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2026 Le Mans 24 Hours full entry list
Here’s the full entry list for the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours, the 94th running of the French endurance classic
Alex Brundle’s Lola T292 reaches “done-ish” after a year of historic race preparation
After months spent chasing parts, solving problems and learning the realities of historic car preparation, Alex Brundle finally has his Lola T292 running properly — before a brake failure, a recalcitrant Mustang and a Goodwood victory add further colour to his season
‘Our Alex’ was sharing this Lola T292 with Sir Chris Hoy at the BRDC Classic at Silverstone – and finished in second place
Giles Page
There’s always a bit more to be done to a car, however long you feel you’ve left a top engineering team to build it. You expect that satisfying closure of “it’s finished now”, but it’s nothing like that…
At Silverstone for the BRDC Classic, it was the first weekend where I could consider our Lola T292 kind of done-ish. At least in the sense that all its bits were broadly connected to it, and it seemed to go round in circles. I bought the rolling chassis last October, got hold of all the right bits, connected all the right people, and have been ‘on it’ ever since.
I’ve learned that these engineering teams are slightly on the back foot, trying to finish someone’s car pretty much all the time, and it’s usually not their fault. Supply issues or late calls from big fee-paying clients mean they move from fire to fire trying to put them out. Eventually that car is your car; it’s your turn to be on the phone saying, “Erm guys… That car needs to run next week.”
Ian Skelton
I was sharing the Lola with Sir Chris Hoy, above, in the 2-Litre Sportscars race. Chris did his normal thing, displaying his amazing sporting mindset and getting quickly up to speed in qualifying, until the brake clevis behind the pedal came loose from the piston at the back. Chris found this mechanical misdemeanor at Abbey, spun off into the abyss, and just missed another car.
Overnight we had a full nut-and-bolter. We came home second on race day, which helped put the broken pieces of my psyche back together after lobbing one of Britain’s greatest Olympians at the scenery.
Jimmy Broadbent was out in our Mustang with me in the Pre-66 Touring Cars. I qualified sixth in the wet. I love the ’Stang, but I’ve never driven a worse car in those conditions. You’re on a hard all-weather tyre. Drum brakes on the rear and discs on the front aggressively change the temperature by axle and therefore generate a sort of constantly variable brake bias. That plus a slightly clunky downshift from the iron-cased top-loader, and into a corner you never know which end will lock up.
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By the race, it was dry. I led in the early stages but a sparkplug lead slowly loosened itself for Jimmy, and we were down to seven cylinders, but at least we finished in fourth.
The following weekend I was in action at Goodwood. It was time for the Brighton & Hove Motor Club’s Eagle Sprint in a Mini Cooper S with Ireland Motorsports – the team of Innes Ireland’s daughter Christianne. Four standing-start flying laps later, the Mini (called Maurice) and I were victorious, seeing off a V8 Lotus Europa.
Christianne’s work with apprentice charities, and giving youngsters a chance to get hands-on with the car, means they’re doing a tremendous amount of work for the world of historic motor sport as well as keeping plenty of youths gainfully or potentially employed. A cause I’m keen to support.
Hard in to prep now, for the apex of the historic racing year at the Goodwood Revival.
Our top events this month
Hampton Court Palace Concours of Elegance
Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey, September 4-6
A Rolls-Royce Phantom I The Phantom of Love, with an interior inspired by Marie Antoinette’s sedan chair at the Victoria & Albert Museum, was last year’s best in show. Expect 80 cars spanning 100 years within the grounds of Henry VIII’s home. From £51.
British Historic Motorcycle Championships
Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire, September 12-13
It’s the final meeting of the 2026 British Historic Motorcycle Championships, with multiple vintage two-wheeled classes duking it out on track over two days. And there’s an open paddock allowing spectators to get close to the machinery. From £19.
Castle Combe Autumn Classic Festival
Castle Combe, Wiltshire, September 12-13
The circuit’s operating company celebrates its 50th anniversary – as the artwork on the official poster encapsulates, showing Gerry Marshall and his Baby Bertha Firenza in a Super Saloons race in ’76. Expect GTs, touring cars and sports cars on track. And there’s the chance to meet ex-Stig/007 stuntman Ben Collins. From £15.
Goodwood Revival
Goodwood Motor Circuit, West Sussex, September 18-20
There’s a La Dolce Vita theme this year. Jenson Button and Jacques Villeneuve go head-to-head in the RAC TT Celebration, while four-times Indy 500 winner Hélio Castroneves makes his historic racing debut. From £84.
Tour De Corse Historique
Calvi, Corsica, October 3-10
Cars from 1947-96 tackle the twists of Corsica, taking in Calvi, Lucciana, Propriano and Ajaccio. Five Triumph TR7s will be on the startline; the model made its WRC debut here in 1978.
More events |
| Sep 12-13 Classic Touring Cars – Snetterton |
| Sep 27 WEC – Fuji 6 Hours |
| Oct 1-4 WRC – Rally Italia Sardegna |
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