Road trip to Le Mans 24 hours in my Mk1 Cupra R

Nathan penney

Active member
Jul 8, 2017
686
789
Liverpool
After an amazing weekend in France at the Le Mans 24, I thought I’d share a couple of photos and a bit of a write up on the joys of owning and taking my 16 year old Leon Cupra R on a 1127 mile round trip.
With great excitement at getting up in the early hours my 11 year old son and I set off at 3am from Liverpool heading for Folkestone to jump on the Eurotunnel at 11.30.
A couple of comfort stops and a good breakfast on the way down, as well as spotting other cars adorned with Le Mans stickers made the journey down effortless and time flew by.
The first fuel stop just before the Terminal was probably the most expensive place to top up with shell V Power but I wanted to be able to drive off the train and just go, so I shut my eyes as i payed an eye watering £2.09.9 for shell’s finest tipple.:eek:
We were there early so they let us on an earlier train.
The terminal and the train were like a moving car show.
Ferrari’s, Aston’s, Lamborghini and endless Porsche’s meant my lad was in his element and rhymed off every model. :ROFLMAO:
An effortless journey through the French countryside saw us arrive at the circuit within about 5 hours including a decent stop so we were on our campsite for about 5 o clock.
The Leon’s boot swallowed everything needed for a long weekend camping. Tent, chairs, table, case and the all important bbq all went in with ease.
The car attracted lots of attention over the weekend with loads of guys saying they had previously owned one and how much they loved it. Praise indeed looking at what some of them were driving now.
On the Friday afternoon for the first time ever the track was opened up to the public to walk, cycle or whatever, the entire 8.5 mile circuit.
Knowing this before we went my lad suggested we take one of the radio controlled cars and see how far we got round with it. An opportunity not to be missed we decided it had to be the mk1 Leon body with the hope of getting some shots of it on the track.
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Not only did it get lots of attention from other people, French tv even got him to drive it down towards the famous mulsanne straight so they could film it.
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Saturday and Sunday was obviously spent watching the race and soaking up the fantastic atmosphere including staying up till 3 watching the race from various places.
Opposite the pits and the viewing bank on our campsite at Porsche curves were highlights.
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Packing the car on Sunday evening ready for an early start on Monday meant we had time to get a few photos on the public road parts of the track before heading off and even got a shot at Porsche curves.
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I’ve done this journey a few times over the years but this was the first time taking the Leon.
For a 16 year old hot hatch that is not really designed to be a comfortable long distance cruiser the journey was a pleasure and we had no aches and pains whatsoever.
The car turned heads wherever we went and over the whole weekend we only saw one other mk1 which was on the way down near Birmingham, another platinum grey but an FR with the R kit on.
Got a nod and a smile from a guy in a Mk4 Cupra Leon on the way back who obviously knew what he was looking at and I spotted a few Formentor’s who’s owners obviously didn’t. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
If this new breed of Cupra’s are as well built and as comfortable as mine who knows the Mk1 may have a young sibling to share the drive with soon. (y)
 

TheSwede

Active Member
Oct 20, 2018
306
167
Sweden
@Nathan penney.
Great writeup and a very nice mk1! Visiting Le Mans 24h with my son is a dream, not fulfilled yet. When he was about your son's age we often visited different motor events. Now he is 27....:D. We both drive Cupra Leons, 2018 and 2019 (the son). However we have a long way to go, perhaps we have to go by air. I have at least 1600 km (1000 miles) and my son (livs up north in SE) have 2500 km one direction. We always follow Le Mans 24h via app and tv!
 
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Nathan penney

Active member
Jul 8, 2017
686
789
Liverpool
Next year is the centenary, I imagine they’re gonna put on an even bigger show than normal.
Also with a lot more manufacturers joining the hypercar class it should make for a great race.
You should make next year the year to do it. ;)
 
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seatturbopower

Active Member
Aug 1, 2012
350
5
birmingham
Only just spotted this thread,but i think personally for the age of the car and for what it is i think it carries itself really well
(ok petrol prices may be hit and miss,depending on how you want to talk about it)
Done a couple long trips like yours in Europe and the longest was germany-spa (f1)-amsterdam-back to the uk .No problems what so ever,be interesting to see the le~mans,fair play for doing the trip :cool:
 

Nathan penney

Active member
Jul 8, 2017
686
789
Liverpool
Will sum up this year’s trip with a few photos.
All boarded on channel Tunnel.
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Before race start from our fantastic seats in the grandstand above the pits.
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Corvette pit stop right below us.
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Ferrari on way for pit stop.
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A stunning yellow super car and a Lamborghini lurking in the background. :ROFLMAO:
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And a couple of photos taken from same spot as last year on track early Monday morning before leaving.
Won’t bore you all with a whole write up cause the trip was pretty much the same as last year apart from taking the new yellow LCR which did the 1200 mile journey faultlessly.
And the race was amazing! :flag:
 

Seastormer

Cupra Leon VZ2 300/CBF1000
Apr 25, 2014
5,007
692
68
Edinburgh (Scotland)
Will sum up this year’s trip with a few photos.
All boarded on channel Tunnel.
View attachment 37086
Before race start from our fantastic seats in the grandstand above the pits.
View attachment 37087
View attachment 37088
Corvette pit stop right below us.
View attachment 37090
Ferrari on way for pit stop.
View attachment 37091
A stunning yellow super car and a Lamborghini lurking in the background. :ROFLMAO:
View attachment 37092
View attachment 37093
And a couple of photos taken from same spot as last year on track early Monday morning before leaving.
Won’t bore you all with a whole write up cause the trip was pretty much the same as last year apart from taking the new yellow LCR which did the 1200 mile journey faultlessly.
And the race was amazing! :flag:
Glad you had a good time, wish CUPRA did colours like the old Cupras had, I still remember the Kiwi Yellow (looked green) of the GTI I had back in 1996. Yours is such a great colour.:drool:
 
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TheSwede

Active Member
Oct 20, 2018
306
167
Sweden
@Nathan - Talked with my son about Le Mans 24h 2024. We have to do some research for our trip. Planning to drive to Le Mans with my Leon Cupra R 2018. We have 1500 km one direction from where I live in Sweden.

I have some questions (if you want to answer them:)).

Was it camping for you in tent also this year?
We need to investigate how and where to stay / hotel/ BB/camping. The large number of visitors confuses me, about 260 000? The first thought is “how are we going to get somewhere to stay among all these people”.

Was it long queues every day to and from the arena?

Very nice yellow LCR mk1 you got!

/Peter
 
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BadBoy03

A Mk1 Is For Life, Not Just For Fun
Sep 6, 2016
588
294
Somerset
Will sum up this year’s trip with a few photos.
All boarded on channel Tunnel.
View attachment 37086
Before race start from our fantastic seats in the grandstand above the pits.
View attachment 37087
View attachment 37088
Corvette pit stop right below us.
View attachment 37090
Ferrari on way for pit stop.
View attachment 37091
A stunning yellow super car and a Lamborghini lurking in the background. :ROFLMAO:
View attachment 37092
View attachment 37093
And a couple of photos taken from same spot as last year on track early Monday morning before leaving.
Won’t bore you all with a whole write up cause the trip was pretty much the same as last year apart from taking the new yellow LCR which did the 1200 mile journey faultlessly.
And the race was amazing! :flag:
Simply awesome!! Definitely the best there & grats to the Cupra R & yourself for enduring a tough event. Hope cupra.net give you petrol money for doing us all proud! 😁 Well done m8, it really is a beauty & stunning pics.
 
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Nathan penney

Active member
Jul 8, 2017
686
789
Liverpool
@Nathan - Talked with my son about Le Mans 24h 2024. We have to do some research for our trip. Planning to drive to Le Mans with my Leon Cupra R 2018. We have 1500 km one direction from where I live in Sweden.

I have some questions (if you want to answer them:)).

Was it camping for you in tent also this year?
We need to investigate how and where to stay / hotel/ BB/camping. The large number of visitors confuses me, about 260 000? The first thought is “how are we going to get somewhere to stay among all these people”.

Was it long queues every day to and from the arena?

Very nice yellow LCR mk1 you got!

/Peter
Hi Peter,
Wow that would be an epic journey!
Worth it though.
The atmosphere is phenomenal.
The race this year was particularly entertaining and I’m sure it will continue to be with all the manufacturers in hypercar now.

So practicalities:

If you’re staying off circuit you need to either book parking or travel in on the tram/ bus network.
Traffic to get in over the weekend is obviously busy but seemed well managed from what I saw.
We camp but on a campsite run by one of the private companies so only people staying there can get in so it’s more secure and cleaner than a lot of the large public camping areas.
There are many different campsites around the circuit but where we have stayed the past couple of times at Porsche curves it’s great.
Its about half hour walk from there up to the main grandstand area if you walk past the old Maison Blanche house.
There are shuttle buses to get you round to different parts of the circuit but general viewing has reduced over the years as there are more private campsites fenced off nowadays.
Lots of places to watch from if you don’t have a grandstand seat but you have to get a spot early for the start and the finish if you want a good view.
We got the tram into the town on Friday to watch the drivers parade and it was obviously really busy but I spoke to other people staying in hotels/b&b’s off the circuit and they said it was fine other days to get to and from circuit if you didn’t fancy camping.
Imagine hotels etc get booked up pretty early on so I would beat that in mind.
I’ll try upload a photo of the track map from the programme so you can see where parking etc is in relation to things.
Cheers
Nathan.
 
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Kryton

Active Member
Feb 28, 2023
122
25
Looks like you had a great time. Had a few mates go over this year & i'm gutted I couldn't make it as seemed a corker of a year to be there
 
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Nathan penney

Active member
Jul 8, 2017
686
789
Liverpool
Looks like you had a great time. Had a few mates go over this year & i'm gutted I couldn't make it as seemed a corker of a year to be there
It was a fantastic race and weekend.
As with any motorsport event though you can see more on the tv coverage at home, but we could see the large screen from our seats and the radio earpiece Keeps you up to date.
You do only get the true experience of the sounds and smells from actually being there though. ( including the smell of the toilets and bbq’s) :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
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