Before the centenary of the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2023 further works at the circuit are set to be undertaken (none listed below include works to amend the racing circuit itself).
The packages of work involve changes at both major entrances to the circuit.
The “Entrée Nord”, next to the museum saw vehicular access barred for the first time in 2022. That arrangement will become permanent with a large new roof structure to be built over the ticket booths. Pedestrian flow management measures will also be installed (both inside and outside the gates) to ease the flow of fans and to ensure their safety.
Outside the gates, a new pedestrianised piazza is set to be built between the gate structure and the museum.
Meanwhile, the “Entrée Sud” is set to see major changes too. The gate, close to the Technoparc, will, for the first time see a permanent building erected to help manage the pedestrian and vehicular flows in and out of the circuit proper. The new facility will encompass gate facilities, offices and meeting space, together with an associated car parking area.
Work in this area should begin in October and be complete by May 2023.
A further package of work has been proposed on the outside of the Dunlop Chicane in a currently unoccupied area adjoining the Dunlop Bridge (see the Google maps snapshot below). The area is set to be paved and/ or tarmacked with landscaping and the planting of a large number of trees and fairly extensive grassed sections.
The areas behind an upgraded walking route would be raised, and reduced the ‘Dunlop Platform’ indicates a proposed use as an enhanced viewing area.
DSC understands too that a new 300 square metre ACO ‘Clubhouse’ is planned on the outside of the circuit just beyond the Dunlop Bridge though the timeline for that is not clear.
Finally, insurance company MMA has released a render of the future medical centre to be constructed next to the “module sportif” in 2023, this is a part of the extension (until 2035) of MMA’s partnership with the ACO as the ‘Official Insurer of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The new Medical facility will include the installation of a helipad for emergency evacuation.
