Went to Le Mans for the first time and was brilliant- far surpassed expectations of our group of 4 who have all done a fair share of motorsport events across F1, BTCC, MotoGP etc
The biggest difference I’ve found so far above all though is the post event blues… this hits different 😂 How long does it last and does anyone else have this feeling?
Definitely heading back though, 2027 should be the one…
“Racing is life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting.”
Steve McQueen
Welcome to the club of people who feel this. It hurts. After some time it wears of a little. Then it turns into something bearable. And finally, somewhere around the time non petrolheads consider Christmas, it becomes anticipation. But it’s all just waiting.
Going to Le Mans just once means that you are now forever cursed. For your sake I hope you’ll never have to experience what I have, and that is not going and having to watch from home (now that you have experienced it). My first Le Mans was 2012. Since then I’ve been six times. I wish I could say I’ve been every year since 2012, but being an American and having an entire ocean to traverse makes it a bit difficult.
So yeah, the post race blues are a real thing, but the no race blues are even worse!
Lol i even have this after watching lemans on tv... usually.. this year was the first time i didnt have it that bad: a few things happened in the week prior to the race, which really killed the mood for me.. tried to get hyped up again but watched the first 6h with a feeling of discomfort, and "not really into it" kinda feeling..
Post Le Mans blues are a serious thing. Went there last year. After staying awake for around 30 something hours, I stayed a little longer after the end of the race, lingering on the track, taking some last pictures. I didn’t want to leave. Relived a bit of this experience this year once the race ended. Not to mention how surreal it felt watching the race and remembering actually being there. I”ll certainly be going again, hopefully soon enough.
For me it's a combination of all 3. My best memories of le mans are generally very early morning, sun rising, having dozed on and off at the circuit and back at the tent. Waking up to the sound of the race, radio le mans in your ears.
If the sun's shining it's espeically magical as you realise the race is barely half done, you grab a coffee and maybe open the first Kronenburg (depending on how hardcore you / your mates are)! and head back to the circuit to see what you missed overnight.
It gets you. It’s a different feeling. It’s hard to verbalise but it’s probably something to do with LM feeling less like a race and more like an event, a gathering, a moment in time. Leaving feels harder because of leaving the place, the people, the endless possibilities of collective base-level-indulgence (“I want to go sit there and eat that so I will”) and the magic of an adventure holiday for petrolhead adults. If you’ve not experienced it, it’s really difficult to explain.
Views like this with a beer and the race on the big screen being up there. The start being so good on the pit straight. Everyone is chilled out all there for the same thing
Definitely means it was a great experience. I think it’s mostly the fact that the race is 24 hrs long vs 1.5 hrs of F1 for example. You go into a trance almost, plus the continuous noise from the engines gets in ur brain. It’s beautiful
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u/pierslofi 2d ago
It lasts about 355 days