Le mans 24hrs 2016

[Fatboy 18]

OK race fans, Who plans on going to France this year :)

Myself and my son Laurie are booked, Camping at Tet Rouge on the outfield for a change this year. Any Viper fans are welcome to join us for a Beer or two :England:

[Rapidrezults]

I am planning on going and meeting up with a few friends that ironically just moved to London. :)

[XSnake]

maybe

[Fatboy 18]

Well if you have not been before you are in for a treat :) Lots of stuff going on not just at the circuit.
Friday off circuit north of the town is the Classic Welcome. Info here http://www.classicbw.org/?ln=UK
There is stuff going on all week from practice sessions, parades, car shows etc

[daytonprowler]

I guess I could attend. :)

[Fatboy 18]

I guess I could attend. :)

Ha Ha, I think you know the way to our Hospitality tent :D
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5612/18671557538_e4088a5289_c.jpg

And don't forget the Guinness Bar
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3877/18673141719_01e3711b6b_c.jpg

Anybody Know this guy?
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5579/18241474123_235de82aef_c.jpg

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5493/9135009415_0a58f434f4_c.jpg

BeerMountain website is also a great site for anything to to with Le mans, campsite plans and details, what to do race week etc
http://beermountain.com/

[FLATOUT]

Maybe as well.

[shnickerlaus]

I'll be going in the car for sure hope we can grab a beer together, not sorted where I'm staying yet but looking at getting a house with about 8 others and driving in. Is there a way to get on track you know of? Or is there a static display for vipers somewhere?

[Fatboy 18]

Hi Nick, Sadly No to both those questions :(
In the past I have stayed with Team Langoustine, this is a private site, (TL lease the area from the ACO on a 2yr contract) it was a secure site on the infield of Tet Rouge corner I managed to get a few of the UK Viper guys together and stay at this site but the ACO have put the lease prices up this year and add VAT to costs so sadly for me that has moved me to a cheaper ACO site.
15436 15437 15438

If you want to drive the Viper about you need to be aware of certain no go areas. Le mans is a place for Stag weekends and not everyone there will value your car like you do. Go on youtube and search Mad Friday Videos, you will see what I mean :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQU4OUC5p04

Driving along the infield on the road called"Chemin aux Boeufs"
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Chemin+aux+B%C5%93ufs,+Le+Mans,+France/@47.9583696,0.2194323,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x47e28e5e87dcf39f:0xa98e1 12e4f2bf4f
You will be running the gauntlet of the idiots with water pistols and many think nothing of throwing beer over your car or through an open window so be very careful and keep your windows up and doors locked, they will jump out in front of you and try and hold your car down expecting you to perform a burn out! Its the same on the road that runs down the outside of the track past Maison Blanche!

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Boulevard+des+Italiens,+72100+Le+Mans,+France/@47.9528096,0.2043151,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x47e28fad319cbf47:0xf6aa6 cab771bc12c
Again Burnouts expected daily!
Just letting you know so it does not catch you out if you have never been before :)

The Road sections of the Mulsanne straight are open in between practice sessions so you can drive down the Mulsanne between Tet Rouge and Mulsanne corner and back again. The road up to Indianapolis is now closed off race week :( You used to be able to drive from mulsanne to the Porsche curves but sadly not anymore.

Now for the good stuff,
On the Friday there is just too much stuff going on
There is a new car meet at Mulsanne corner where you can park up and have coffee this caries on throughout the day.
St Saturnin North of Le mans is a big car show I have been involved with and you can register your car in a parade to the town centre underground carpark to watch the official drivers parade. the Parade from the car show to Le mans is escorted by the French Harley Davidson club, the outriders stop the traffic at junctions and roundabouts allowing the parade into LE MANS town Centre :)
Friday morning is also the Pit walk open to race fans to see cars and teams working on the cars.
In Le mans main town square below the cathedral they do normally have a selection of HYPER cars, I have been going to Le mans for years but still have no idea who is the organizer of that section or who to contact?
Early Friday evening is the Drivers Parade, best park up the car and Get the tram into town and get on the BEER and WINE......Friday evening gets rather messy!
Saturday morning, there will be classic racing going on, old Cobras and GT40s, Jags, Astons etc Park up the car and find a good place to watch the race.
Saturday Evening near the Dunlop Bridge there is normally a live band playing Oh and there are some cars going quite fast round the Circuit!

Not sure on where you intend to park but Parking Vert would be my choice

http://www.teamlangoustine.com/car-park-tickets/le-mans-car-parking-parc-vert.html
this is on the Bugatti Circuit and is secure from the general trolls.

Feel free to ask questions. :)

[Fatboy 18]

Here's Richards Video from 2014 to get you all in the mood :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlxNumzzVUM

[shnickerlaus]

Lots of good info thanks for that, I've only been to classic two ears ago which as I understand is nowhere near as busy. Burnouts are always fun last time around I think me and my mate were just going up and down town past the cafes for about an hour doing burnout after burnout. Mind you we didn't get mobbed and beer thrown on us that would put me off. I'll have a look at that link my mate this time will be bringing his p1 possibly so he will want to only go where he can be safe with it. Last time we camped and I'm not fussy but a weekend without a decent toilet and shower with a lot of beer and fast food would be a bit of a struggle.

This time the aim is to not get carried away on the road, I was testing the top speed of my old gallardo on the lovely straight long empty french toads and a few miles down the road a not so happy french police man took away my license, ban from driving in France for 4 months. Luckily had a passenger who could get me the rest of the way home as my driver.

[Fatboy 18]

Lots of good info thanks for that, I've only been to classic two ears ago which as I understand is nowhere near as busy. Burnouts are always fun last time around I think me and my mate were just going up and down town past the cafes for about an hour doing burnout after burnout. Mind you we didn't get mobbed and beer thrown on us that would put me off. I'll have a look at that link my mate this time will be bringing his p1 possibly so he will want to only go where he can be safe with it. Last time we camped and I'm not fussy but a weekend without a decent toilet and shower with a lot of beer and fast food would be a bit of a struggle.

This time the aim is to not get carried away on the road, I was testing the top speed of my old gallardo on the lovely straight long empty french toads and a few miles down the road a not so happy french police man took away my license, ban from driving in France for 4 months. Luckily had a passenger who could get me the rest of the way home as my driver.

Team Langoustine private campsite is great, Their own showers and toilets Marquee with chargers for mobile phones, tv for Eurosport, Private Bar which also serves real Ale and an English Burger Van doing Hot Pies and breakfast baps in the morning.
Sadly this year its gone up to £425 for a 7x5 mtr pitch for Tent (supply your own) and 1 car! Last year it was £375. its down to the ACO adding Vat, but I can't justify that cost this year :( Great site though :)

[Fatboy 18]

Le mans 2016 Entry List
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/2016-24h-le-mans-entry-list-revealed/

[Fatboy 18]

Hearing rumours that Viper Exchange will no longer be coming to Le mans in 2016 :( Can anyone at VE Confirm this?

I have just booked my Euro tunnel crossing :)
I will be taking my Viper to Le mans :)

[VIPER BAZ UK]

I'm All booked up and ready to go.....

[ACR Steve]

Watch out for those pesky speed cameras ............ we had almost $1,000 worth speeding tickets but worth every penny :)

[Redsled]

Hearing rumours that Viper Exchange will no longer be coming to Le mans in 2016 :( Can anyone at VE Confirm this?

I have just booked my Euro tunnel crossing :)
I will be taking my Viper to Le mans :)

http://sportscar365.com/lemans/lemans24/murphy-confirms-24h-le-mans-lineup/

[Fatboy 18]

http://sportscar365.com/lemans/lemans24/murphy-confirms-24h-le-mans-lineup/

Wow, So Ben's going to step up to LMP2! Should be good :)

[Redsled]

Wow, So Ben's going to step up to LMP2! Should be good :)

I think the GT3-R Viper was on the wait list to compete while the LMP2 was a sure thing.

[Fatboy 18]

I will Drop by the Pits and say hello :)

[Stealth]

First, thanks for the great information. Personally, I would not let my Viper near that crowd on Friday!

Second, where are all the ladies? Lots and lots of dudes! How about the French and other Euro ladies?

Third, very sad that there will be NO Vipers in LeMans. This is really the nadir from the 2014 IMSA Class Win by the Vipers in the Factory Backed team. This would not be so bad if we were talking about a Fiat 500 Abarth, but the Viper is an iconic, pavement-scorching car that has to be de-tuned and weighted to race against the Porsche, BMW and others. (Ferrari 488s hold their own from the factory (and yes, I know OEM cars do not race at LeMans)). That said, it has been clear from the season that as valiant as the efforts of VE were (and only VE and its backers were making the effort), the resources were not there to fully-compete, be it number of cars, engineering, prep, etc. So perhaps LMP 2 is fine.

Best of luck to Ben and the crew in LMP 2!

[Fatboy 18]

Dread to think what would happen if a group of girls had the misfortune to meet that lot!
Just go onto you Tube and type in Mad Friday, Its like that year on year!

You do see girls in the center of Le mans on the friday evening during the Drivers parade, but they do seem to disappear late into the evening, I normally find myself hugging a bottle of red wine :D

Its a real shame that Dodge SRT dropped the IMSA / Le mans race program.

I remember seeing the 1st "Rent a Car" RT/10s racing at le mans for the first time in 1994

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5616/15789363052_2405cd08b1_b.jpg
Le mans 1994

[shnickerlaus]

all booked up now just counting down the days, track day at Spa on the 15th, Le Mans 24 hrs then relaxing in Monaco for a few days.

[Fatboy 18]

Cool, where are you staying in Le mans?

[shnickerlaus]

staying with Speed Chills Beausejour

[Fatboy 18]

staying with Speed Chills BeausejourGood bunch, you will have fun with them :)
Make sure you pack some comfy shoes, lot of walking at Le mans :)

[shnickerlaus]

Hope it's dry so I can plant my self on a seat with a lot of cold beer and enjoy the weekend. Got to leave some rubber on the tyres after spa for plenty of burnouts ;)

[Fatboy 18]

Well, packed the car up today, its crammed, can't fit another thing in it! (apart from Laurie and I)
Bbcue, 3x3mtr gazebo, two lots of luggage, walk in tunnel tent, airbeds, chiller cold box (for Beer) Spare 12volt car battery to power the beer chiller, inflatable air beds x 2, Gaz light and stove. Tools, ear defenders, sun tan cream. Can't wait now, off to France tuesday morning :drive:

Will be down there supporting Ben and the guys at Riley with the Murphy prototype :)

[Fatboy 18]

Right thats it, off in a few hrs to France......Safe trip everyone, catch up on the forums in a weeks time :)

[Camfab]

It's been a dream of mine to make it out there for the 24. Greatest race in the world.
Have a great time!

[Arizona Vipers]

Well, packed the car up today, its crammed, can't fit another thing in it! (apart from Laurie and I)
Bbcue, 3x3mtr gazebo, two lots of luggage, walk in tunnel tent, airbeds, chiller cold box (for Beer) Spare 12volt car battery to power the beer chiller, inflatable air beds x 2, Gaz light and stove. Tools, ear defenders, sun tan cream. Can't wait now, off to France tuesday morning :drive:

Will be down there supporting Ben and the guys at Riley with the Murphy prototype :)

Wow dude, VERY COOL! I'm jealous! POST PICS!!!!!! Did you pack all of this in the Viper????

[My98RT10]

... Greatest race in the world.
Have a great time!

I disagree, this is th 24h of the Nürburgring. OK, I am biased.... lol

@Fatboy and others: have a lot of fun there! I can't believe that all of this fits into a single Viper!

[Camfab]

18191 They say a picture is worth a thousand words, agony. Wow, what an epic race. Toyota is denied what appeared to be a decisive Victory with roughly 3 1/2 minutes to go.
Ford hammers it home, although I just can't get passed the sound of the V-6, non the less an amazing accomplishment!

[ViperGTS]

+10 times to Le Mans so far - it should be on your bucket list.:D
But, the Le Mans Classic is not shabby either...:t1567:

[Camfab]

18th overall victory for Porsche. Never been a Porsche guy, but you simply can't deny these guys are the greatest race/ performance car builders in the world. Never ending passion and factory commitment. Unlike the good ol USA, which loves to come in and win and then shit can the team and get fat.
Although I have to give Chevrolet it's due, bankruptcy and all they never gave up on Team Corvette. Let's see how long Ford stays in the game. What's it been almost 50 years of bragging about the Ford GT beating Ferrari a couple of times. Hopefully this time around Ford stays in the game, other wise I'll be over 100 before they go back again.

[serpent]

18th overall victory for Porsche. Never been a Porsche guy, but you simply can't deny these guys are the greatest race/ performance car builders in the world. Never ending passion and factory commitment. Unlike the good ol USA, which loves to come in and win and then shit can the team and get fat.
Although I have to give Chevrolet it's due, bankruptcy, bailout and all they never gave up on Team Corvette. Let's see how long Ford stays in the game. What's it been almost 50 years of bragging about the Ford GT beating Ferrari a couple of times. Hopefully this time around Ford stays in the game, other wise I'll be over 100 before they go back again.
Corrected

[Camfab]

Thanks for that, I was getting all hot and wrong!

[Stealth]

1. Ford cheated massively. Not really even a win and seriously tarnishes the race and the future of the race. Very sad when this is arguably the best sportscar race in the world. This cheating and theases results should further assist NASCAR in killing off legitimate sportscar racing (on-going effort for 15 years or so).

2. Ferrari also cheated. (This nothing new since Ferrari often cheats in specs, magazine tests, etc.). The actual cars are expensive and fragile, and often break.

3. Corvette, Aston Martin and Porsche were hosed. Why spend gazillions of dollars to "compete" at LeMans if the Race Organizers (and Ford and Ferrari) will cheat by such an extent that there is no way the other cars can be a factor in the race unless all others self-destruct? The GTE Pro category was useless.

4. Viper, BMW and Lambo made a good decision in electing NOT to attend.

5. Poor Toyota (again)--a brand often praised for reliability.

[serpent]

1. Ford cheated massively. Not really even a win and seriously tarnishes the race and the future of the race. Very sad when this is arguably the best sportscar race in the world. This cheating and theases results should further assist NASCAR in killing off legitimate sportscar racing (on-going effort for 15 years or so).

2. Ferrari also cheated. (This nothing new since Ferrari often cheats in specs, magazine tests, etc.). The actual cars are expensive and fragile, and often break.

3. Corvette, Aston Martin and Porsche were hosed. Why spend gazillions of dollars to "compete" at LeMans if the Race Organizers (and Ford and Ferrari) will cheat by such an extent that there is no way the other cars can be a factor in the race unless all others self-destruct? The GTE Pro category was useless.

4. Viper, BMW and Lambo made a good decision in electing NOT to attend.

5. Poor Toyota (again)--a brand often praised for reliability.
Please provide reference with links to Ford and Ferrari cheating. I'll wait.
BoP actually saved the older car's assed (Ford and Ferrari has completely new cars that take advantage of the 2016 rules).

[Schen]

Please do whatever you can to explain how Ferrari did any wrong doing. There was none except from Ford.

Playing the system so that three of your cars go into the 24 without a single reprimand of BOP. If you win an IMSA race and you go onto the next one, you get added weight or a restriction in some sort of fashion.

Oddly enough the #67 car won Laguna. It was the worst Ford at LeMans. GTLM did not race at Detroit.

Ford has been subpar this year in IMSA. As expected from a 'new team'.

BUT. Did Ford sandbag? To show up at LeMans and magically be FIVE seconds quicker than the rest of the field? Come on. Nothing seems sketchy about that? Ferrari (and it was Risi Competitizone at that! An American team!) was the only team that could hang but I'm willing to bet they barely stayed ahead with pit stops cause the GT was walking it on the back straight. The ACO has a 7% rule which, "enforces a 7 percent performance gap between classes, which the manufacturers have alleged Ford broke during the race." According to Sportscar365. So right now everyone is waiting on that result, Ferrari and Aston Martin filed that protest. I had a feeling that going into LeMans, Ford was going to spend and do all it could to assure a victory. In reality, in my mind at least, the GT is pretty much a prototype car, not a GTLM. DP Gen I cars date back to 2003, the EcoBoost V6 was in production by 2009. It debuted in IMSA in 2014. They've had plenty of time to figure LeMans out.

Enough about that, for now though. The Ferrari team was penalized for leader lights not being correct on the side of their cars. That was a protest from Ford because Ferrari was spoiling their 1-2-3 finish. The ACO supplies the stupid things to teams, they adapted that idea before ALMS died. IMSA now uses a LED numbered system (thank god), but to penalize a team, running 2nd with under an hour left for some stupid lights is ridiculous.

And the outcome from that? Nothing. After Ferrari counter protested Ford, the ACO ended up penalizing both teams but it made no difference in the standings. Just a little bit of time and a few thousand pebbles had to be paid.

Just let them run what they brung. GTLM/GTEPro, This is all getting really ridiculous.

Did I mention it's ridiculous? I'm sure I heard the announcers say that fifty times.

--RS

[Stealth]

...keep waiting! Ferrari sandbagged, just not as bad as the FGTs.

It looked like a preordained result for Ford based on the 50th anniversary, etc.

Do you really think that the other cars, and in particular the Porsches and Corvettes, just became sucky all of a sudden? Or that after being fast in qualifying and in other races, they forgot how to race or were just victims of "old technology" all at once? Interesting how the Ferrari 488 could run a twin turbo engine but the C7R could not run the Z06 LT4 (with restrictions of course).

Further, BOPing the FGT and possibly 488 in other much lesser races is not a solution, nor is docking them 30 seconds, etc. This race was absolutely ruined in GT Pro when it could have been an awesome competition among the major brands entered (even if Viper, BMW and Lambo were not in the race).

[serpent]

^ Just like the Corvettes were running 7 liter v8s years before they actually had a 7 liter c6z?? The ferrari comes with a TTv8 from factory, and the Ford comes with a TTv6. Not sure why chevy has to go with a 5.5 NA V8.
Were you complaining last year when Corvette won 2015 24hr leman with the same 5.5 NA V8? :(

[Fatboy 18]

And were back Home, Great time at the track :) Had a real laugh on the Wednesday before the race, I was taking some Danish and Dutch fellow campers for Joy rides in my car down the road section of the track (mulsanne straight) As we came onto the road section they closed off the road behind us and then there were only a few builders trucks in front of us, these pulled over to construct the safety barriers and then an official Audi R8 Race control car passed us we then realised that we were following the pace car! So I put my lights on and started weaving the car while driving down the mulsanne :smilielol: My Danish friend was filming from inside the car and saying "We must be First" :smileys-car-driving Fast RED rules :D Can't wait to see the Video. I found out later the Race Director was in the Audi and had commented on the Viper in a meeting with other ACO officials Fame at Last! I think?

[V1P3R]

That is awesome! Definitely need some pics and video!

[Fatboy 18]

Anyone know these guys!
https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7338/27755220412_90594b5c4d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JhCL3Y)sany0076 (https://flic.kr/p/JhCL3Y) by Fatboy 18 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/90582394@N02/), on Flickr

Beer may have been involved!

https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7393/27755234442_121e2d0c43_c.jpg
https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7459/27244517243_12266557e6_c.jpg
https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7443/27755235342_1648f601c6_c.jpg

Laurie, track side
https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7616/27244589454_4054b54128_c.jpg

The car on Tet Rouge campsite
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb190/TeamGibbon/Le%20Mans%202016%20Daves%20Pics/P1070492_zpsz2wi7anw.jpg

[Fatboy 18]

Leaving the Campsite, Some of the lads gave France something to think about :United_Kingdom:

http://thumbsnap.com/s/1rAwB3tY.jpg

[steve911]

that is frickin' awesome!!!

[ACR Steve]

Amazinggggggggggggggg wouldn't want to be the guy putting the last bottle on top :)