While the hype and hoopla at Le Mans was primarily focused on the return of Team Bentley and MG to the Sarthe, a number of “real” MGs and a wide assortment of historic Le Mans cars were tucked away in the Maison Blanche paddock, awaiting their chance to bring a sense of nostalgia back to the French circuit.
Some 62 pre-1965 cars took to the grid for a nine-lap dash around the famed racetrack on Saturday morning, before the modern machines started their long day. The bulk of these cars had important connections with Le Mans: the C-Type Jaguar of VRJ’s own Stirling Moss was the outright winner in 1953 with Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt, while Peter Hardman’s Aston Martin DBR1/2 was the victor in 1959 with Salvadori and Shelby.
After a mock Le Mans start, which saw the drivers sprint to their cars, the field was off. By the end of the first lap, Gary Pearson’s Lister-Jaguar took the early lead as the field quickly spread out (Law’s car had raced in the 1963 race with drivers Lumsden and Sargent.) Pearson looked set to win this year’s inaugural event when he coasted to a halt on lap 7 as the rain started. This gave veteran David Piper, in the Ferrari 250LM he raced at Le Mans in 1968, the lead and the eventual win followed by Hardman, with Tony Dron, in a 330 Berlinetta Ferrari, finishing third ahead of an array of Cobras, Bizzarinis, and a mix of Jaguars. Interestingly, the recently restored Lola Mk.6 of Paul Halfpenny looked very quick, and when it is reliable will be a real threat on the European historic scene.
While the hundreds of thousands of fans came predominantly to see the Audis, Bentleys and Porsches do battle, the tremendously warm welcome for the historic group seemed to assure a return appearance next year.
Submitted by Ed McDonough
