Aysedasi's Le Mans

As I previously related, last year I finally joined the Automobile Club de L’Ouest, and was very pleased with what I got for my money.  Naturally enough then, I had renewed my membership for 1998, and I was keen to get over to the ACO office at the back of the Village to pick up my programme and Liste des Engagés, together with the various posters and other bits and pieces to which I was entitled.  So Peter and I made our way through to the Village via the pedestrian underpass under the start and finish straight.

Unlike last year there was no queue to speak of at the offices and I was soon heading away with the necessary bits and pieces, the intention being to renew my acquaintance with "my building" at the end of the straight for some serious photographs of the competing cars.  I had obtained a guest pass for Peter and we both strode up to the gate to the Welcome Area.  I was astonished to be told that unlike last year my ACO membership did not give me free entry to the Welcome Area.  I was directed to the small ACO office next door where I was told that this year, anyone could gain entry to the Welcome Area, on payment of an additional 120 francs!  

I was extremely disappointed on two counts.  Firstly, that we were going to have to cough up another 120 francs each to get into the Welcome Area this year (although I never had any doubt that the extra outlay was worth it, for the sensational view and the availability of refreshments and clean toilet facilities as well), and secondly that this meant that all and sundry could now get in (whether or not they were members of the ACO), so it was likely to be that much harder to get a decent view of the start and finish straight from up there.  There was for a fleeting moment, the thought that perhaps it was no longer worth the outlay of joining the ACO, if I could get into the Welcome Area for 120 francs without being a member, but I soon remembered the Liste des Engagés and the final results and pit stop details which would be provided in due course.  That information was worth its weight in gold to me as a Le Mans addict...

So Peter and I duly bought our extra tickets for the Welcome Area and headed on in (at about 3.45 p.m.), only to be met by another disappointment.  We made a bee-line direct for “my building”, only to find it was closed to the public (in favour of the media), but fortunately only until 4.00 p.m.  I was determined to hang around and make sure that I was one of the first members of the public up onto the roof.  Fortunately, the ACO official manning the gate obviously got tired of waiting and wandered off a few minutes later, allowing Peter and I and one or two others to gain access to the roof and that coveted view.  I had experienced the view last year of course, but I still had to pause to drink it in once again, before getting out my camera.  The view was as sensational as I remembered it from last year and I was determined to spend as much time as I could getting some decent pictures of the cars and of the surrounding tribunes and grandstands.  I snapped away, getting as many shots as I could, not only of the cars coming past on the start/finish straight, but also as they came out of the pits, as it was the perfect opportunity to get close up shots of the cars from a rather different angle to that we usually see, at a time when they were moving very slowly with no bloody debris fencing in the way!

This year, I also tried to take one or two more scenic shots, taking in the grandstands (particularly the A.C.O. grandstand), the tribunes and the surrounding area, not just concentrating on the cars, but making sure that there was a car or two in each of the pictures.  Throughout our time on the roof which was over a hour with the blessing of some decent sunshine as well, people tended to wander up, spend a few minutes admiring the scene and then wander down again.  I couldn’t believe how few people seemed interested in the view - I can only suppose they just didn’t realise they were allowed up there - to be honest, I only found out by chance last year!