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Le Mans Classic 2014 – 1962 to 1965 Race Report and Photos

Race winning 1965 Ford GT40 of Hans Hugenholtz TIM SCOTT
Race winning 1965 Ford GT40 of Hans Hugenholtz

The 2014 Le Mans Classic was held 4-6 July at the famed Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. Staged by Peter Auto in association with Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the seventh running of the biennial event battled on the same 13.629 kilometer Le Mans circuit run in the modern 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Plateau Four race for sports racing cars that competed at Le Mans from 1962 to 1965 saw an interesting and varied field of 75 entrants. This grid at Le Mans Classic 2014 showed the arrival en masse at Le Mans of cars made in the USA with several Shelby Cobra 289s, Ford GT40s and Shelby GT 350s.Among these were works GT40s entered at the time by the well-known Filipinetti squad and the unique GT40 roadster. Among the Cobra 289s, the crowd was able to see and hear the one driven by American Elliott Forbes-Robinson, winner of the 1997 and 1999 Daytona 24 Hours, as well as another in the hands of Michel Lecourt and Raymond Narac representing the IMSA Performance team, which has racked up an impressive string of results in modern endurance racing.

As was the case in the 1960s, the Americans were up against their European rivals starting with the Ferrari 250 LMs, the two of which were at Le Mans Classic this year including the car that won the 1965 Austrian Grand Prix in the hands of Jochen Rindt, and the other the 1964 Reims Grand Prix driven by Graham Hill. One of these 250 LMs was entrusted to Argentinean Luiz Perez Companc who has raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours several times. Also present were a number of Ferrari 275 GTB/Cs, an authentic ISO Grifo 3/C from 1963 with an impressive set of results, an Alpine A210 (1st in its class and in the Index of Performance in 1969), a rare Elva GT 160, all of which helped to add to the variety of this grid.

The first shower of the Le Mans Classic 2014 race weekend began to fall just before the start of the first heat for the 1962 to 1965 racing cars. The sky grew darker and darker and the fading light heralded the imminent arrival of darkness. In these difficult visibility conditions David Hart put on a dazzling performance taking the lead in his Ford Shelby Cobra from the horde of Ford GT40s. Just when it looked like the Dutch driver would win at the wheel of his big GT in a straight fight the race was neutralised because the Ferrari 250 LM of Luis Perez-Companc vomited all its oil on the Mulsanne straight. Things fell back into place in the second and third races in which the Fords scored a triple and a double with overall victory going to the GT40 driven by Hans Hugenholtz. Hervé Guyomard, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest historian, won the Index of Performance in a French car, the Rene Bonnet Aerodjet.

Similar to 2010 and 2012, Senior Photographer Tim Scott also documented Le Mans Classic 2014 with the following images that expertly capture the Grid / Plateau Four race for 1962 to 1965 Le Mans entrants. We split up Tim’s 261 pictures into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view of Sports Car Digest, while the second gallery and race results can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs. To see more from Tim, visit fluidimages.co.uk.

Le Mans Classic 2014 – 1962 to 1965 Race Featured Photo Gallery

 

1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
Shelby Cobra 289
Shelby Cobra 289
1964 Triumph Spitfire 'ADU1B' and 1965 Alfa Romeo TZ
1964 Triumph Spitfire ‘ADU1B’ and 1965 Alfa Romeo TZ

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1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB 'Breadvan'
1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB ‘Breadvan’
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C
Shelby Cobra 289
Shelby Cobra 289
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40

 

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Le Mans Classic 2014 – 1962 to 1965 Race Featured Photo Gallery Page Two

 

1965 Porsche 911 and 1966 Alpine A210
1965 Porsche 911 and 1966 Alpine A210
Shelby Cobra 289
Shelby Cobra 289 and Ferrari 275 GTB
1965 Porsche 911
1965 Porsche 911
Race winning 1965 Ford GT40 of Hans Hugenholtz
Race winning 1965 Ford GT40 of Hans Hugenholtz

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1965 Porsche 911
1965 Porsche 911
1964 Porsche 904 GTS
1964 Porsche 904 GTS
1962 MG B
1962 MG B
Ferrari 275 GTB
Ferrari 275 GTB

 

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Le Mans Classic 2014 – 1962 to 1965 Race Featured Photo Gallery Page Three

 

1965 Porsche 911
1965 Porsche 911
1964 Alfa Romeo TZ
1964 Alfa Romeo TZ
1962 TVR Grantura MK III
1962 TVR Grantura MK III
1965 Alpine Renault M65
1965 Alpine Renault M65

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Shelby Cobra 289
Shelby Cobra 289
1964 Lotus Elan
1964 Lotus Elan
1965 Marcos Mini
1965 Marcos Mini
1964 Porsche 901
1964 Porsche 901

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Le Mans Classic 2014 – 1962 to 1965 Race Featured Photo Gallery Page Four

 

1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
Shelby Cobra 289
Shelby Cobra 289
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
Rene Bonnet Aerodjet, winner of the Index of Performance
Rene Bonnet Aerodjet, winner of the Index of Performance

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Shelby Cobra 289
Shelby Cobra 289
Race winning 1965 Ford GT40 of Hans Hugenholtz
Race winning 1965 Ford GT40 of Hans Hugenholtz
1964 Sunbeam Le Mans Tiger
1964 Sunbeam Le Mans Tiger
1961 Morgan +4
1961 Morgan +4

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Le Mans Classic 2014 – 1962 to 1965 Race Featured Photo Gallery Page Five

 

1965 MG B
1965 MG B
Race winning 1965 Ford GT40 of Hans Hugenholtz
Race winning 1965 Ford GT40 of Hans Hugenholtz
1965 Alpine Renault M65
1965 Alpine Renault M65
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40

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1964 Iso Grifo 3/C
1964 Iso Grifo 3/C
Shelby Cobra 289 and Ferrari 275 GTB
Shelby Cobra 289 and Ferrari 275 GTB
1963 Jaguar E-Type Roadster
1963 Jaguar E-Type Roadster
Shelby Cobra 289
Shelby Cobra 289

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Le Mans Classic 2014 – 1962 to 1965 Race Featured Photo Gallery Page Six

 

Shelby Cobra 289
Shelby Cobra 289
Ferrari 275 GTB
Ferrari 275 GTB
1964 Porsche 904 GTS
1964 Porsche 904 GTS
1965 Bizzarrini 5300 GT
1965 Bizzarrini 5300 GT

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1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
Shelby Cobra 289
Shelby Cobra 289

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Le Mans Classic 2014 – 1962 to 1965 Race Featured Photo Gallery Page Seven

 

1964 Lotus Elan
1964 Lotus Elan
Shelby Cobra 289
Shelby Cobra 289
1964 Lotus Elan 26R Shapecraft
1964 Lotus Elan 26R Shapecraft
1964 Porsche 904 GTS
1964 Porsche 904 GTS

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1963 Jaguar E-Type FHC
1963 Jaguar E-Type FHC
1965 Porsche 911
1965 Porsche 911
Ferrari 275 GTB
Ferrari 275 GTB
1964 Porsche 901
1964 Porsche 901

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Le Mans Classic 2014 – 1962 to 1965 Race Featured Photo Gallery Page Eight

 

1964 Lotus Elan
1964 Lotus Elan
Rene Bonnet Aerodjet
Rene Bonnet Aerodjet
1964 Lotus Elan 26R Shapecraft and 1964 Shelby Cobra 289
1964 Lotus Elan 26R Shapecraft and 1964 Shelby Cobra 289
1964 Sunbeam Le Mans Tiger
1964 Sunbeam Le Mans Tiger

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1964 Alfa Romeo TZ and 1965 Ford GT40
1964 Alfa Romeo TZ and 1965 Ford GT40
Shelby Cobra 289
Shelby Cobra 289
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Le Mans Classic 2014 – 1962 to 1965 Race Featured Photo Gallery Page Nine

 

Ferrari 275 GTB
Ferrari 275 GTB
1965 Bizzarrini 5300 GT
1965 Bizzarrini 5300 GT
1965 Bizzarrini 5300 GT and 1965 Porsche 911
1965 Bizzarrini 5300 GT and 1965 Porsche 911
Shelby Cobra 289
Shelby Cobra 289

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1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Ford GT40

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Le Mans Classic 2014 – 1962 to 1965 Main Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)

Le Mans Classic 2014 – 1962 to 1965 Race Results

1. 1965 Ford GT40, Hugenholtz
2. 1964 Shelby Cobra 289, Lecourt
3. 1962 Jaguar E-Type Coupe, Le Boeuf / Gouble
4. 1965 Shelby Cobra 289, Firmenich
5. 1962 Shelby Cobra 289, Chambon

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

[Source: Peter Auto; photos: Tim Scott / Fluid Images]