Camping is actually quite reasonably priced. Prices
for this year have not yet been announced, but the camping pass is good
for 4 nights if you are so interested - from Thursday, when we arrive,
until Monday morning.
The campsite has hot and cold running water and showers. Some people
even use them! The experience is somewhat mind-blowing, as you erect
your tent in the midst of 20 DeTomasos, and your next door neighbour
has brought a Jaguar XK120, the car next to him is a 1929 Bentley
Blower, and next to him, sitting there in the dust and dirt, is a pair
of Maseratis. The majority of the cars in the campsite are classics,
and people have driven a long ways to attend this event in their pride
and joy. Just walking through the campsite is a treat
You will need to purchase a camping pass and two general entry tickets
from Just Tickets. The camping pass gets your car into the campsite and
corresponds to a numbered plot. This plot is large enough for your car
and one tent, or if your car is small you could fit two tents fairly
easily. The General Entry ticket gets you inside the racetrack for the
event. Each person attending needs a General Entry pass. You also have
the option of purchasing Grand Stand passes - this gives you a reserved
seat to watch the event, and some reserved seats have shade. Some
people purchase the grandstand option and others don't. It is certainly
not mandatory as you can see pretty well from the ground, and the track
is 13+km long, so there are plenty of good viewing points along the
way.
An option that IS highly recommended is the Paddock Pass option. This
gets you into the pits during the entire weekend so that you can see
the cars up close. Many times you can speak to the mechanics, if things
are quiet.. you can speak to the owners and drivers.. you can watch the
frantic preparation in some cases, and look at the mechanical details
of the amazing machines on display.
As far as meals go, you can eat in Arnage, the town right down the
street from the campsite and watch the parade of fantastic cars roll
by. You can eat inside the track at any one of a number of restaurants.
You can eat in the campsite - there are a number of grocery stores
nearby and if you bring a propane stove like we do you can have hot
meals in the campsite. We usually combine the three options according
to whim. So you can tailor the weekend according to your preference and
budget.
If you have questions, happy to help.
References
1. mailto:sales at justtickets.co.uk
More information about the DeTomaso
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