This year marks both the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd's masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon. The royalties from the album's success even allowed the band's drummer, Nick Mason, to indulge his passion for motorsport and add to his personal collection of vintage and modern racing cars. His first was a Ferrari 250 GTO, today one of the most coveted automobiles in the world. He took the start in the first running of the Le Mans Classic in 2002 at its wheel. Nick Mason: "You can race the GTO, you can rally it, you can make weddings with it, so it makes me look clever!" 

Growing up, Mason wasn't alone in his love for motorsport. In fact, Nick's father Bill, a documentary filmmaker, counted among his friends Sammy Davis, one of the Bentley Boys and winner of the 1927 24 Hours.

In the spring of 1979, Pink Floyd was focused on recording its iconic double album The Wall. The group set up camp in Provence at Studio Miraval (recently renovated by Brad Pitt, the official starter of the 2016 24 Hours) and Mason ended up taking driving lessons some 60 km away at the Paul Ricard circuit, joined by band manager Steve O’Rourke. 

Mason: "We realised that we would have to record The Wall abroad, and we got to be away for a year on a tax exile. At the same time, a man called Augustus Bertelli, who owned the Aston Martin works in the 1930s, died and I was asked to bring my Aston Martin Ulster to his funeral. There I met Brian Joscelyne who was a member of Dorset Racing and he asked me whether I would like to go to Le Mans. I had never driven a racing car, but eventually it was one of the best things I ever did. Then we spent most of our time in the recording studio, but I had a friend called Simon de la Tour who used to run the Winfield school and I did some training with him. I did a lot of driving, so I got more confident about doing it. When I told Steve I would compete in the 24 Hours, he came with me to have a look at the circuit on our way to the south of France. And then he said, 'You know what? I think I'm going to do this too!' He went with Ecurie Francorchamps and Ferrari, and I raced a Lola prototype."

Though the presence of a certain Paul Newman (second under the chequered flag) monopolised everyone's attention, Mason and O’Rourke made it to the finish line, with the former ending the race 18th in his class at the wheel of a 2-litre Lola prototype along with Bryan Joscelyne, Richard Jenvey and Tony Birchenhough, and the latter finishing 12th overall in a Ferrari 512 BB shared with Jean Blaton, Bernard de Dryver and Nick Faure. Mason and O’Rourke teamed up only once at Le Mans, in 1982 in a BMW M1 (retirement).

Mason once again claimed a step on the 2-litre prototype class podium (third) in 1980, with Martin Birrane and Peter Clark, before being forced to retire in 1983 at the wheel of a Dome and again in 1984 in a Porsche 956. While back in the studio serving as Pink Floyd's manager for the albums A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell (1994), O'Rourke found the time to do six more runnings of the 24 Hours, for a total of eight races between 1979 and 1998.

O'Rourke went so far as to have his own racing car built. Called the EMKA (for the company he created in the late 1960s to manage Pink Floyd), the car finished 17th in 1983 and 11th in 1985. However, he earned his best result at the race in 1998 at the wheel of a McLaren F1 GTR, finishing fourth with Bill Auberlen and Tim Sugden. Talking about his manager and friend who passed away in 2003, Mason: "[I was] jealous, definitely! But it was a fantastic effort indeed. He managed to put things together, and there would not have any place for me in that team. Steve really wanted to race with the EMKA-Aston Martin project. He financed it with sponsors and he needed professional drivers to make it work. When an amateur wants to compete in the 24 Hours you need sponsorship, and when you get it you have some responsibility to do a good job and bring in some extra driving talent."

At the age of 79, Mason is once again on tour, now with the band Saucerful of Secrets (in reference to Pink Floyd's second album from 1968) covering songs from 1967 to 1972 before The Dark Side of the Moon was released. He continues to take part in motorsport events when not on the road, for example serving as a member of the jury for the 4th Chantilly Arts & Elegance, not to mention his son-in-law (married to second daughter Holly) is Scottish driver Marino Franchitti (six starts in the 24 Hours between 2005 to 2016).

PHOTOS: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 1979-1998 24 HOURS OF LE MANS. Above (Copyright - ACO/Archives): for his final participation in 1984 in this Porsche 956 (#16) fitted with a cockpit camera, Nick Mason teamed up with French driver René Metge and British driver Richard Lloyd; Nick Mason's Lola (#24) and Steve O'Rourke's Ferrari (#61) in the rain in 1979; the drummer and band manager reunited at the wheel of a BMW M1 (#62) in 1982 along with Richard Down; Steve O'Rourke's EMKA prototype (#41) at his rookie 24 Hours in 1983; for his last appearance in 1998, Steve O'Rourke earned his best result in this McLaren F1 GTR (#40) in the colours of EMI (Pink Floyd's record label at the time). Below (Copyright - Stéphanie Bezard/Peter Auto): Nick Mason (at right) with Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman, another huge racing fan, at the 2017 Chantilly Arts & Elegance dinner as jury panelists.