Ireland based Le Mans goers

[FLAT 6]

Having recently moved back to N.Ireland after 15 years in England, this is the first year that I will be going from one island further west.

Any of your 'Mainland' based Le Man goers complaining about ferry availability/prices consider yourselves lucky - for us to go to France via England (to pick up with our usual convoy from Cheshire/Derbyshire) will cost £300 just to get to Holyhead!

Then we have to drive clear across Wales and England to get to Dover because all of the other more western S Coast ferries are booked up!

The alternative..

For less cost we can:

- drive at a leisurely pace to Rosslare
- get on a ferry for Roscoff, leaving 5pm on 15th
- have a big nosh and get pissed (with others going to Le Mans)
- go to bed in a cabin (hey, who knows who with!)
- wake up late the next morning approaching France
- have a large fry-up
- get off the ferry in Roscoff at 11.30 on 16th
- drive like hell to get to Le Mans for mid afternoon (Roscoff is in N West Brittany about as far away as Boulogne!)

So the question is - who else will be doing this with us and what sort of mobile car show will we manage to assemble for the dash from Roscoff to Le Mans on Thursday 16th??

Al

[London Irish]

Hi Flat 6,

Not travelling from Ireland this year (as based in the UK) but would be interested to hear if the is a regular grouping traveling from Rosslare every year as it may well be a future route.

Adrian

[Tyre Smoke]

FLAT 6 said:

(Roscoff is in N West Brittany about as far away as Boulogne!)

We're going Plymouth - Roscoff, as far as we can ascertain it's 220 miles to Le Mans from Roscoff. We reckon 3.5 hours tops.

It used to take me 4.5 hours to go to Rosslare from Limavady (via Dublin)

All in all rather a nice route I would have thought - what's your problem exactly?

[FLAT 6]

Did my post read like a gripe?? Not intended - more of an observation - the travel will indeed pretty civilised.

Ferry prices to GB are a disgrace though - same price for a 17 hour trip to France as for a quick dash from Dublin to Holyhead??

And I will miss the auto exotica on the routes down from the Channel crossings.....not sure how many Le Mans goers go via Roscoff - are there usually many??

And no-one actually travelling from Ireland has responded to my post....Hello!!! Any Pistonheaders actually in Ireland? And if so - why the hell aren't you going to Le Mans??

Still..hopefully any speed cops will place their attention on the routes down from the channel ports and leave Roscoff - Le Mans well alone!!

Al

[Tyre Smoke]

No,didn't take it as a gripe, just thought you probably had the most civilised route!

Only about 6/7 cars going the Roscoff route from here - and yes hopefully they'll leave us alone.

[London Irish]

Very few Pistonheads from Ireland. Seems to be just all the TVR guys from the North.

Agree re ferry prices on the Ireland/UK route. I am sail to France from the UK return & peak season for £50. Quotes to sail to Dublin around easter have ranged from £250 to £410!!!! Did I hear someone at the back shout CARTEL.

[markh]

Hi Allen
was thinking of going as well from NI and was trying to work out the best route.The ferry fom down south could be a good option, I sure we could get a few more of the TVR mob to go

Mark

[Shmern]

markh said:

Hi Allen was thinking of going as well from NI and was trying to work out the best route.The ferry fom down south could be a good option, I sure we could get a few more of the TVR mob to go Mark

Mark !

Myself and a couple of mates are trying to organise Le Mans ATM.

Are you going ? Are you taking the Beast ?

FLAT 6, sounds like a couple of cars from the North will be going that route at least.

Trying to sort out details this week.

Shmern

[Markh]

Hi Shmern
was thinking a trip was long overdue (haven't been for 14 years) so a convoy from over here could be good, I've been talking to Trevor and Garth and they seem up for it.
No not in the silver Chimaera have bought a new toy just before Christmas (yellow is this years silver)
Keep me posted, I would realy love to go (just hope that work dos'nt throw a spanner in the works)

Mark

[19560]

FLAT 6 said:

And I will miss company if Pat fails to turn up again

[FLAT 6]

Ah, JR, welcome.

Pat will be there having got the Le Mans bug from going to the Classic last summer...!

And this year he has the added bonus of several other N Ireland TVR chums, i.e. Mark, Garth, Trevor. That's a supercharged Chimaera (did you go through with that Mark, or have you sold it?), a 4.3 Cerbera and a rather special T350c currently with TVR Power getting a new engine.

Question is, with that kind of TVR exotica, will he want to be a passenger in an old piece of 911 classica??

Time will tell...

[19560]

No news on the supercharged Chimp yet?

[tvrmturbo]

hello am i going i dont no

[FLAT 6]

JR - think Mark has sold the Chimaera but may have bought another.

Fisherman - I don't think I've ever even seen a turbo M, never mind having the pleasure of a rip in one..get it down to Le Mans. Alternatively, arrange for someone better than Twat-in-a-hat Jamiroquai to stage a free concert. Nick Mason's big into his motors - how about a Pink Floyd come-back concert? Then you can drive an artic down and bring the fridges Dave C has left from the garage!!

Cheers

Al

[Gulliver]

Lads you could also do Rosslare-Cherbourg, it is actually closer to Le Mans (260 km)vs 360 to Roscoff, and it is a nicely tarmacked B road with less coppers, wheras Roscoff-Le Mans is a boring carriageway full of coppers..

I used to live in Cherbourg and study in Anger, that road is a blast.

Am in Dublin now, not sure about going to Le Mans.....

[FLAT 6]

Yep, I'd prefer the Cherbourg route but Irish Ferries seem to shift between one and the other and their only going to Roscoff on the Wed night/Thurs morning before Le Mans.

Need to get to Le Mans Thurs night to bag a decent camping place in Maison Blanche.

Why not going to Le Mans yerself?

Also..worrying what you say about the road from Roscoff to Le Mans - any alternatives to a well policed dual carraigeway. I was anticipating long, tree-lined straights through rolling fields of corn, wind blowing in the hair and my blonde passenger smiling across and whispering about what would happen later that evening. Reality is, I drive a tin-top and my passenger (while blonde) is an ugly git called Pat who might well smile and talk about what was going to happen that night but it would only involve beer (or wine more likely).

[Gulliver]

FLAT 6 said:

Why not going to Le Mans yerself? )

Hi FLat6,

Bought a house a few months ago, am getting married in September, and I am planning to get to the Nurburgring sometime in April, so I suppose I have to cut somewhere.......But if money was no object, I'll definitely go as a convoy with you

Am going to the Posrche track days in Mondello in March though, you ?

[19560]

Gulliver said:

am getting married in September, and I am planning to get to the Nurburgring sometime in April, so

five summer months without a good hoon is surely unacceptable and LeMans is perfectly placed in the calendar.

Jonathan

PS Dan has almost got an MoT now but has a girlfriend so progress is even slower. lol