What Grandstand (tribune) will you be in for the race???

[ATLFalconsFAN]

As we do for camping, figured a poll on which grandstand you have tickets for and will be sitting in during the race is another fun topic of discussion. Maybe an opportunity to find other members to sit with once they clear out after hour two or so.

Thanks to my good buddy Alex (Gibbo) who secured ours early on, we'll be in tribune 23, Raccordement. This will be my second time using this grandstand for the race. I like that it offers a view of pit-in, a view down the main straight, and the double chicane, and the video screen just across. Only downside as far as I'm concerned is the slow procession through there at the start.

Please feel free to share your likes and dislikes regarding the tribune you chose.

So where will you be???

[Aysedasi]

I'll be in T17 (Durand) again. I sat in this stand in 2011/12/13/14/15/16/18 and 22.

I choose it primarily for convenience, more so in previous years as we always parked in parking blanc which is pretty close. Sadly we won't be so close this year. The convenience includes clean loos and the members cafe. For most of the years I've sat in it I've been in the front row (normally opposite what was always the Audi pits). But it's really poor for photography from there because of the debris fencing and last year the stewarding was very bad (non-existent in fact) so freeloaders who were let in and people who selfishly refused to sit down ruined the view, particularly at the start, so this year I managed to snag seats for us right up the top, after spending a long time researching seat numbers etc.

Over the years I've been in:-

Dunlop - 1990 and 2007 (extra second grandstand seat!)
Raccordement (formerly Maison Blanche) - 1992 and 2017
ACO (T18) - 1993
Lagache - 2002 and 2008
Pits (T34) - 2003/04/05/06/07/08/09/10 and 2019
Tertre Rouge - 2006 (extra second grandstand seat!)

T17 remains (just) my favourite, simply because of what it offers beyond somewhere to sit and watch. I still have a very soft spot for T34 because it offers such great opportunities for photography that you just don't get anywhere else, particuarly during the night. I would be up there many years from about 2 am to 4 am with maybe no more than 20-30 people for company. But it's quite a decent walk to get to and from and the stairs up into the stand are a killer when you've run out of legs!

Of those I've tried, Raccordement is my least favourite. You need a seat high up to be able to take decent photos and they badly need to replace the seats. They're smaller than most of the others and have no backs and are quite uncomfortable after an hour or two. It is also quite a 'cramped' stand, IMO. But it's great for photography later during the night when most of the occupants have departed and you can move around freely and the view down the straight is fantastic.

[nobster]

T21 Tavano, close to the finishline, third time there, mostly been on T34 Stands before.

[Truckosaurus]

I'm assuming we are in T17 again. Hopefully not behind a pillar.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Truckosaurus

I'm assuming we are in T17 again. Hopefully not behind a pillar.

Did you mean T18 Guy? No pillars in T17......

[Truckosaurus]

You should know by now I don't know what I'm doing.... (We're always in one of T17/T18)

I've scrolled back on my phone to find the photo of our tickets, and we're row G of T17.

[Aysedasi]

Could be close - we're in L and K.

[GT6]

No grandstand for me view from outside our campsite over looking the run from dunlop through to the run to tertre rouge corner is best place to watch the start and finish and can walk from our camping spot to there in about 1 minute.

[Simmi]

We are in T11 Wimille for the second time this year. Feels like a fairly random grandstand but it's right at pit-out. You get the full sweep up into T1 in front of you and a big screen. It's the one Hanson's car ended up in the gravel in front of last year.

Spent a bit of time in there during the quieter half-COVID race week in '21 and thought we'd give it a crack after many years in T23 Ford Chicane.

It's good to have a screen, especially as we'll normally do 4+ hours in there at the start to just get the thread of the race. Being around the pitlane is good for understanding the strategy etc. You're too far away to get any of the start line atmos (was the same with T23 to be fair apart from the dudes drop out of the chopper with the flag). Also not great for panning pics. But for sure more space than T23 as Ayse says. I do have fond memories of that T23 tribune despite its faults. And there's nowhere I'd rather be for Hyperpole I reckon. You can really see which cars are on it through the final corners.

Might try somewhere else next year, but who knows how hard it'll be to snag seats.

[Richard117]

I'm there for the
So no tribune for me.

A friend once gave me a ticket for the tribune, but it's just not my cup of tea to sit during a race.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Richard117

I'm there for the
So no tribune for me.

A friend once gave me a ticket for the tribune, but it's just not my cup of tea to sit during a race.

In my years with the 'Tourists' I was much the same, my prime aim was to get photographs, however these days, like Rich, I like to sit and absorb the opening hours in a degree of comfort and not wear out the legs before the rigours of the night!

[RL17]

5th time in T23 - first sat there a few mins before Kobayashi’s record pole lap (first time at LM for main race and just came in from PH Bleu Nord camping). Great atmosphere and great 2 hours plus final qualifying

T23 -good view in above fencing- cars visible, fairly slow and not too much high speed whine. s See pit entrance - lots of incidents on entry lane kink plus see the rolling wounded arrive - plus a big screen and noise of cars as accelerate over start/finish line. Yes not best actual seat and a fair way to toilets. Not the best for pre-start but crowd thins out pretty quick so not too cramped for hours and hours.

Have sat in T16 for Classic I think - high up in stand get sun on your back - too hot. And 17or 18 at Classic - loads of standees at front and quite a lot of restrictions in view for divisions between stands.

[Victor_RO]

T17. Bought ACO membership in August for this, sniped a place as soon as the ticket sales opened... so row A.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

T17. Bought ACO membership in August for this, sniped a place as soon as the ticket sales opened... so row A.

Be ready to tell people to sit down at the star Victor!

[dwh43scale]

We have two pairs of tickets for ACO and T34 among four of us, so will mix and match. T34 much better for photography. Thinking I might just take the family DSLR (Nikon D3400) and kit lenses for a change, especially as I have two more 24 hour races in the following three weeks ...

[whitemr2]

T18 for me, but not by choice, the same for camping in BSJ not by choice. I still can't get over the fact ticketing was such a mess.

[Mal]

I am in T18 - ACO for the first time and looking forward to the experience.
Also some of our group have T17 tickets so we may swap around for some of it so I can check out that one too.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Mal

I am in T18 - ACO for the first time and looking forward to the experience.
Also some of our group have T17 tickets so we may swap around for some of it so I can check out that one too.

Don't forget to say hello then Mal..... We'll be right up the top of T17.

[Mal]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Don't forget to say hello then Mal..... We'll be right up the top of T17.

I will keep an eye out for you - it would be good to meet up.

[dblue]

11th year for us - in a row (covid not withstanding)
2010 we had just GE tickets but since then we've added Tribune tickets in various stands. Wollek first (On an epically cold and wet year - no cover, then T34. Seems the most prestigious and its great in many respects. We were front row but the pits are not so easy to see even from there and its a long walk and steep climb. Since then we've been in T15, T16, Dunlop, T19 and now T21 this year. See how it goes

[PascaLM]

Originally Posted by dblue

11th year for us - in a row (covid not withstanding)
2010 we had just GE tickets but since then we've added Tribune tickets in various stands. Wollek first (On an epically cold and wet year - no cover, then T34. Seems the most prestigious and its great in many respects. We were front row but the pits are not so easy to see even from there and its a long walk and steep climb. Since then we've been in T15, T16, Dunlop, T19 and now T21 this year. See how it goes

I have kept the same place in the Lagache stand (Michelin) since 1995.
Welcome on our forum, dblue !
Please join us at our meeting :
https://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157929

[dblue]

Originally Posted by PascaLM

I have kept the same place in the Lagache stand (Michelin) since 1995.
Welcome on our forum, dblue !
Please join us at our meeting :
https://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157929

thanks Pascal, will do my best to get along and bring some of our mob too.

[whitemr2]

Originally Posted by whitemr2

T18 for me, but not by choice, the same for camping in BSJ not by choice. I still can't get over the fact ticketing was such a mess.

Just found out while printing my tickets I got T19 not sure how that happened.......... It is definitely not by choice.