[LM24] Which Grandstand Did You Use (and Why)?

[Aysedasi]

Sparked by a question from Peter elsewhere..... If you had a grandstand ticket this year, which stand were you in and why did you choose it? (If you don't sit in a grandstand, you can pass on this one..... (Simon)....

If you had more than one grandstand ticket, you can select more than one option.

[CTD]

T17 - Durand.
Loving the service of having excellent toilet facilities and bar just behind the grandstand. Not forgetting access to power, tv screens, live timing good view to most of the pits and a big screen close enough to read the timing on that as well!
Of course sitting there with Christopher for the beginning and end of the race, was what started it all, so I hope to continue this tradition, also should the GS change .

[Victor_RO]

Okay, I just voted for this year, but in 5 years at Le Mans I actually sat during the race in 4 different grandstands.

2013 - Lagache (T19)
2014 - Raccordement (T23)
2017 - Durand (T17)
2018 - Sommer (T16)

It's just a matter of availability for me, and maybe having a decent and different view each time for the start.

[Aysedasi]

That's a good selection there Victor. If you had a free choice between those, which would you choose again? Or are you looking for another change next time?

[Victor_RO]

I honestly don't know. I tend to watch from all over the place in practice, so it's pretty random. Guess I just make that decision on the spot when I'm on the ticket website.

[isynge]

Pretty committed to T5 (Dunlop). Like the cars moving around, decent view of a big screen, and a bit of shelter from weather all add up to us going back to it on a fairly consistent basis.

Did Panorama one year, quite enjoyed it in that you go get to see a lot of the track from there - but it is a bit exposed.

Enjoyed T34 for the view down into the pits, but it, like Lagache where I sat when I first went in 2007, suffers from it looking onto an only okay bit of track - sure there's excitement around the start/finish bit, but otherwise it's not perhaps the most engaging view.

[whitemr2]

T20 Leonard, Just because I don't like changes, I even have the same seat every year. Close to start finish (well not anymore), enjoy seeing the cars coming from the Ford chicane, love to see Toyota garage, like the podium ceremony up close and just in reach of a screen although I use binoculairs. If a screen was closer I would be to much tempted to watch the screen the whole time, wich I don't like. If I wanted to watch the screen I will stay home. If and I say if I would change it would probably be near the Dunlopp.

[Simmi]

I've been in Raccordement (T23) for I think five years now.

Upsides. Ticks quite a few boxes (screen/shelter). I also like to watch there for a good few hours at the start as being at pit-in really helps you get the flow of the race - especially in times of more nuanced race strategy.

Downsides. Not very close to any toilet. You've got to basically walk all the way back to the pedestrian tunnel. Although I just find the closest wall increasingly. Also seems to be more cramped in there than some stands and also no backs to the seats. You also don't get any of the start atmosphere as you're too far away really.

[Victor_RO]

One recommendation from sitting in 16 and 23 though: if a rainy race is expected, make sure you haven't booked a seat in the first 5-6 rows. This year I could feel the drizzle in the breeze in the first hour of the race, in 2014 when the skies opened in the second hour rows from about F down all got SOAKED.

[Aysedasi]

I think it's much the same in the first few rows of all the startline grandstands. We're front row in T17 but we've got wet a few times in there for sure!

[Mal]

Last four years for us:
T23
T4
T11
And this year T12

[Kpy]

T17, for all the reasons CTD posted above.

Although this year the catering facilities let themselves down. They ran out of croissants and pains au chocolat by around 8.00am, sandwiches by late afternoon on race day and the bar in T18 ran out of beer long before the end of the race. We members pay for these facilities, we should be treated better.

[nobster]

always had T34, tried out T5 Dunlop two years ago and now for two years in a row it has been T21 tavano. I like the view and we are right on the finish line and pit entry.

[Bentley03]

Over the years, I've had a seats in T23, T20, T19, T18, T17, T5 and T1.

Of all of them, T17 gets the nod over T18 because it is pillarless, so no risk of a partially obscured view if you are unlucky with your seat allocation.

Watching the build up to the race is important to me, which I can do from T17. And, for the first few hours of the race, I try to avoid putting on my headphones and listening to RLM (once they're on, that's me hooked until the end of the 24 hours), using the big screen opposite, live timing app, pitlane traffic, and the little bit of the track we can see, to follow the race. T17/T18 also have the best 'facilities' on the circuit (toilets, food and drink outlets, indoor timing screens etc).

That said, I like T23 (where we were last year) for once the race is underway. You feel very involved there, with the Ford chicane, pit in, and a view all the way up the pit straight until the cars turn right to go up to Dunlop. There's also a big screen opposite. But, because the seats have no back supports, it becomes very uncomfortable after a while, so if you intend to stay in your grandstand seat for long periods, T23 may not be the best choice.

As a non-photographer, T34 has no appeal for me whatsoever. I know it's popular with many, but you can't see into the pits, you are a long way from a big screen (unless you are at the 'pit in' end of the stand), and if it's a hot one, you will very quickly bake in your seat once the race has started, due to the trajectory of the sun. It has always baffled me why people choose it, especially in those years when the sun forces people out of their seats row by row as it engulfs the grandstand, but that's just my own personal opinion.

For a first visit, I think a seat in a stand opposite the pits is the way to go (any from T21-T16). It's also good to know you have the sanctuary of a grandstand seat if you really need it (inclement weather, or simply not feeling too good). But, there's absolutely no doubt that the best viewing areas on the circuit have no grandstands, Arnage/Indianapolis, Mulsanne, Tertre Rouge, and the bank at the bottom of the esses, don't miss out on these areas simply because you have bought a grandstand seat and feel you should make full use of it.

[valedave]

Great thread! Thought a lot about various grandstands this year and which one would be best.

I was in T34 this year, after borrowing Walter's ticket there last year for the last six hours. Last year it was very handy as it's just above the media centre so very quick to hop back down and do some work. This year I didn't have that access though, unfortunately. Again, unfortunately, I also didn't find out about not having access until long after the ticket was purchased and paid for

It's brilliant for the start, and also for the finish, as the podium is right up there in front of you. It's really great to not have to fight your way through the crowds to get a good position for the start of the race – or sit there hours beforehand (as I have had to do in the past without a tribune ticket).

During the race, however, I found myself missing seeing the cars when the drivers have a bit of work to do, for want of a better phrase. It's just foot down out of the Ford Chicane and line it up for Dunlop. I could see Lotterer run wide at the start, for instance, but then they're already out of sight before anything "happens". It would have been the same for Lapierre/Trummer's incident in 2017 I imagine (I wasn't in the grandstand at that time).

This year it was *really* cold up there, with a biting wind from the south, particularly on Sunday morning. I had to wrap up in a jumper, but when I headed off for a drink I was suddenly boiling in the sun.

Question for any T34 veterans – is there a bar there or any toilet facilities? I didn't need to use them really, but I did wonder...

I sat in Raccordement for the end of Q3 and that was quite promising, although I found the view a little odd to be honest. Plus, the seats weren't that great and I couldn't imagine sitting there for hours or if the grandstand were packed.

Q2 and first half of Q3 I watched from Indianapolis – now the best place to watch the cars at the circuit IMO. You can see the cars at full chat and on the absolute limit into that right-hander (as Sven Müller showed when he lost it in Q3 right in front of me) or at their slowest as they turn in to Arnage – all within a five-minute walk. Overnight during the race I was at Tertre Rouge, which was also brilliant.

I think I'd like to try Dunlop in the future, or maybe T17 seeing as it seems to be quite popular here. Are tickets for T17 easy to get?

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by valedave

Question for any T34 veterans – is there a bar there or any toilet facilities? I didn't need to use them really, but I did wonder...

There are toilets - if you go out at the top and then go down one floor straight away (i.e. you don't walk out across the walkway), you'll find the toilets. As to a bar - not that I'm aware of, as everything below is ACO or media dominated with no access to the great unwashed. Bernard and Dominique will know more, they're T34 regulars.

I sat in T34 every year between about 2004 or 2005 and 2010. But James is right, it's a stand for the photographers as it is one of the few remaining places around the circuit where you can photograph the cars without debris fencing in the way. It can get very hot - I've had a front row seat before now and have stuck it out in it for several hours in baking sun. You can't see directly into the pits, however with the advent of GoPros, selfie sticks and the like, it's much easier to get shots of the cars in the pits than it used to be. Now that I'm not quite as fanatical about photographing the cars (badly) as I used to be, I probably wouldn't choose T34, but I did enjoy watching Q2 from there this year.

Am I right though in recalling that T34 is going to be changed/bulldozed - or something over the next couple of years?

Raccordement is definitely an interesting alternative, but it does have the drawback of limited space per occupant and uncomfortable seats. Again, if you're a photographer, you need to get a seat nearer the top of the stand as the lower 2/3rds of the seats won't enable you to get above the fencing. But it does afford great views, particularly up the straight. It is good to spend an hour or two in there in the wee small hours - as I did way back in 1992 when it will be half or more empty. (T34 has that advantage too - I've been in there at 3 or 4 am in the race with only 2-3 other people for company in the whole stand).

[GT6]

I thought t34 was the one being knocked down this year in the redevelopment plan

[Aysedasi]

Yep, so it's said......

[batmobile]

Grandstand 18.
Same reasons than CTD and we are just in front of the major GT teams pits!!

[Giba]

Have sat in T20 for all 4 years now, chose it the first year as it was the nearest grandstand to the finish line and like to get a photo of the winners crossing it.

One day, I'll move to a different grandstand but I'm happy with where I am

[dwh43scale]

Long term habitué of T17 but have split our party with T34 for a different perspective in the last couple of years. Rather like the look of T23 next year for a change but T17 has a lot going for it when / if it rains ...
Spending more time out and about taking photos these days, so for start / finish of race only it starts to look pricey.

[isynge]

Originally Posted by dwh43scale

Long term habitué of T17 but have split our party with T34 for a different perspective in the last couple of years. Rather like the look of T23 next year for a change but T17 has a lot going for it when / if it rains ...
Spending more time out and about taking photos these days, so for start / finish of race only it starts to look pricey.

I do wince every once in a while when I look at what grandstands cost, but it makes the start and finish a lot easier, and means I spend the much busier times around the circuit with a guaranteed seat and makes the wandering time after midnight and around dawn (where I'll gravitate towards the inside of Tertre Rouge) much more pleasurable as you're not quite having to club your way through vast crowds.

[Aysedasi]

I must admit, I've always considered the grandstand seat well worth the money, particularly at the start of the race, some years for an hour or two as night draws on and at the end of the race. I wouldn't be without it now.

[eps]

We've had a few over the years...

Benoit (no longer exists) - had wooden seats!

T17, T18 mostly. As others have said T17 for the lack of pillars and the great facilities, slightly cheaper amenities and if the weather gets bad (which of course it never does!!!) you can hunker down inside if you really feel the need and watch on the screens. There are showers, although we haven't used those ones for a few years now - the ones on most campsites seem to be kept clean, I'm sure ours were cleaned 3 or 4 times a day this year!

We've been in Dunlop - although that was 2007 when the rain gods were truly busy and the first year the Danes came en masse. In addition we were 3 fields 'in' on Beausejour and it was a mudbath. Never again!!

We've had seats in the pits grandstand - you get great overhead views of pitstops from there.

I must admit I like the Test Day and practice sessions where you can sit in various grandstands and try them out. I've been in the Mobil grandstand and the one that is/was open air at the Ford Chicane.

[Mountain Man]

I went in a fair number of them during practice, but had Dunlop for the race. Personally T34 was by far my favourite.