Le Mans Classic 2014 round-up

So that brings The 2014 Le Mans Classic to an end, just as the sun starts to break through 

Apart from the weather it has been yet another breath-taking event. The statistics alone are mind boggling .. around 110,000 spectators have fought the weather.. around 450 superb, fully functioning,  racing classics driven hard by around 1,500 ‘pilots’ have given us some splendid racing.

Add to that the massive 8,500 strong collection of road going classics on display ranging from the exotic Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Aston Martins to the slightly more humble MGB. There must be at least one of virtually every marque ever built. The crowds are cheerful, well behaved and very knowledgeable.

The whole operation has taken a big step up this year.. we are convinced that there are far more than just the 1,000 additional spectators than we saw two years ago.

Maybe they all brought a car along because the traffic was as challenging, or maybe even more so, than at The 24hrs of Le Mans.

There was so much to see beyond the actual racing and club displays. At the outstanding Artcurial Auction, there were examples everywhere of the French skills in ‘carrosserie’ (coach-building).

There were very classy retail outlets persuading you to part with €€€, even a re-creation of the ‘Drive in Cinema’ where you could relive films like ‘Un homme et une femme’ , ‘Bullitt’’ Le Mans’ the movie. You can even take another look at the infamous ‘ That was a rendezvous’’ shot at speed in the streets of Paris! If your nerves could stand it there was a traditional ‘Wall of Death’ or in French , more dramatically, ‘Mur de la mort’!  There were cafes, bistros, diners and even an ‘English Hall’.

You need at least three tiring, foot sore days to this weekend justice. Outside the Circuit bars and restaurants are serving ‘normal’ food not ‘menu rapide’… and so on.  It is expensive  we agree and that may deter some enthusiasts . We do feel that food and beer prices in the circuit were excessive but where else can you enjoy such a feast of exotica?

Why not pencil in a visit for two years’ time .. You won’t be disappointed.

Final results can be found on this link 

Jock Simpson and Tony Light

Artcurial Auction .. Classic Cars booming?

Wow.. pause for a sharp in-take of breath! 

Artcurial are an important French Auction house and they have held one of their most prestigious auctions here at The Le Mans Classic since 2007.

The results are spectacular to say the least ! They sold more than €13M worth of cars ( that is around $17M). 15% of their sales went to America and 52% remained in Europe.

Photo: Artcurial

Two of the ‘star cars' in the auction have 'Le Mans' in their genes. The 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster went for €1,115,600 is one. The 300SL Gullwing started it all when Hermann Lang stepped out of the car after winning Le Mans in 1952. The ‘Gullwing’ did go into production and even to this day they turn heads everywhere. There are two examples racing here at Le Mans Classic. Despite its good looks it was a few problems.. It apparently suffered from serious understeer, which is strange bearing in mind it was a powerful rear wheel drive  machine, but just when you thought you had got on top of the understeer you would be greeted with ‘snap oversteer’ when the rear swing axles gave up the unequal struggle.. Drum brakes slowed the car up but really didn't do much to stop the car. Plus the interior was cramped and got very hot. OK it looked a bit smart with all that chrome and bright red leather – for some reason , who knows why,  SLs were known as tart traps! 

But the Gull wing did spawn the far more civilised 300 SL Roadster, many say that while it is less iconic it is in fact a much better bet and almost as desirable nowadays .. hence European collector who paid €1,115,600 for one here at Le Mans!

Another car in the auction with actual Le Mans history was the 1964 AC Cobra 289 MkII. This fetched €761,000 ($1,034,522).

Photo: Washington Post

This Cobra 289 raced here 50 years ago , it was driven by Jean de Mortemart and Régis Fraissinet and they came 18th overall. It is alleged that Régis Fraissinet, wealthy heir to a dynasty of industrialists, calmly announced to the press that he raced motor cars in order to provide a different perspective on his everyday life : " There are those who like to play tennis and those who prefer golf. I play tennis and golf but, most of all, I prefer to race cars...” I wonder if he had any idea what would happen to AC Cobra prices fifty years later !

Take a look at www.artcurial.com 

Après Le Deluge !

This seemed an appropriate quote to start the day with.. until I looked up its correct origins only to discover the full quote is “après moi, la deluge” which is attributed to Louis XIV and at the time it seems he meant  "when I'm dead, all others may die too". So not quite so apt.. however it has been a pretty miserable night and as the French might say “pisser avec la pluie” . 

But after a very wet start the rain has relented a bit. Our thoughts go out to the marshals, drivers of open cockpit cars and those brave souls out there camping.

At least the live motoring extravaganza that is the roundabout by L’Arlequin was upto scratch. Even our chum in his 14.5 litre Le France/Simplex beast was doing a bit of ‘showboating’ and it is not like him at all. Arnage was heaving with very jolly (over jollyied?) fans and the locals were certainly making a brisk living, at least they did last night. 

This morning dawned badly for your team.. one member wound up in the medical centre. The symptoms were ‘indigestion based’ but this didn’t stop the doctors giving him a full 10,000 mile service and check up!  After being royally looked after he asked if he could contribute to a local charity, the staff simply said “ Non..Money is money and health is health”.. which is a  refreshing attitude to medicine. He is now proclaimed fit and back on the team!

Strange how you miss effective wipers when you normally take the things entirely for granted, how did the heroes of yesteryear cope? The driver’s side wiper cried enough and chose to simply move water around rather than remove it. Even that is now cured with a rather short replacement blade found in the boot!

If you have been following Tony’s Tweeting (if not why not !)  you will notice that keeping on top of results is well-nigh impossible. The provisional results are posted and then hours later all the penalties arrive and they are then re-posted. Some penalties are heroically draconian.. one driver was penalised five laps and he hadn't actually completed any laps.. so he went ‘minus’! It is very easy to fall foul of the stewards during this event .. speeding in the pit lane, circuit limits, taking your pit stop early, late or not at all, not stopping long enough during your stop and so on. The tricky bit is that they don’t explain on the results what heinous crime had been committed. So it is all as clear as mud to us.

There is one scheduling problem and that is irritating fact that the ‘big bangers’ in Grid 6 go out at midnight on Saturday,( time to in bed or bar!)  then again at 08:00hrs ( coffee and croissants time ) and finally they end the show at 16:00hrs on Sunday.  Having been a lucky lad I have driven various ‘classics’ in the dark on the public roads and the headlights give a cheery glow ‘illuminating’ the road about a foot in front of the car on main beam and then six inches on dip. This may be why the older cars don’t go out in the dark during the Classic.

There have been no mishaps to speak of and  as far as we know the level of retirements has been very low as well. Even so a few have fallen by the wayside, despite this the grids remain 60-65 cars strong. 

Jock Simpson 

On Your Marques! The 2014 Le Mans Classic is up and running!

On Your Marques! The 2014 Le Mans Classic is underway..

It is Saturday, it is Le Mans Classic and ‘the weather is here ..wish you were lovely’!  I try and avoid clichés like the plague as you know.. actually the weather is unimpressive, cloudy, overcast with rain and with the threat of more to come. Despite that it is really rather busy. We get the feeling that it is far busier than it was two years ago when we are told 109,000 people braved the weather and came to watch. Someway to go then before it rivals the 263,000 spectators at the man event but still rather impressive for any type of motorsport outside F1.

The first thing that strikes you is how many ‘classic’ road cars there are in The Sarthe at the moment. Unlike the 24hrs of Le Mans everywhere you go you stumble upon groups  of half a dozen or so enthusiasts happily haring around the minor roads having a ball. We had lunch about 40kms from Le Mans and were surrounded by a number of Healeys, a TR , Jensen, Lagonda and a crazy Simplex. (more of this later!).

It is not too surprising when you consider that there are 119 Motor Clubs of one sort or another parked up on the Bugatti Circuit alone. Porsche Club France has 900 cars here, while The TR Dorset Club have 8! Just to get you googling ( and to save us the trouble)  ever heard of  Les Amis des Automobiles Michel Hommell ( 15 cars) or Club Automobiles Martin? 

Back in the main event the basic rules are relatively straightforward.. it gets harder as you go along!

There are Six ‘Grids’ , each grid starts the weekend with 75 cars so there are 450 cars here! To be eligible they have to be an example of a model  that raced at Le Mans. If the actual car raced at Le Mans it gets priority of course. Each grid has six reserves. You are allowed a maximum of four drivers per car. Each race lasts 43 minutes and each grid gets three races. So your track time during the 24 hour period is about 2hrs 15 mins. However a considerable number of drivers are involved  with driving more than one car which makes the project rather more financially attractive ! 

The date spans of the six grids are as follows:-

Grid One 1923-1939

Grid Two 1949-1959

Grid Three 1957-1961

Grid Four 1962-1965

Grid Five 1966-1971

Grid Six 1972 -1979 

That will do for a start .. we will back later ..

Jock Simpson