235,000 sell-out crowd enjoys bumper Le Mans Classic
Biggest ever crowd at the Le Mans Classic enjoyed over 70 races across the weekend
Huge entries, including over 80 Bentleys, graced la Sarthe in July as grids from every classic era were gathered for an event that spans 24 hours
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With more than 800 cars in action and a crowd that topped 235,000, this year’s Le Mans Classic has gone down as the biggest historic race meeting ever.
Running in the shadow of the centenary edition of the modern-day Le Mans 24 Hours, the Classic proved it was no mere sideshow by selling out its ticket allocation easily, the heaving crowd witnessing 24 races, each with an average grid size of 70 starters.
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Groups of cars divided by age have three 45-minute outings across the span of 24 hours.These six groups, or Plateaux, cover the years of 1923 up to 1981, with aggregates of their three outings creating a final result. There is also a final group for more modern machinery from 1996-2010 that includes GT1s, Group C cars and LMP prototypes.
The entry list included former Le Mans winners such as Andy Wallace, Emanuele Pirro and Yannick Dalmas, while greats such as Derek Bell and Henri Pescarolo took part in a repeat of the historic parade that also featured at the main 24 Hours.
Peugeot Group C was among those representing the modern era as the Le Mans Classic remit expands
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In addition to the on-track activities, more than 200 car clubs helped pack 8500 vehicles into the centre of the Circuit de la Sarthe.
And to cap things off, 22-time grand slam winner Rafael Nadal played a starring role, the tennis legend acting as ‘grand marshal’ for the children’s race for electric or lawn-mower powered miniatures. There were almost 100 of those from 30 different brands. That’s one way to make up for missing Wimbledon…
For a full report on the epic 11th Le Mans Classic, see our website.
Our own Andrew Frankel was in action, driving a continuation Blower Bentley