24h Le Mans
The Endurance Racing Legend support race rounded off the 2023 edition of Le Mans Classic, a sensational event which attracted more than 235,000 spectators (200,850 in 2022)! The day was marked by sublime parades of prestigious car brands. On this last day open to the public, the village and the dedicated areas of the Bugatti circuit welcomed enthusiasts as well as families who had come to spend a convivial Sunday.
On Sunday July 2, the public in Le Mans were able to watch the final performances of morethan 800 cars divided into six grids, along with a wide variety of other activities. Since 4pmon Saturday, the drivers have been outdoing themselves at the wheel of their cars from sixdifferent eras. The Talbot AV105 1937 #2 (Gareth BURNETT/Michael BIRCH) completed theGrand Slam after winning all three rounds of Grid 1.
During the night, the #15 Jaguar C-Type (Nigel WEBB/Chris WARD) shone in Grid 2 butwas unable to repeat the feat on Sunday morning. Indeed, the #16 1954 Jaguar D-Type(Niklas and Lukas HALUSA), a three-time winner from 1955 to 1957, got the better of theseries in its final outing at Le Mans Classic 2023.
The second round of Grid 3 was also dominated by a 1957 Jaguar D-Type #49 driven by'Andy' Wallace. The Briton has already taken the top step of the podium in la Sarthe at the1988 edition, where he won in a... Jaguar. In the afternoon, it was another 24 Hours winnerwho stood out in the same category; Emanuele PIRRO, with five successes on thesegrounds, won alongside Hans HUGENHOLTZ in the 1959 Lister Jaguar Costin #65.
The Ford GT40’s outrageous domination of Grid 4 continued right to the end of the event.Just 40 inches high-hence its name-the American model that became legendary for itsconfrontation with Ferrari gave the other competitors no chance. Diogo FERRAO’s 1965Ford GT40 #74 won the last two rounds.
It was a similar story in Grid 5, with three Lola T70 Mk.3Bs at the top of their game in allthree outings. The first heat was won by a narrow margin bythe #18 Lola driven by SteveBrooks, while the other two were largely controlled by the #63 Lola driven by David and Olivier HART. The British manufacturer, known for its creations at Le Mans and in Formula1, continues to write its legend.
The fame of these chassis continues in Grid 6, which includes cars from 1972 to 1981.Maxime GUENAT’s 1976 Lola T286 #50 finished first in the first round, but in the early hoursof the morning, Yves SCEMAMA’s 1976 TOJ SC304 #17 took revenge. In the final round,Yves SCEMAMA looked to be on course for another victory, but a mechanical problem withthe Toj #17 took all his hopes away. In the end, it was Maxime GUENAT, driving the #50Lola, who took the flag first in the final stage race.
In other series, the final GroupC Racing race took place at dawn. The deployment of asafety car did not prevent the 1990 Porsche 962 C #7 of Ivan VERCOUTERE and RalfKELLENERS from winning this second round. The German car is no stranger to Le Mans,having won here twice in 1986 and 1987. She was followed by the 1991 Mercedes-BenzC11 #31 in the hands of Kriton LENDOUDIS, who crossed the line just a few tenths aheadof the 1992 Lola T92/10 #4 of David and Olivier HART. It was an exceptional finish, widelyacclaimed by the crowd.
In theafternoon, the Endurance Racing Legends series was the last to take on the track.Right from the start, Emmanuel COLLARD, who has competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans23 times, started to attack at the wheel of his 2006 Pescarolo C60 #23. In this emblematiccar of the 2000s, he took his second victory in as many rounds, ahead of FrançoisPERRODO in the 1999 Toyota GT-One #1. The duo of David and Olivier HART, in the 2005Courage C60 #34, were third.
All the activity on the track was complemented by a hostof events in the villages, with thevarious exhibitions providing plenty of entertainment for the spectators, as did the acrobatsof theWall of Death GypsyandDust Trial Motor Show. Kokoa & the Sweet Pops providethe ‘rhythm’n blues’ soundtrack to roundoff this year’s festival just as it began: in a festive way.
