On the second weekend of June, the Sarthe takes in close to three hundred thousand people around a thirteen-and-a-half-kilometre circuit. It is the oldest endurance race in the world, and one of the few sporting events where the crowd stays on site for twenty-four hours straight.
A circuit that is not only a circuit
The 24 Hours layout uses departmental roads closed for the occasion: the Mulsanne straight is an ordinary public road for the rest of the year. The surroundings change completely during race week.
Access is filtered by ticket colour, and the outer car parks fill well before the start. Plenty of spectators end up walking several kilometres, camping gear included.
Start on Saturday, finish on Sunday
The start is given in the middle of Saturday afternoon and the finish comes at the same hour on Sunday. Between the two there is a whole night, and many of our clients do not stay to the end.
That is where a chauffeur waiting at the agreed time changes everything: you leave the circuit when you decide to, at three in the morning if you like, without depending on a shuttle.
What we organise during the week
Our Le Mans work splits between the day return from Paris, the three-day stay with shuttles between hotel and circuit, and meeting guests flying in through Roissy.
The van keeps the group in one vehicle and takes the bags, the cool boxes and the folding chairs. The chauffeur knows the access routes when the roads around the circuit are closed.
Around the race
The Plantagenet city, old Le Mans and its Roman wall are worth an hour or two between stints, and the 24 Hours museum sits at the circuit entrance.
The car stays at your disposal from one stop to the next rather than leaving, which leaves you free to break up the day as you like.
To organise your journeys during 24 Hours week, give us the dates, the number of passengers and the pick-up address: you receive a firm price before confirming. See also our private driver in Le Mans page.
Photo: Wonker Wonker from London, United Kingdom / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY 2.0
