Note: I have been trying to work out a way to embed video in to this web page that will be consistent across all web browsers. This is proving to be more tricky than I thought because believe it or not, there is not a "global" standard for multimedia content. So, this version of the page should work as intended with all web browsers. There was originally a version of this site with embedded video, but it was so much hassle that I have taken it down.

2007
Well that was a fun one I've got to say. I have never in my life experienced so much rain in such a short time. Still, we had a great time regardless. The race was awesome, Peugeot and Audi really battled it out all the way to the final lap. I am already looking forward to next year as Peugeot insist that this year was just a warm up. Whether or not that was just a cover up because they didn't win I don't know, but they are certainly squaring up to the challenge from Audi.

The rain though was intense and it would be hard to deny that it did take the edge off the experience. I watched the final ten laps and the finish and got absolutely soaked through to the skin.

It is worth noting that the organisation of the camping this year was mutch better and each campsite was marked out in to plots. These were controlled by onsite marshalls that did a very good job. I think it's a shame that some Brits did not respond well to being told where to camp, and reacted in very arrogant fashion. The marked out sites meant that we were able to liase with the marshalls and organise camping for our friends who were arriving later in the week. The marshalls were very happy to do this so long as you took the time out to talk to them and explain what you needed. Top marks to the ACO for sorting this out.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures and hopefully 2008 will be a little drier.

2006
Our second consecutive trip to that quiet little corner of La Sarthe in the Pays-de-la-Loire. As before, we started with an early exit from work and headed for the tunnel. A quick jaunt under the English Channel and we were on the road to Le Touquet and one of our all time favourite bars Jeans Cafe. This is probably not the best place to head the night before a long drive through France, but it gets going about 10:00pm and keeps on rocking until the small hours. Highly recommended.

This time round we decided to be civilised and go by car rather than motorbike. This meant that we had a nice relaxing journey down, but we did take everyones tents down early so we could grab space for them all before the rush started. We got to the camp site by lunch time on Wednesday and bumped in to some people we had met the year before. We also noted that we were parked adjacent to the Lotus 7 club - always a good sign. As is traditional, it rained and hailed on the Wednesday night, but by lunch time on Thursday it was unbareably hot and it stayed that way until the following Monday.

The whole event was brilliant as always and we got no sleep for about four days, but this is a small price to pay for what is basically a non-stop party. Brilliant! Below are a couple of videos that I have mercilessly compressed to make them small enough to download on a slow connection. They should give you a feel for the event (turn the sound up!). I will add more pics and vids when I get the time.

2005
Way back in the depths of winter in late 2004 a friend of mine (Simon Rahemtulla) came to me and said "Do you fancy coming to Le Mans with us next year?". Le Mans; Well I know where it is because we visited the museum there back in the autumn of 2002. I know they do some kind of motor racing because I've heard about it and I gather they even have a 24 hour motorcycle race. As it turned out, the plan was not to go along for the motorcycle race. I was rather pleased about that as it happens some time in April and is generally cold and miserable. The legendary car race is always held in June and is a far more appealing prospect. So, over a beer and a curry the decision was made: We will go to Le Mans!

This lead to a brief flurry of planning and then sitting back and relaxing. We managed to persuade someone to take our tent there by car, so we took the decision to travel by bike. This made the trip cheap and allowed us to take advantage of a particularly good deal on the Channel Tunnel. Going by bike was both a good thing and a bad thing. It was good because we got there quickly, but it was bad because we had very limited space. I'm glad we did it but I think in future we will travel by car.

We decided to go to Le Touquet on the Wednesday night straight from work. Although we got there late we still went for a walk around the town and stumbled across a great bar - Jeans Cafe. This is now amongst our favourite places and is very much part of the Le Mans experience every year. If you find yourself in that part of the world then check it out.

On Thursday morning we woke up late (with hangovers) and struggled on to the bike. It was very hot and very busy on the way down, but after about 5 hours of riding we arrived at the camp site. The welcome to Le Mans was great - cold beer, friendly faces and our tent was already up. Brilliant!

So the question is not so much "Back to the Future?", but more a case of "Back to Le Mans?". You bet. Roll on 2006!