Le Mans Classic 2012 – Results and Picture Gallery

The Le Mans Classic 2012 was held July 6-8 at the famed Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. The sixth running of the biennial event saw one of the strongest fields in classic motorsports battle on the full 13.65 kilometer Le Mans circuit run in the modern 24 Hours of Le Mans.

A record crowd of 109,000 braved difficult weather conditions to watch the 450 historic racing cars compete in six racing groups. From pre-war Bentleys and Talbots to the Porsche 935 and Ferrari 512 BBLM of the late ‘70s, the entire spectrum of the golden age of motorsports flashed before the spectators’ eyes.

The Le Mans Classic is open to all cars, or models of the same type, that participated in the original running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1923 and 1979. The six grids run a non-stop relay on the track for 24 hours, with each class taking the track three separate times.

The 2012 running of the Le Mans Classic celebrated “Americans in Le Mans” with the on-track presence of made in USA machines that performed well over the years at Le Mans. Beginning with one of the first: the Stutz Blackhawk classified 2nd in the 1928 Le Mans 24 Hours. The AC Cobra, racing car imagined by Carroll Shelby who left us last May 10th and to whom a special tribute was paid during the event. A rare Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe was driven by Argentinian Luis Perez Companc, a regular at Le Mans and the 24 Hours. Only six Daytona Coupes were built by Shelby from 1964 to 1965, including the one entrusted to Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant in 1964 which fulfilled the target fixed by its manufacturer: beating Ferrari in the GT category. But also the Ford GT40, model which won the Le Mans 24 Hours four successive times, from 1966 to 1969. The Ford MKII which completed the brand’s historical triple win in 1966 will be in grid 5. In total, more than twenty AC Cobras and GT40s were on the track, plus a strong contingent of thundering Corvettes.

Senior Photographer Tim Scott presents the following 1,035 pictures that captured the amazing field of entrants participating in the 2012 Le Mans Classic, while also showing the many historic vistas found on Circuit de la Sarthe. To see more from Tim, visit fluidimages.co.uk.

Le Mans Classic 2012 – Picture Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)

 

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Le Mans Classic 2012 – Race Results

Grid 1 (1929 to 1939)
1. C. Traber/B. Trenery, Talbot Lago 2h20’19’’044
2. Bronson/Burnett/Evans, Talbot 105 + 10’’854
3. D’Ieteren/Lalmand, Alfa Romeo 8C + 1’14’’152

Grid 2 (1949 to 1956)
1. G. Pickering, Jaguar D-Type 2h14’53’’912
2. Monteverde/Pearson/Smith, Jaguar D-Type + 51’’307
3. Mulder/Simon/Kleissl, Mercedes-Benz 300 SL + 4’41’’095

Grid 3 (1957 to 1961)
1. Wills/Twyman/Pirro, Lotus 15 2h20’12’’712
2. Fisken/Leventis/Fisken, Aston Marton DBR1 + 1’58’’342
3. V. Gaye, Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta + 6’18’’971

Grid 4 (1962 to 1965)
1. L. Voyazides/R. D’Abel de Libran, Ford GT40 2h19’42’’747
2. S. Lynn, Ford GT40 + 1’02’’204
3. H. Hugenholtz/D. Hart, Ford GT40 + 5’45’’020

Grid 5 (1966 to 1971)
1. B. Thuner, Lola T70 MKIII 2h17’21’’474
2. R. Goethe/F. Giroix, Porsche 908/3 + 3’59’’738
3. S. Stepak/F. Bourdin, Alpine A220 + 4’33’’557

Grid 6 (1972 to 1979)
1. C. MacAllister, Gulf Mirage 2h16’05’’831
2. Hinderer/Stretton/Hinderer, BMW M1 + 1’54’’108
3. D. Guenat, Lola T286-HU7 + 4’03’’888

[Source: Le Mans Classic; photos: Tim Scott / Fluid Images]