Stuart Shield reports on the Classic Grand Tour in Le Mans
It has only been going for three years but the Classic Grand Tour sponsored by Chopard attracted more cars than ever for the Concours De Elegance and road rally. Centred around the Le Mans Country Club, it takes place a week before the world’s most thrilling motor race, the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The line-up of cars dated from 1925 to the very latest supercars headlined by Lamborghini featuring five Huracans and an Aventador. They also displayed two of the oldest cars from their museum, the oldest surviving Muira, the car claimed as the world’s first supercar and a 400GT 2+2 sports car, the first of its type off the production line.
Of the many cars displayed at the event, over 60 took part in the Concours on the first day. They were judged in the morning prior to an afternoon parade in front of the Country Club terrace and an admiring crowd hosted by Bruno Vandestick, a race commentator for the
24 Hours.
On Saturday morning at 9am sharp, the cars left the Country Club for the rally. They took in over 100 kilometres of beautiful scenic roads across the Sarthe region of France, guided by marshalls to ensure all participants arrived at the check points. The rally passed through nine different municipalities and at every location huge crowds greeted the cars.
This was not a race, rather a tour of desirable cars from the golden age of motoring right up to the most technically advanced cars of today. Within the long procession were six Lamborghinis followed by a Bugatti Veyron, a Lagonda Tourer from 1925 and a Mercedes 300 SL that once belonged to Paul Newman. Participants came from all over the world to showcase their cars then enjoy the thrill of the 24 Hours Race the following weekend. The area is rich with the history of motorsport and this has positively rubbed off amongst the locals who encouraged the drivers to blip throttles as the cars rumbled through the towns and villages. The French are famous for their cuisine and wine and the guests at the evening gala at the Le Mans Country Club were well served with the best from the region while the prize giving took place.
It would be unthinkable to visit Le Mans and not drive on the world’s most famous racetrack. So, on the final day, we had a pilgrimage to drive on a large piece of the circuit just a few days before the big race began. The track is mainly public roads lined with Armco and barriers. We limited our speed in the Lamborghini Aventador to less than 100 km per hour but Le Mans cars have achieved over 400 km per hour.
We left the track and headed for the iconic Hotel De France located in the town of La Chartre Sur Le Soir, a few kilometres from Le Mans. It was first discovered by racing teams in the 50s and over the years teams from Aston Martin, Porsche, Ford and Ferrari prepared their cars in the hotel’s courtyard, then drove them to and from the circuit on public roads. Drivers including Derek Bell MBE, Jacky Ickx, Jochen Rindt, Bruce McLaren, Sir Stirling Moss OBE, Jackie Stewart and Mario Andretti stayed there when they were competing and the walls in the hotel bar pay homage to these legends.
