This was our second visit to Le Mans for the wonderful 24 Hour WEC motorcycle race. Brian rides down from the UK and I drive up from Italy. The WEC consists of four races per year varying from 8 up to 24 hours and in my view it is one of the hardest motorcycle world championships for man and machine, see more details here.
Brian the Barnes and I both love France and we visit several times per year. I try to visit both the Le Mans as well as the Bol D’Or races (April and September), the Bol is perhaps my fave because it is MUCH closer to home and September in the south of France is generally warm and sunny, Le Mans in April no.
Here are my observations from Le Mans 2024….
- Weather was dry (we got soaked last year) but really cold. During the race, early Sunday morning the temperature was down to 1 or 2 degrees so how they managed to ride fast at that temperature I do not know!
- Circuit and organisation PERFECT. Indeed they continue to improve the circuit every year so full marks for the whole organisation.
- The city of Le Mans is wonderful but they have some real social problems. I have never seen so many beggars on the street as well as drug dealers and for the first time in my life we were approached at a supermarket by a very tall, well dressed guy speaking excellent English asking if we wanted to get high!!! Of course he had 2 bodyguards nearby just in case and who knows what weapons these guys carry. Awful.
- My journey both ways was great despite the very cold and wet weather. I went by Vito with a Yamaha inside and wow I am happy that I did as I drove 1800 kms each way through cold, rain, strong winds and even snow so it was NOT a trip for the bike for sure.
- I booked our hotel and I caught a major cold this time. The Ibis Style South Station was anything but stylish and in fact horrible. Sorry Brian!! We did alot of walking as we were at least a kilometre from the centre. We were next to a railway station and the area outside the hotel was always full of folks that you did not really want to meet, to say the least.
- The 24 hour race was wonderful, as ever. YART came in 3rd behind the SERT Suzuki and the factory BMW. BUT early in the race the SERT rider slid off just after the pit land entrance. He picked the bike up and then proceeded to ride THE WRONG WAY alongside the track, then made a U turn and rode into the pits. One of the golden rules of any track racing that the track is one way only. So following a stewards enquiry his penalty was……..nothing. Incredible.
A few photos follow.
Leave a Reply