Each June it is estimated that around 75,000 residents of Great Britain make a pilgrimage to the Loire valley area of Northern France. There, in the Sarthe region a stretch of the N138 main highway links with two lesser roads and a stretch of private tarmac to provide the race circuit known all over the world simply as Le Mans. Since 1923, the circuit has undergone about a dozen minor changes as it has evolved into the current layout of around 8.5 miles length. In 1924, a Bentley achieved the first British win, and the late twenties provided happy hunting for the Bentley boys. Some 70 years after their last success, Bentley was again back at the Sarthe in 2001, and what they achieved has by now been well documented. The 1950’s, and early 1960’s, provided a golden era for anyone with a remote interest in the classic sports and sports racing cars that we all hold so dear, an era when Aston Martin, Jaguar and Ferrari ruled the roost with MG, Austin Healey, Sunbeam and the rest providing support.

For some while, Ray Witshire (who coincidentally happens to be the current President of the Bentley Drivers Club) has had a dream of recreating some of the golden years of Le Mans with a retrospective race. Ray’s Motoring Cavalcades organisation has been arranging Le Mans track parades for several years, but this represented a marked step change of ambition.  

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So it was that 64 cars arrived at the hot and sunny Le Mans Legends Maison Blanche paddock during the week prior to this years 24-hour event. Jaguar were celebrating anniversaries for both C and E-Types, and courtesy of them Sir Stirling Moss was entered in the Hamilton/Rolt C type. The majority of the entry was British but competitors from Europe, the Americas and New Zealand were also there.

Julian Bronson was the first to arrive, having come directly from Pau. ("the wettest place I have ever been") Robin Longdon (there to drive his DAD10 Lotus Elite) had arranged for Millers Oils to provide every competitor with a full Millers treatment pack when they arrived. The Hamilton/Rolt C-Type was but one of the attractions to be seen in the tented paddock "garages", and every competing car bathed in appreciative attention all week. Peter Dixons Jowett R1 was the earliest and made an interesting comparison with David Pipers 250 LM built some 15 years later and now resplendent once more in its original BP green livery. Roger Earls tiny OSCA was one of the prettiest and compared with Barry Birds purposeful looking AC Cobra LM Coupe. Exquisite Ferraris seemed around every corner and mingled with the complex Birdcage Maserati, the almost toy-like Cooper Bobtail, Aston Martins, Sunbeams, MGs Healeys and the like. There were numerous Jaguars and Listers including the unique Lister Coupe. Paul Haywood Halfpenny arrived with his newly restored Lola Coupe still in various pieces and never having turned a wheel while the fascinating Monopole provided contrast to the brute force approach of the Allard.

Official signing on and scrutineering was also a "retrospective" and was performed in the traditional period location, in the square in Le Mans City centre. Modern day traffic jams dictated that the cars were probably going to object if they were just driven to scrutineering, and so a series of police convoys was laid on. These were conducted by one of the French National Police motorcycle escort squads and were to provide a memorable experience for all that took part! If the reader can imagine travelling in the fast lane of the M1 and suddenly being faced by a frantically gesticulating Policeman on a motorcycle coming the other way with 20 racing cars behind him, you will begin to get the idea! No two convoys took the same route. The Senior Officer actually lived near Le Mans and arranged for his mother in law to hitch a ride in the passenger seat of Sally Mason-Styron's Ferrari 166! Sally, initially concerned about frightening the lady, rapidly realised that the faster the pace the larger Mother-in-law's grin, and when son-in law realised the same he promptly notched the convoy up another gear! Dick Skipworths wonderful (and fully loaded) Ecurie Ecosse transporter was given the honour of pole position in the last convoy - its driver said it had probably never travelled faster let alone through a crowded city. It was also almost certainly the first time that French DB and Italian Birdcage have shared the Scottish transporter with Tojeiro Jaguar – a truly tremendous sight. Scrutineering took most of the morning and proved a magnet for enthusiasts and media alike. A carnival atmosphere ruled and the square was packed with people from start to finish. The cars eventually returned to Maison Blanche in another convoy conducted at almost the same pace as the earlier ones.

Suddenly the "go" signal was received and in the next three minutes 64 cars were single threaded through the tight and twisty exit onto the circuit. The ACO then decided that practice had started early and promptly had all the cars flagged into the pit lane to wait for ten minutes until the allotted hour! When the cars were released again, most were drama free although before the end of the session there were a few walking wounded.

It was Justin Law who opened the most eyes, the Lister Coupe simply in a league of its own on the Mulsanne. Many were telling tales of "spooky" handling when the speeds got around 2.5 miles per minute but the Lister Coupe was noticeably quicker in a straight line and was giving its driver a perfectly stable ride. If proof of the Lister/Costin genius were needed, here it was. Gary Pearson, Barrie Williams, and Frank Pearson all looked to be revelling in the power sliding capability of Lister Tojeiro and Jaguar respectively, so did Peter Hardman in the Aston Martin. Barry Birds AC Coupe sounded terminally ill but still kept going at quite a prodigious rate. David Pipers 250LM looked and sounded quick and business like. Sir Stirling Moss and the C-type presented another time warp - to say he looked the part would be an understatement. Speed differentials were enormous with Peter Dixons Jowett taking toward twice as long per lap as the quickest cars, but just about everyone was using mirrors and common sense and no major problems resulted from that view. Ben Eastick had what was believed to be a stub axle breakage on the Cooper Jaguar, Jean Sage had valves/piston contact and the Ferrari GTO was out of the contest. Phillip Ma had drive train problems, Keith Hampson suspected a blown head gasket and Julian Bronson broke a half shaft in the HWM. Alan Minshaw ran out of fuel with the birdcage, Chris Beightons Le Mans Sunbeam suffered various mechanical maladies but the Lola Coupe simply ran like clockwork. At the end of practice, all those still running returned with huge grins from ear to ear.

Thursday night allowed the drivers to watch 24-hour night practice and enjoy a barbecue courtesy of Jaguar although there was obviously work to be done. Julian Bronson had already phoned home, got his engineering man out of the pub and into the workshop to make a new halfshaft ready to be couriered out the next day! Keith Hampson had located a road car in Belgium whose owner was now driving to the circuit in order to sacrifice its head to the cause! Steve Beighton had been summoned to set out from Leicester with the bits needed to rebuild Chris B’s car back into a runner.

When the practice times and grid arrived they contained some obviously "rogue" times and had to be withheld and re-checked before being corrected and eventually released on Friday morning. Justin Law topped the times with Gary Pearson, David Piper and Peter Hardman completing those who had got under the five-minute barrier. Barrie Williams and Frank Sytner were just over and effectively best of the rest, but the general consensus was that reliability would also play its part come race day.

Friday brought news that John Pearson had wisely decided he could not take the risk of allowing Ben Easticks Cooper to run and had withdrawn it. Ben while understandably disappointed was nonetheless refreshingly philosophical about his misfortune. The HWM driveshaft was awaited and the Sunbeams were undergoing major work as was Ma’s Porsche. Two reserves now knew they would be in the race and it was left to Jim Morrison to keep an eye on the paddock work no doubt with very mixed emotions.

Early on Saturday morning the cars were assembled on the dummy grid that had appeared overnight having been mysteriously marked out on the motorcycle circuit straight with yellow paint.(!) At the very back Jim Morrison took up his place knowing that he was now the only reserve and it was looking increasingly unlikely that he would get to race. Suddenly the cars were moving on to the circuit. This was it. This was what it was all about. They were taken to the start line and lined up in echelon for a period Le Mans start. They would then catch up a pace car at the start of Mulsanne and be brought back round to Maison Blanche for re-gridding and a rolling start "for real". The Le Mans "dummy" start was, to say the least, rather chaotic. Everyone was casually chatting when an ACO Official suddenly unfurled a tricolour and waved it. Those at the sharp end were the first to react although everyone else quickly followed suite to the loud cheers of the packed grandstands. The first few cars away had to dodge around a film crew who stood in the track seemingly also oblivious to what was about to happen! Officials and hangers on alike scattered as they realised that this was no gentle demonstration but thankfully it all concluded safely. Halfway round the formation lap, at the second chicane, Justin Law pulled the pole position Lister Coupe off with a dead engine.

The "real" start proved almost as eventful as its "dummy" Le Mans forerunner. Drivers were still assembling and strapping in when the signal to go was given. Gary Pearson (now the sole occupant of the front row) could see in his mirrors what was going on behind him and stayed put. There then followed a couple of minutes which would have done credit to an Ealing Studios comedy with officials ordering the front row man to start and the front row man "not understanding".

Eventually the grid moved off and from the start Pearson assumed command with Sytner, Piper and Hardman and Williams leading the pursuit. Chris Jacques expired during the first lap at the end of which Garry Pearson had eked out a small lead. Paul Haywood-Halfpenny showed the Lola Coupes potential by muscling past Hardmans Aston going into the Ford Chicane and then Pipers 250LM on the way out. Eric Heermans Ferrari 330LM was smoking badly and duly expired on lap two while

Peter Hardman having now also found a way past David Piper set about chasing down the leaders. Lap two saw the Lola Coupe slow significantly, Frank Sytners E-Type expire terminally and Alan Minshaw have a heart stopping moment at Arnage. Two or three big midfield bunches had now naturally formed with the members of one of them demonstrating real exuberance with kerb hopping and sideways corner exits the norm. Tim Llewellyn (in Humphrey Avon's C-Type) was having a real hammer and tongs scrap with Robin Longdons Lotus Elite, but both were soon to be overtaken by Jim Forrester's Marcos which was by now storming through the field after its last place start.

By lap 4, the engine in Dudley Mason-Styron's Maserati 300S had grenaded, Marshal Baileys Cooper Bobtail gearbox had devoured its own gears (possibly through the earlier kerb hopping) and Rick Hall retired the Talbot Lago to the pits.

Duncan McKay was very lucky to survive a spin with the Lotus 23B at the Dunlop chicane and the DB of American Tom Mittler had quite a moment at the same place. Sir Stirling was at the head of a very period bunch containing Stuart Graham in the very quick Austin Healey 100S, Mckay, Llewellyn and Charles de la Haye Josselin's Aston Martin while the lantern rouge was Peter Dixon, still happily circulating in the Jowett R1.

There were still a couple of surprises in store. First Gerard Bessons Alpine M63B had an exciting few metres after it shed a rear wheel on the entry to the Mulsanne and then came the real drama as Gary Pearson suddenly slowed and stopped. One of the ignition switches had shaken itself to pieces and the race long leader was out. For the last two laps the spectators were treated to the sight of Peter Hardman driving the pants off DBR1/2 in an attempt to take the win from David Piper. Both now had headlights ablaze and the gap was visibly reducing, but the 250LM had the Astons measure and it was David who took the flag some 5 seconds in front of Peter. Half a minute later, Tony Dron brought the Ferrari GT Berlinetta home third some 5 seconds in front of the well driven AC Cobra of Graham Bryant while another minute later, Barrie Williams Tojeiro Jaguar chased home Jeremy Agace's ISO Bizarrini to round off the top six.

If success is measured by smiles, then the drivers faces must make this event one of the most successful of all time.

T.H.