The 8th running of the Le Mans Classic, a biennial event organized jointly by Peter Auto and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest to celebrate the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, enjoyed another successful staging under sunny skies last weekend.
Embracing the seven decades between 1923 and 1993, the event drew 550 cars and 1,000 drivers — including 10 former winners of the 24 Hours — to play before a record weekend crowd numbering some 123,000. Among the events they witnessed was 1988 Le Mans winner Andy Wallace’s triumph in the Grid 2 contest — for cars raced between 1949 and 1956 — driving the very Jaguar D-Type in which Mike Hawthorn and Ivor Bueb won the French classic in 1955.
The other class winners were:
Grid 1 (1923-1939) – C. Trader/S. Trenery – 1939 Talbot-Lago
Grid 2 (1949-1956) – A. Wallace – 1955 Jaguar D-Type
Grid 3 (1957-1961) – C. Ward – 1959 Costin Lister
Grid 4 (1962-1965) – S. Lynn – 1965 Ford GT40
Grid 5 (1966-1971) – B. Thuner – 1968 Lola T70 MkIII
Grid 6 (1972-1981) – U. Schumacher/M. Werner – 1982 Porsche 936
55-mins Jaguar Classic Challenge – Julian Thomas – 1962 Jaguar E-Type
45-mins Group C race – Julien Piquet – 1989 Spice SE89
Also on the weekend’s schedule was the fourth Le Mans Classic auction of classic and collectible cars, where Artcurial Motorcars totaled sales of nearly $10 million while enjoying a 72 percent sell-through rate. Top seller was a Porsche 935 that logged three starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which sold for just over $1.4 million. The top five sales were:
- 1977 Porsche 935 client factory car – $1,431,760
- 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster w Hardtop – $1,048,960
- 1957 Bugatti T57 Ventoux factory coach – $576,950
- 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS Touring – $524,480
- 1963 Maserati 3500GT – $295,020
Another of the event’s highlights was the Concours Le Mans Heritage Club featuring 24 handpicked cars, all of which had taken part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 1923. The winners, honored on Sunday afternoon, were:
Best of Show: Ford GT40 Mk2 – Robert Kauffman
Class 1923-1939: Lorraine-Dietrich – Philippe Leroux
Class 1949-1953: DB HBR53 – Dominique Lanlaud
Class 1954-1964: Frazer Nash – Bill Holroyd
Class 1965-1971: Ford GT40 – Frédéric Collot
Class 1972-1982: Inaltera 001 – Edgar Richoz
Class 1983-2016 : McLaren F1 GTR – François Perrodo
Special Prize: Panhard X86 – Pierre Mouette
Special Prize: Nomad BRM – Christophe Brunhes
Special Prize: Lola T600 – Jacques Sicotte
Special Prize “Fidélité” Porsche 934 RSR – Claudio Roddaro
Special Prize: Marcos LM600 – Emeric Bordet
F.I.V.A. Prize: CD Peugeot SP66 – L’Aventure Peugeot
F.F.V.E. Prize: Delage 3L – Jean-Michel Collet
The Concours des Clubs also awarded the Historic Lotus Club its 1st Prize.
For more information please visit http://www.lemansclassic.com
