After last years success, Ronny joined for this years trip to Le Mans.
Sunday:
Early on Sunday morning the trip to Bergen airport started. I have traveled so much by plane during my life, so the flight via Oslo to Paris became almost a routine. On the flight to Paris, we got talking to the ladies sitting behind us on the plane. Beautiful ladies (and she was VERY beautiful!).
It was a bit of a struggle to buy a ticket on the light rail to the Bastille area in Paris, but we managed. The light rail was overcrowded. When we got off the light rail and were on our way to the hotel, we passed through a street where a flea market is held twice a week. Our hotel, Hotel Richard, was very worn and everything was small. Ronny in particular had problems getting all of himself into both the shower and the toilet. But we survived.
In the evening we went to the kiosk on the other side of the street to buy water. We then went to the nearest bar on the corner where we enjoyed a glass of French beer. The trip then went to Brewdog's bar in Paris. Nice bar. Unfortunately they didn't serve hamburger here.
Finally, the trip went back to the hotel.
Monday:
We had planned sightseeing on Monday. After 100 metres, Ronny found out that we could rent bikes. Good idea, we thought; then we save both time and energy! Little did we think about how wild the traffic picture in Paris is. We were playing with our lives for every meter we cycled. We were almost hit several times and we were regularly scolded by pedestrians. But as we understood the traffic picture, things got better. We followed the river in a westerly direction and saw the Dotre Dame, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. We knew that work was going on at the cathedral of Notre Dame, but we were surprised by the guard: part of the National Guard was there with weapons easily visible. On the way to the Louvre, we missed the route a little. We cycled down the Rue de Rivoli and I thought I saw the Louvre at the end of the road. Here it was just a matter of giving it a go, I thought, and cycled for life. It was like watching the final sprint of the Tour de France! When I got to the end of the road it occurred to me that I had mistaken the buildings and I had cycled past the Louvre. Fortunately, I had only passed the Louvre by two blocks.
On the way to the Eiffel Tower, we saw the Arc de Triomphe in the distance. After seeing the Eiffel Tower, we found a small restaurant where I had a pizza with olives, a memory I have from a previous trip to Paris. By the way, I had to borrow the toilet while visiting the restaurant. Then I had to, literally, go down to the basement. The room as the stairs ended up in the memory of the back room of a restaurant run by the Italian mafia.
After this we went back to the hotel.
Tuesday:
On Tuesday we were to take the TGV train from Paris to Le Mans. We stressed again with public transport. We got on the local train, but soon found out that we were on the wrong line. We made it to the TGV train and made our way to the city of Le Mans. We found a place to put our luggage while we went to the track. But to gain access to the track, we needed the tickets, and we had not yet received them. Then I went to the campsite where I knew our tickets were, got the tickets and bet to get onto the track and pit line; I should reach the opportunities for signing! In my rush to reach the signing, I stepped over the transition that looks like a Dunlop tire.
Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the signing, but I still had the LEGO Ferrari I got for my birthday with me. I placed the car on the launch pad and got ready to take a picture. Before I knew it, there were 20 people standing around the car taking pictures. I was NOT prepared to get THAT much attention! But it was fun! I had installed an engine in the car, but the battery died after a meter. Unfortunately.
We then went on to northern Le Mans city for an overnight stay in a simple hotel. It was a bit stressful to get there, but we got there.
Wednesday:
There was not much to report from this day. We moved from the hotel to the camping camp we were going to stay at. I got to see a bit of the practice along the Porsche curves. There I met a tipsy drunk French lady who needs to go to the bathroom. Nice lady, really...
Later in the day, I finally had the honor of meeting an acquaintance from Instagram. If you like motorsport, I recommend following him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moritz.loehle/
Later in the day I tried Le Mans Ultimate with equipment from Thrustmaster. I recommend this setup!
Thursday:
This Thursday we explored the pitch and what was going on around the pitch. Among other things, we saw one of the Iron Dames' Porsches. I saw some of the training along the climb to the Dunlop transition. I was again surprised by the climb from the launch pad to the Dunlop transition. We took a tour of the Le Mans museum. I was disappointed that they didn't have the McLaren F1 on display. But I was prepared that they didn't have my favorite car on display.
I met a French couple who had been at Le Mans for the last 71 years, which I thought was incredible; they looked like 60 year olds!
We watched a bit of the evening training at the start plate before Ronny got to try out as a guide. He did a great job! He took me on the "train" – a free means of transport along the track – where he chose to use the carriage where a bunch of drunken men were having a song-filled party.
Friday:
We had a relaxing start to the day; Get up, eat breakfast, sleep again and get up when it suited us. We were visited in camp by Michelle "Michi" Gatting from the Iron Dames team. I always liked her and the rest of the team. Later in the day we went to the center of Le Mans and watched the parade. I was disappointed with this year's parade, but I think I was in a bad place. And it will take a little more to measure up to last year's parade.
When I was back at camp I had to deal with a water leak in the tent. Almost everything in the tent had become wet. We got a pleasant surprise; GP tours upgraded us to a bungalow because of the leak. Thanks! The day ended with live music in the camp.
Saturday:
The day started like the day before: relaxing; Get up, eat breakfast, sleep again and get up when it suited us. I got to the track in good time and found a good place. Unfortunately, I had to rush, so I lost my place. The view of the track was replaced with the view of a left shoulder. But after the cars had completed two laps around the track, a large part of the spectators withdrew and I got a new, good place in the stands.
Eventually it was dinner time and I had some pork ribs in the camp before Ronny and I went to a concert. The warm-up band, No money kids, hit my taste in music right in the heart. The main concert with Simple minds didn't hit me as well.
I returned to the race and watched the race at the starting plate for a while before going to find transport to Arnage. The turn called Arnage is magical at night. On the way I met a group who had a stand for Tazio magazine. A VERY handsome group. I struck up a conversation with the Belgian cuties and ordered three issues of their magazine. There will probably be more orders. If you are interested in motorsport history, I would recommend ordering magazines from taziomagazine.com .
But the rest of the trip to Arnage did not go as planned. Parts of the transport had taken a break, which meant that it took me two hours to Arnage. And by the time I got back to the launch pad, the transport between the launch pad and my camp had stopped running for the day. But walking was fine. I slept well this night.
Sunday and Monday:
The last morning in Le Mans consisted of breakfast and packing. I got a great place to watch the last part of the race at the starting plate. The tension was palpable. I saw that Ferrari and Toyota were well placed to take the top three places, but the positions among the three were uncertain. I was pleased when the result finally came; Ferrari in first and third place, while Toyota ended up in second place. In the GT3 class, the Iron Dames did well, but unfortunately there was no podium. But it was nice to see a Norwegian, Dennis Olsen, on the podium in the GT3 class.
We caught up with the celebration and trophy presentation. I showered in champagne! After the celebration we walked along the pit lane and took a few quick looks into the garages. We made our way to the Iron Dames' garage, hoping to meet the heroines! Unfortunately we had to move on before seeing any of them. But we got to meet a handsome French lady and her family; They are fans of the Iron Dames. Again I experienced the joy of meeting more people with whom I share a passion. It was extra fun to meet someone who cheers for the same team as I do. This was a good memory from the trip.
As I said, we had to move on. We took the light rail from the track to the center of Le Mans. It was at this point I realized I was deeply sad. I was sad because I was about to leave one of my greatest loves and passions: The 24 hours of Le Mans.
From the centre of Le Mans, we took a bus to Paris before we took a local bus from the bus station in Paris to our hotel, Hotel F1. I had used the same hotel chain in Le Mans the year before, and this was a nice reunion. It is a simple hotel with a high standard.
The trip home from Paris the next day was mostly painless: Train, plane, stopover in Oslo, plane, taxi and then rest.
Thank you
Like last year, this year too I have a few to thank for good memories.
GP tours: Thank you for a wonderful stay!
Justiine: It was wonderful to meet you! I hope to see you next year!
La Piccolini: The restaurant that recreated memories with olives on pizza under the Eiffel Tower.
Moritz: I finally got to meet you! I hope for many years of friendship!
Ronny: You snore and procrastinate like hell... but it was a great trip nonetheless.