Rob
I went there in the 1970s twice in order to recce for our own attempt at the real 24H with a +8 . It was of course something of an heroic failure as the regulation change banning works prototypes got over-ruled and the car would have been hopelessly uncompetitive and we cut our losses. The Traco engined +8 that was just sold in Germany was the only tangible result.
In those days it was real circus with most spectators more interested in the funfair and getting up to all kinds of mischief rather than the racing.
We stayed in a tiny gîte just south of Arnage, but didn't get any sleep at all as I was transfixed by the action everywhere from Mulsanne to Indianapolis. The noise was fantastic (these were the years of the Matra V12!) right through the night. Unfortunately no access to pits unless you had the correct passes (or enough French Francs to bribe the officials?) but the paddock area was more accessible then.
The main thing that struck me was how subjectively the regulations were applied. They were really strict and totally clear in print, however when a real live situation arose it all seemed to get very "fuzzy" according to which team was involved.
