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THE flag recently came down on the successful eighth staging of the Le Mans Classic, the biennial event celebrating the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours which has become a real crowd-puller over the years.
Exceptional weather, 24-hours of retracing the history of the greatest endurance event in the world over the period of 1923-1993, 550 cars on the track, 1,000 drivers and 10 former winners of the race including the latest, Romain Dumas, greeted fans this time round.
And what a crowd it attracted, no fewer than 123,000 people flocked to the Le Mans circuit for the weekend in July.
Among the innovations was the opening of the circuit on a Friday morning, representing a gain of five hours so that a practice session could be scheduled, as well as a Group C race with an entry of almost 40 cars representing the ‘golden age’ of endurance for long-distance specialists.
There was also the magnificent field for the Jaguar Classic Challenge with around 60 cars representing the marque, including the most iconic like the Types C, D, E, XKs and Mks.
Victory went to British driver Andy Wallace (19 starts in the Le Mans 24 Hours including outright victory in 1988) at the wheel of the D-Type, which won the race in 1955 driven by Mike Hawthorn and Ivor Bueb.
On the Saturday, Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake gave the start of Little Big Mans. This allowed budding drivers aged between six and 10 to experience a Le Mans-type start and race on the Bugatti circuit.
Once the 90 small cars set off on their parade lap, the vehicles in grid 1 for pre-war cars (1923-1939) got ready for the official start of the 8th Le Mans Classic.
American celebrity Pharrell Williams, singer, author, composer and producer of numerous hits including the famous song, Happy, waved the French flag unleashing men and machines on the 13,629-km circuit.
The race for the six grids covering the period 1923 to 1981 was under way and it would continue into the next day. Another of the highlights was the prestigious Concours Le Mans Heritage Club event comprising 24 hand-picked cars, all of which had taken part in the Le Mans 24 Hours between 1923 and today.
Rendezvous in 2018 for the ninth running which promises to be even richer.
A jury consisting of numerous specialists awarded the following prizes:
Best of Show : Ford GT40 Mk2 (Robert Kauffman)
1st Class 1923-1939: Lorraine-Dietrich (Philippe Leroux)
1st Class 1949-1953: DB HBR53 (Dominique Lanlaud)
1st Class 1954-1964: Frazer Nash (Bill Holroyd)
Special Prize: Panhard X86 (Pierre Mouette)
1st Class 1965-1971: Ford GT40 (Frédéric Collot)
Special Prize: Nomad BRM (Christophe Brunhes)
1st Class 1972-1982: Inaltera 001 (Edgar Richoz)
Special Prize: Lola T600 (Jacques Sicotte)
Special Prize “Fidélité”: Porsche 934 RSR (Claudio Roddaro: 6 outings in the le mans 24 Hours)
1st Class 1983-2016 : McLaren F1 GTR (François Perrodo)
Special Prize: Marcos LM600 (Emeric Bordet)
F.I.V.A. Prize: CD Peugeot SP66 (L’Aventure Peugeot)
F.I.V.A. Prize: Delage 3L (Jean-Michel Collet)
The Concours des Clubs also rewarded several winners and awarded the following prizes:
1st Prize: Historic Lotus Club
2nd Prize: Club ‘‘Qui N’en Veut’’ (Camping rétro)
3rd Prix : 205 GTI Club de France
Special F.F.V.E. Prize : Renault Classic
