From SpeedTV.com:
VINTAGE: Celebration Of Le Mans Legacy
The Le Mans Classic is the only event held on the full Circuit de la Sarthe apart from the actual running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Le Mans Classic was held for the
sixth time this year. As in the past editions, the 2012 Le Mans Classic
featured six grids, or plateaux, with cars ranging from the 1920s up to the early 1980s, each group competing in three 43-minute races over a 24-hour period.
A Jaguar D-Type sends up a spray of water during one of the rainy segments of the Le Mans Classic. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)
What did change
was the weather. For the first time, rain was a major factor in the
event with heavy, and at times local, showers spread over all three
days. These were often followed by clear spells, or as the French would
say:
apres la pluie, le beaux temps. This meant that track
conditions were rarely the same around the lap, making it particularly
tricky for the drivers but entertaining for the crowd.
In addition to the action on the track, the event also attracts a large
number of clubs that bring along thousands of interesting machines. A
special treat this year was a visit from the normally very private
Ferrari 250 GTO tour; nearly two dozen examples lined up in the paddock
and later took to the track for some demo laps.
Braving the weather and coping with not one but two reluctant cameras,
we spent most of the weekend trackside, resulting in this action-packed
300-shot gallery.
Artcurial Motorcars Le Mans Classic Sale
Like most major historic events, the Le Mans Classic featured its own
auction. Organized by Artcurial Motorcars, the sale boasted a colorful
mix of road and racing cars, and also the complete collection of French
specialist manufacturer/coach-builder Heuliez. The lineup of unique and
often unusual machines sold for close to three-quarters of a million
euro ($920 million), with the striking Citroen SM Espace topping the
Heuliez cars at EUR 109,600 ($135,000).
The top seller of Artcurial Motorcars's auction was this competition Ferrari 275 GTC. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)
Going for nearly
twice the entire Heuliez collection was a rare competition-bread Ferrari
275 GTC, which found a new owner for just over EUR 1.5 million ($1.84
million). Winner of the 1966 Nurburgring 1000 km race, this is the only
275 to officially receive the GTC type name.
Further stars of the sale included a Peugeot 905, sold for EUR 654,700
($805,000) and a race-bred ASA RB Type 613, which changed hands for EUR
297,800 ($366,000). Fairing not so well were two fabulous Ligiers
offered by Guy Ligier directly, which both went unsold.
At the end of the eight-hour sale, about 80 percent of the lots in the
packed catalog sold for a total of nearly EUR 9 million ($11 million).
This is an improvement of close to EUR 2 million ($2.46 million)
compared with the inaugural Artcurial Motorcars Le Mans Classic Sale in
2010.
Plateau 1: 1923 – 1939
Plateau 1 featured the earliest cars of the event, spawning the complete
pre-War period. As always, a complete armada of Talbot 105 team cars
were found at the head of the field with some drivers competing in more
than one example.
This Talbot Lago Monoplace Decalee was the victor in the Le Mans race for the earliest cars. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)
After two of the
three rounds, the No. 6 Talbot with Gareth Burnett, Richard Evans, Alex
Ames and Julian Bronson sharing driving duties, looked set for victory.
Unfortunately, they lost a lap in the final round, handing the victory
to Christian Traber and Bruce Trenery in the far more modern Talbot Lago
Monoplace Decalee, which is effectively a Grand Prix car with fenders
and lights.
Bentleys were also well presented with one of several “Blowers” piloted
by none other than Derek Bell. Probably running very rich, the car
produced big flames on the overrun. Another entry of note was the
Lorraine-Dietrich B3/6 Sport of Rudolf Ernst and Michael Hibbard, which
is a sister car to the winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1925.
Plateau 2: 1949 – 1956
Racing returned at Le Mans in 1949 when a diminutive Ferrari
successfully took on the mighty French manufacturers. Although it was a
sign of things to come, Jaguar would first come to the fore in this
period.
As darkness fell during the 24-hour Classic events, a Jaguar D-Type runs ahead of its class. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)
Among the
participants in this group were a host of Jaguar C- and D-Types, though
oddly, the 1955 winner was actually competing in Plateau 3. The D-Type
nevertheless featured strongly in this year's race with outright victory
eventually going to Gavin Pickering ahead of Carlos Monteverde, Gary
Pearson and Andrew Smith in another D-Type.
An impressive third was for the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL very skillfully driven by Peter Mulder, Patrick Simon and Hans Kleissl.
Other interesting machines included in this grid were the Fiat 8V Zagato
piloted by Plateau 1 winners Erich Traber and Bruce Trenery, this time
joined by Jurg Konig, and an assortment of Maseratis, some of which were
in contention for the victory but ultimately proved not quite as
consistent as the Jaguars.
Plateau 3: 1957 – 1961
A Le Mans Classic regular is the Aston Martin DBR1 that was designed by
Ted Cutting and driven to the outright victory in 1959 by Carroll Shelby
and Roy Salvadori. The honor of these three legendary men, all of whom
passed away earlier this year, was upheld by Gregor Fisken.
A unique AC Ace Bristol was one of the rarest entries in the 1975-61 group. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)
After the three
races, he was in an impressive second overall. He was beaten only by the
Lotus 15 piloted by Roger Wills, Joe Twyman and five-time Le Mans
winner Emanuele Pirro. Third overall was for the Belgian Ferrari 250 GT
SWB, raced as always on the limit by owner Vincent Gaye.
In addition to the numerous types of Lotus and Porsches, there were
several less familiar machines in this grid. Most striking of these was
the AC Ace Bristol driven by Pierre Modas, Patrick Percevault and
Frederic Berchon. Looking nothing like the Ace we all know and love,
this unique machine sported a heavily revised nose and a hardtop roof.
Plateau 4: 1962 – 1965
With a close fight between several Ford GT40s and a single Cobra,
Plateau 4 was more than a fitting tribute to the late Carroll Shelby.
Hounding the intrinsically quicker GT40s for most of the three races was
David Hart in his spectacularly driven Cobra, but thanks a spin in the
opening round, he eventually had to settle for eighth in the final
result.
Ford GT40s dominated their class, taking all three podium spots. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)
This left the
podium an all-GT40 affair with Leo Voyazides and Roland d'Abel de Libran
taking the spoils of victory despite losing time in the final race with
an exhaust issue. Second was for Shaun Lynn and third for Hans
Hugenholtz in their respective GT40s.
Another noteworthy Cobra in the race was Luis Perez Companc's recently
acquired Daytona Coupe. One of just six built, this is the most valuable
of all Cobra variants; another Daytona famously ended the reign of the
Ferrari 250 GTO at Le Mans, taking the GT class victory in 1964. Further
highlights in this plateau were a Ferrari 250 LM and one of only four
open Ford GT40s built.
Plateau 5: 1966 – 1971
Representing what is arguably sports car racing's finest hour, Plateau 5
featured one of the event's strongest grids. The period started with
the fierce Ferrari and Ford fight and ended with the equally enthralling
battle between the Ferrari 512 and Porsche 917.
A Porsche 917 K at full throttle thrills the crowd at the Le Mans Classic. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)
Representatives
of both these rivalries were on the grid, including the Ford GT40 Mk II
that placed third at Le Mans behind two sister cars in 1966 and several
examples of the Ferrari 512 and Porsche 917. The race was particularly
harsh on the latter as the Vern Schuppan-piloted example brushed the
barriers in practice and Vincent Gaye's freshly restored machine crashed
in the final leg.
There were no such issues for the Lola T70 Mk III driven by Bernard
Thuner as he raced to a back-to-back victory. Second and nearly four
minutes behind was the Gulf-liveried Porsche 908/3 of Roald Goethe and
Fabien Giroix. Also grabbing our attention were three Alfa Romeo Tipo
33s, one of which was co-driven with great verve by Brian Redman, who in
period actually raced against these machines in both Ferraris and
Porsches.
Plateau 6: 1972 – 1979
The first half of the 1970s was very much a Matra affair, but between
1976 and 1978 Porsche faced off against Renault-Alpine with the first
competitive turbocharged machines. Remarkably, examples of both of these
machines were on hand, with Carlos Monteverde bringing his recently
acquired 1977 Le Mans-winning Porsche 936 and Renault bringing the
actual 1978-winning A442.
Heading for victory, the Mirage M6 leads the parade of the 1972-79 race cars. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)
Although these
proved quick over one lap, they did not feature at the sharp end of the
grid. It would turn out to be Chris MacAllister's day, who before the
race told us that he would be happy to finally reach the finish in his
Mirage M6. He did much better and took the outright victory in Plateau
6, which was affected most by the wet conditions.
On hand to witness this victory was legendary Gulf Racing team manager
John Horsman, who is sharp as ever and with a stopwatch around his neck
offered technical advice to the mechanic of the other Mirage on the
grid. Second was for the BMW M1 driven by the Hinderer brothers and
Martin Stretton, while Dominique Guenat finished third in his Lola T286.
Despite the weather, which was far from ideal, a record number of
109,000 spectators ventured to the Circuit de la Sarthe to see the 450
classic cars in action. Many of these even stayed awake throughout the
night to enjoy the ever spectacular flames and glowing discs. Throughout
the weekend, they were treated to a great show, which more than made up
for the tempestuous conditions.
Our only complaint is that we have to wait two years for the next Le Mans Classic.
