Aysedasi's Le Mans

Perhaps it was the result of being fairly late to bed or maybe the heat of the night but I didn't sleep so well, waking up several times and finally giving up at about 6.15.  So I got up and set about sorting out the photos and videos from yesterday.  I had brought a device for transferring photos from my iPhone to my laptop to replace the iPlugmate that I had used for a number of years.  The iPlugmate was superb, quick and with a very simple interface that worked a treat.  Sadly, once Apple updated the iPhones to iOS16, it just stopped working and I couldn't find any way to get it working again despite a long time on the internet reading about the same problem faced by many others.  The new device worked but the app that came with it was rubbish and very clunky to use.

I did have software on both my phone and my laptop to transfer files by Wi-Fi. This had worked brilliantly at home on my fast connection but was impossibly slow with the hotel's weaker Wi-Fi. In the end I gave up on both of these methods and just did the transfers manually by connecting the phone to the laptop directly. It was a bit of a nuisance but I got the job done in the end.  I'm sure the hotel cat was very impressed.....  

After Facetiming Jayne and catching up on developments at home with the extension the three of us had a WhatsApp dialogue and decided there was no need to rush in at 8 o’clock.  We agreed to leave at 9 instead and go for breakfast as usual. I was conscious of the fact that my car was down to a quarter of a tank of gas, my MPG having taken a bit of a hit as a result of having to have the air con on constantly in the heat, so I nipped out just after 8 to gas the car up at Auchan, which gave me the peace of mind that I had more than enough for the rest of the week and the journey home. When I returned I presented Allon with his ‘Team Crouton’ t-shirt and mug!

We left the hotel at 9 o’clock for our now familiar trip out to the Feuillette for breakfast which was splendid as always. Before long we were parking up in Expo, once again without any traffic or parking issues. Access to the circuit was quick and we made our way straight down to the ACO area behind the grandstand in order to sign Allon in and get his wristband. There was a small queue and the ACO staff said that they couldn't sign anyone in because their computers were down. They were just telling everyone to come back but couldn't suggest how long it would take. After a few moments though they said they would have another try with my card - and it worked! This was much to the surprise of the others there who had been told to wait or come back later. But we were OK and headed off into the grandstand. The Ferrari Challenge cars were already practicing and we stayed to watch the Porsche Carrera Cup practice session as well.

We left T17 at 11:45 and walked back behind the stands intending to head to the museum as Allon was keen to go there and we were happy to make a second visit, but upon our arrival we were greeted with a massive queue waiting to get in. We tried to be sneaky and get in by way of the front entrance however the security staff were having none of it and turned us away.  So while Allon went off to do some shopping, James, Lauren and I walked up to the ACO hospitality area at La Chappelle which had been spruced up and made a bit larger for this year. We had a cold drink and sat up on the banking there to watch some of the RTLM qualifying. We thought about heading on down to Tertre Rouge but it was just too hot to keep walking around and we had found a nice spot in the shade of the trees.

After those sessions we made our way back to the grandstand to watch the third free practice session. Allon went for another walk and messaged us that as the museum queue wasn't so bad he was going to go for it. While he did this we had more cold drinks and our customary baguettes from the cafe. 

We had already planned to leave the grandstand when the session ended at 6:00 pm to go back to the car in Expo and drive out to Mulsanne corner for the Hyperpole session at 8 and then the final practice session (now only one hour) at 10:00 pm.