[LM24] What Do You Really Miss.....? (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly....)

[Aysedasi]

This is one for the Le Mans veterans. Prompted by a couple of nostalgic posts on a super-quiet forum elsewhere () what do you miss about Le Mans that you used to really enjoy? Not intended to be an exercise in being critical, as many good things have happened over the course of my 35 visits to the race, but those things that you remember that are no longer a part of a Le Mans trip....

I'll start...

• The view along the start/finish straight (and elsewhere) without debris fencing
• The straight run down to the Esses from the Dunlop Bridge
• The Grand Marnier crepe stall (if it's still there, I haven't found it for a few years)
• Well-designed and collectible tickets

[ATLFalconsFAN]

Last time I was there was in 2017. I do recall seeing the Grand Marnier crepe stall behind the Dunlop grandstand nearby the carnival rides and the candy stall.

[The Fat Clerk]

The Good Things:
As a Marshal - the Mulsanne Straight before the Chicanes were put in, boy was that quick.
As a speccie - The old stand above the Pits, we'd get there @ silly o'clock and position ourselves above Derek Bells Pit and wouldn't leave until our bladders forced us

The Bad
The years before Radio Le Mans, the circuit commentary was in French and once an hour there'd be a quick bit in English, which was hard to catch.

[Richard117]

Scrutineering at Jacobins. Place de Republique is in my opinion too busy and hot. The trees at Jacobins were nice too hide for the sun or rain and you had the chance too see the cars from very close.

Too close for some locals because over the years I saw more of them touching the cars, which is an absolute no-go for me. So I understand the reason why they moved away.

[GT6]

Miss the gran marnier crepes for sure
The old days before Corporte hospitality when all areas were open to everyone/
The rows of model shops behind the pit straight, i know a few left but a fraction of old
The old village.
The smell of the place, food/smoke/unmentionable lavatories
Friends that are no longer with us

[Aysedasi]

The Fat Clerk has mentioned RLM, so I should say that I miss -

• The banter of the early RLM years between Trussers and Ian Titchmarsh
• The similarly excellent banter, often during the night, between Jim Roller and Sam Collins

[Aysedasi]

I've changed the thread title as it's inevitable that people are contrasting the good and the not so good....

Into the good side of the scales for me go -

• Free access to the museum with your entry ticket
• The re-profiling of Tertre Rouge and the spectator bank inside the corner
• The superb spectator bank at Indianapolis
• Decent loos (which remove the need to carry a loo-roll in your backpack!)
• The glass bottle ban - we no longer have a sea of green bottles in front of the grandstands on Sunday!)

[GT6]

Certainly the improvement in the litter over the last few years, by sunday morning the mess in the area oposite the pits was dangerous. The musuem entry is another improvement and the large screens so much better than those old post with a black ad white screen showing some limited position data, anyone else remember them.

[Aysedasi]

Ah yes, the big screens, I should have mentioned those.....

[Adam43]

I remember a giant screen, between Ford chicane and Maison Blanche, that when up close you could just see the red, green and blue bulbs. Proper house lamp bulbs. Amazing tech! Round 1990 ish I guess.

(Great thread BTW)

[Aysedasi]

Yeah, you had to be a decent distance from those early big screens to be able to see anything!

[Truckosaurus]

I miss the viewing from the section on the inside of the run from the Esses to Tetre Rouge before they built the current spectator banking.

It used to be tree lined and the cars braked much harder than they do now, so was a great spot for watching up close and seeing the brakes glow. It was almost a 'secret' viewing point.

The old 'village' in the centre of the track. Much more of a warren of stalls selling food and tat, not the huge plaza you have now.

I also miss the variety of food you used to get, there's still the odd tartiflette stand but you used to have loads of different options not the same corporate beer and sandwich stands.

The tram line has taken away the fun task of trying to get back to the circuit after the Friday night trip to the town. Drunkenly wandering around the city streets to get to a main road to try and flag down a taxi.

[kpkorsager]

I miss the acces to the outside of Porsche corner.

reasonable prices at the food vendors

[Mike E]

I miss variety on track. Between this year and next that should be remedied.

I miss the trees they cut down at Arnage to put the roundabout in. It feels very bare now.

I miss the ludicrous sight of people camping on gravel on the side of the road going past Expo parking. A road which is busy 24/7 for a week. Absolute misery and the true spirit of endurance!

Every time they build more corporate hospitality I miss whatever view has disappeared.

But on the whole, I think the experience has steadily improved in the time I have been going (since 2010).
- Much better spectator areas at Indianapolis, Arnage and Mulsanne.
- The pedestrian bridge at the main entrance so you don't get run over between the gate and the track.
- More tree planting at the top end of the circuit.
- Better toilets, but still work to do here.
- Opening the track for walking, cycling, scootering around.
- Free museum entry for race ticket holders. I don't think this was always the case?

[Simmi]

Definitely agree on the variety. Last year's event saw ZERO new machinery introduced for the 24 - which when you think about what the race represents and its history is a pretty sad stat.

Like Mike said though, over the next two years we'll be treated to hopefully 18 or so new cars making their debuts in the big race.

[kdr]

I miss Tomas Enge's qualifying laps at 11.50pm on Thursday night..

[Aysedasi]

Good point. I miss proper qualifying - 6 hours of it. Not this poxy Hyperpole nonsense....

[GT6]

yes agree i much preferred the old quali sessions

[Mike E]

Me too

[9203RW]

Great idea for a thread. First visit was in 1978 and this year will be my 40th, I think. Apart from Group C, especially in the late '80s, the thing I miss most is the view without catch fencing being in the way everywhere, especially opposite the pits and on the outside from the Esses to Tertre Rouge; and the trees that have been cut down in the area of the Esses; and the old sweeping Dunlop Curve and the run down to the old Esses. Like a sore thumb, I miss the squalor of the old facilities and the need to find a speaker for the hourly English language update. Radio Le Mans must be the greatest single improvement since I started going.

[kdr]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Good point. I miss proper qualifying - 6 hours of it. Not this poxy Hyperpole nonsense....

Just tried to get my head round the timetable - free practice, qualifying practice, free practice, hyperpole, more free practice....its like an F1 sprint weekend..

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by The Fat Clerk

The Good Things:As a Marshal - the Mulsanne Straight before the Chicanes were put in, boy was that quick.
As a speccie - The old stand above the Pits, we'd get there @ silly o'clock and position ourselves above Derek Bells Pit and wouldn't leave until our bladders forced us.The Bad:The years before Radio Le Mans, the circuit commentary was in French and once an hour there'd be a quick bit in English, which was hard to catch.

Agreed, even for the french commentary, Le Mans' official speaker was Jean Charles Laurens aka La voix des 24 Heures du Mans.

You can add the Dunlop curve without the stupid chicane and the Dutray watch made by Brillié instead of Tissot or even worse Seiko and Rolex.
https://www.24h-lemans.com/fr/actual...-du-mans-53976 Those were the days!

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by Richard117

Scrutineering at Jacobins.

Agreed. But only one part of scrutineering was made at place des Jacobins, its called "pesage" in France. Then you had to go to the circuit and satisfy several operations. The most famous was to make a U-turn between the walls… No sport proto could clear that and it was fun to see the team mechanics cheating, pushing the car sideways to obtain the stamp on the official sticker. In principle, no one was allowed to watch when a works team was making its U-turn, specially if a french team…
Old farts, me for instance, remember that at the end of the first practice session we could stop for a moment at the end of the Mulsanne straight to have the headlamps adjusted. It was the S.E.V.Marchal area, Cibié was in a different area. Strange enough the U-turn and headlamp story are hard to be found and pics too. My memory? Not yet!

[Gerard C]

If those work
http://autoetcollections.free.fr/aut...74/mans74.html
https://www.24h-en-piste.com/fr/Affi...1975&Numero=33

[kdr]

On the new things good side, i do kinda like the flag drop with that massive French military helicopter swooping up the grandstand straight, and i'm not sure when it started - but i LOVE them playing Also Sprach Zarathustra as the cars roll thru Karting and the Ford Chicane at the race start.