France, Le Mans 24 Hour Race

For those people that like motorsport and also like atmosphere and a holiday feel, Le Mans is for you. We started our trip at 4am on Thursday 15th June 2006 (my 50th birthday). We crossed the Channel at Dover and landed in Calais at 6.15am French time. We headed west towards Le Mans and spent a pleasant 5 hours in convoy behind my sons Defender. We took all the back roads and soaked up the full atmosphere of France and all those Ferrari's, Porsches and Lotus's that overtook us on the way down. We booked with MRI (Motor Racing International), and our campsite was right next to the track! It had excellent washing and toiletry facilities, and there was a food bar on the camp itself. The organisation of the 24 hour race was great. There is a shopping village, a radio Le Mans, numerous bars and food stands, and of course car displays everywhere. There is also a fairground with rides, and the famous big wheel that everyone should go on just to see the fabulous views from the top.

The race itself starts at 4pm French time on the Saturday, and it finishes at 4pm French time on the Sunday. In between this, the noise and the Le mans community never stops. It is fascinating to see pit stops at night and the glow of the disc pads as they break to take the corners. Access in and out of the campsites is good on most of the days, and on the Friday night the police close some of the roads off and allow all the boy racers to charge up and down, do doughnuts and burn their tyres out (a very spectacular thing to see and be a part of).

All in all, I would rate this as the best motorsport venue, and I have been to Monaco, Spain, France, Germany and Italy, as well as every UK race track. This was my first visit back to Le Mans in 22 years, but nothing has changed, and everything has improved. Roll on next year. I certainly will return.