Le Mans 24hr

[John Stenhouse]

Suzuki endurance squad France number 30 leading by 7 laps from Kawasaki SRC from Kawasaki team Bollinger swiss squad just finished. Dry all weekend been lovely

[GavD]

Watched it on eurosport, looked like great fun. They kept saying that eurosport is going to pump alot of money into the endurance series to up it's profile a bit.  Should be good.

I can't wait for my return to Paul Ricard which is planned for 2016. I'd be going this year if it wasn't for other things already planned.

[Chris Canning]

First time in close on 20 years that we didn't go this but the return of the Bol is this year!! we booked hotels last September I hear apart from the big bucks hotels you can't get a booking for love nor money the original plan was to dawdle down to the Ricard but now we are going to Misano first for the GP and then over the mountains to Florence/Pisa and round on the autopista to Sanary.

As for bike's on the box up at 6 yesterday for watch Le-Mans then WSB from Holland then BSB from Brands and the World Motocross from Italy and then the Moto GP so I still have square eyes but still a great day.  :icon_wink:

[GavD]

Hotels???

Surely you only get the full Bol D'or experience if you camp along the Mistral straight with all the other drunk brits!!

Got all the racing on the Sky+ box waiting for me.

[Chris Canning]

Clearly you haven't been to a 24 hour in some time the days of wandering around at night stepping over the piss heads who have conked out on the floor are long gone they check your bags when going in and welcome you with sniffer dogs we still camp!! it's called a 3 star hotel.

Having gone to the last one in 99 having been at Assen the previous weekend for the WSB and then going to the first GP at Valencia after the Bol and flatly refusing to go Magny Cours like so many others September is a return to Mecca  :icon_wink:

[nickjtc]

You guys are SO lucky being so close to the action. All we get on TV here is blokes going round and round in (ever decreasing?) circles in big noisy four wheelers.

[GavD]

I went to the 95 & 99 at Ricard, then 2000 & '01 at Magny. We camped at all of them with no problem.

I can see the attraction of staying in a nice hotel, but then you have to enjoy the action alcohol free as you have to ride in and out of the track to get to it. I'll be getting v close to 50 by the time I return, so I'm not so keen to camp, but I'm more keen to have the whole experience again.

I look forward to a full report come sept Chris.

[Mustang]

You guys are SO lucky being so close to the action. All we get on TV here is blokes going round and round in (ever decreasing?) circles in big noisy four wheelers.

if you have , satelite tv there is this

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/238/Motorcycles/Racing-TV-Listings.aspx

[Chris Canning]

I went to the 95 & 99 at Ricard, then 2000 & '01 at Magny. We camped at all of them with no problem.

I can see the attraction of staying in a nice hotel, but then you have to enjoy the action alcohol free as you have to ride in and out of the track to get to it. I'll be getting v close to 50 by the time I return, so I'm not so keen to camp, but I'm more keen to have the whole experience again.

I look forward to a full report come sept Chris.

Good job you put some dates and age the Bol was at Le-Mans before it went to the Ricard I did my first in 74 so by my poor maths reckons when I was camping smashed out of my brains you'd still be a junior school  don't think because I hotel it now I haven't been there done that in fact from 74 to 79 and then the Bol when it was at the Ricard in 85 they stopped the race because of the fog so we left the tents up and everything in them put out bike gear on and left inside 10 minutes and rode back to Le-Havre the same day.

But the bad news the whole endurance thing has been sanitised the piss heads the broken glass etc is all gone hence why I said in the post they check your gear when going in.

Le-Mans has changed beyond recognition all of the above plus the fact there's no need to ride a bike to the track the tram takes you from the town center straight to the front gate but it stops at 12 O'clock it took my mate over 3 hours to walk back  when he missed it.

They have even managed to stop most of the theft 

[GavD]

I bet those were great races back then. Another era.

So you can't strap a crate of french stubbies to the back seat before you go in? Sacre Bleu!! 

I seem to remember that Paul Ricard is a bit remote, so there's probably not much chance of the Tram thing down there. I still think I'd wanna camp at the circuit, but it'd be good to get your thoughts on it once you're back in Sept. Maybe a pic or 2 to see what Mr Ecclestone has done to the place?

[Chris Canning]

Just like you want to get pissed I want ride up to the track from Bandol on the night in 99 it was Armageddon 

What I forgot to say on Eurosport they were saying that at long last they are going to televise the Suzuka 8 hour which for me has always been the Holy Grail.

[GavD]

Whilst I do enjoy the odd  or 2, I also wanna see the on track action, and camping gives you the option to come and go as you please.

I was lucky enough in 99 to be stood at the loop of track at the end of the Mistral straight, in the middle of the night when the on track carnage happened due to dropped oil. I'm thinking it was somewhere near midnight but not entirely sure.

[Bixxer Bob]

Just like you want to get pissed I want ride up to the track from Bandol on the night in 99 it was Armageddon 

What I forgot to say on Eurosport they were saying that at long last they are going to televise the Suzuka 8 hour which for me has always been the Holy Grail.

you got a date for the 8hr Chris?

[Chris Canning]

July 26 which quite early normally it's august because the Japanese factories stop all Moto GP and WSB development around the 8 hour date it's that important to them.

[Bixxer Bob]

Ta, I'll watch out for it