French GP, May 2010

My Dad and I are planning a trip to the French MotoGP, in May this year.

Has anyone been? Any tips?

We're planning on sailing from Portsmouth, probably to Caen before riding to Le Man.

Has no-one been? Ever? At all?

Never been. But I have been to Le Mans for the Classic 24 hrs (old cars) before. But always came from the Calais direction so I have no route tips I'm afraid.

Just have a look on the micehlin site, then zoom in until you can see the roads in a bit of detail, the ones with green alongside the normal road are "scenic" roads and are a good starting point for a good route down.

[buckstone]

Me and three of the guys went about 4 years ago.

I was living in Leeds at the time so we rode down to Dover and got the Calais boat. There was some sort of dockers dispute in Calais so we were stuck out at sea for about 4 hours, so we just nipped down to Caen and stayed overnight in the Formule 1 there. They're cheap and cheerful but ideal for trips like these. The Pont de Normandie (two massive bridges just before Caen) was 'interesting' - properly high and steep, well worth seeing if you're in the area.

In Le Mans we stayed at the Hotel Bleu Marine, remember it as clean and tidy and not too expensive. The town was jumping the night before the race but absolutely dead on the Sunday after the race. We sat outside a little cafe watching the bikes leaving the circuit for what semed like hours, then off for a Chinese meal (only open restaurant we could find) and a couple of beers.

Had a great run back up to Calais via Alencon and Rouen. I seem to remember that only the very last bit was on motorway.

I really enjoyed it but the rest of the guys prefer Assen so that's where we've tended to go since. However, I think I've convinced them that the Bol d'Or at Magny Cours is worth a look for a change ......

Originally Posted by buckstone

Me and three of the guys went about 4 years ago.

I was living in Leeds at the time so we rode down to Dover and got the Calais boat. There was some sort of dockers dispute in Calais so we were stuck out at sea for about 4 hours, so we just nipped down to Caen and stayed overnight in the Formule 1 there. They're cheap and cheerful but ideal for trips like these. The Pont de Normandie (two massive bridges just before Caen) was 'interesting' - properly high and steep, well worth seeing if you're in the area.

In Le Mans we stayed at the Hotel Bleu Marine, remember it as clean and tidy and not too expensive. The town was jumping the night before the race but absolutely dead on the Sunday after the race. We sat outside a little cafe watching the bikes leaving the circuit for what semed like hours, then off for a Chinese meal (only open restaurant we could find) and a couple of beers.

Had a great run back up to Calais via Alencon and Rouen. I seem to remember that only the very last bit was on motorway.

I really enjoyed it but the rest of the guys prefer Assen so that's where we've tended to go since. However, I think I've convinced them that the Bol d'Or at Magny Cours is worth a look for a change ......

Nice one Buckstone! Can you camp at the circuit?

[buckstone]

We were far too sophisticated (ie soft !!!!) to consider camping, but there are campsites all around. Have a look at this - it seems to have some maps and more detail -

http://www.beermountain.com/planningyourtrip.htm

[tinpants]

Have a gander at www.zitours.com . I went with them in 2005 and 2006 and had a great time. They're fairly reasonably priced and the trip is guided. You stay at Campanile Le Mans which is about 40 mins walk, or 10 mins by bike / taxi.
The trip starts and finishes in Calais so its up to you to get to Dover and on to the ferry, although the cost of the return ferry trip is included in the price as is the accomodation when you get to Le Mans.

HTH.

Originally Posted by sam hagger

Has no-one been? Ever? At all?

I'm trying to plan this trip now. I'll be traveling from Dover - Calais. Have you managed to sort out anything that is a must see yet?

We're getting the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe, the return crossing is only £44! That said, we do get into Newhaven at 3am on the Saturday morning!

We've got weekend passes for the race, which includes camping on their campsites. See an earlier post for the beermountain.com link to the different campsites.

We're just taking tents, sleeping bags and a couple of gas stoves really, sorting some food from local supermarkets or the on-site catering.

Let me know if you want any more info!

Mmmmm

Could I? (Yep)

Should I? (Probably not )