The inaugural Le Mans Classic Legend captivated the historic motorsport community over the weekend of 2-5 July. After more than 20 years of the biennial Le Mans Classic, Peter Auto and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest have split their flagship event into an annual, alternating format.
This year’s Le Mans Classic Legend celebrated the modern era of endurance racing, with expansive grids and support races incorporating everything from 1970s prototypes and Group C icons through to thunderous NASCARs and GT3 machines of the 2010s. The event drew almost 160,000 passionate enthusiasts, a good number of whom shared my ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg in machinery ranging from Porsche 911 GT3s to MGAs, Volkswagen Type 2s and Italian exotica.
After arriving at the Sarthe, spectators were treated to 350 racing cars across five grids, on-track demonstrations, and 104 car clubs displaying more than 3200 vehicles around the legendary French circuit. I’m disappointed I was only able to attend on Saturday for my first visit, because it was clear by the end of the day that I’d barely scratched the surface.
Saturday got underway in scorching hot sunshine. The circuit was heaving with spectators and the atmosphere was electric. Having finally battled through the traffic, I entered the circuit at 10.30am and spent the remainder of the morning exploring the vast paddock, where all manner of breathtaking machinery was being prepared and displayed.
Highlights included guest of honour Gordon Murray’s selection of many millions of pounds of machinery, including two McLaren F1 LMs, a McLaren F1 road car, Gerhard Berger’s McLaren MP4/5B Formula 1 car, a GMA T.50S Niki Lauda and a GMA S1 LM.
The competitors’ paddock was every bit as absorbing. Group C royalty sat within touching distance – Porsche 962s and Jaguars being fettled between sessions alongside the Nissan R90CK that would fight for Grid 7 honours. My personal favourites were Audi’s diesel-powered LMP1 racers, a Dodge Viper GTS-R, Porsche and Jaguar Group C cars and the rotary-powered Mazda 787B that conducted ear-splitting demo runs across the weekend.
Another headline attraction was the collection of Porsche 917s gathered in the village ahead of their parade, spanning short-tail K and long-tail LH variants alongside an earlier 907. The legendary Porsches provided my first on-track action of the day, the sound of their flat-12 engines and the sight of their vibrant liveries on La Sarthe was worth the ferry crossing alone.
There was also an exhibition of famous film cars including the DeLorean DMC-12 from Back to the Future and the ‘Eleanor’ Ford Mustang from Gone in 60 Seconds, as well as the new M24 Motorsport Museum – though that was one of the many things I simply ran out of time for.
After venturing to the top of the main grandstand on the pit straight, I settled in to watch Little Big Mans. One of Le Mans Classic’s most charming traditions, it sees all the pageantry of a 24 Hour race – including the grid walk and brass band – before 45 children sprint across the circuit in a traditional Le Mans start and set off in miniature replicas of iconic racing machines.
The most memorable part of the day arrived at 4pm, as I sat in the sun beside the Dunlop Curves to see three-time world skiing champion Alexis Pinturault flag off the Grid Six race for prototypes and GTs from 1972 to 1984.
As the vast 45-car cavalcade – Porsche 935s, BMW M1s, a flame-spitting Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo and much more – made its way through Maison Blanche, the tannoy began the slow, ominous build of Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra, the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Its famous crescendo landed just as the field thundered down the pit straight at full noise. It was one of the most spine-tingling spectacles I’ve ever witnessed.
Once the racing settled in, the iconic Dunlop Curves proved to be the perfect place to watch these machines driven at full bore. Here, the 935s and Lancia angrily crackled and spat flames as they braked and downshifted into the first right-hander, lap after lap.
Mid-race, a red BMW M1 trailed smoke into retirement – and when several cars skidded into the dusty gravel trap on what looked like its oil, out came the yellows. At the front, Maxime Guenat’s 1976 Lola T286 capitalised on a rival’s mistake at the Mulsanne chicane to take victory.
The finale of my day promised to be just as boisterous as Grid Six: the first NASCAR race ever held at the Circuit de la Sarthe, staged fittingly on the 250th anniversary of the United States. The 36-car field spanned the series’ 70-year history, ranging from Richard Petty’s no.43 Plymouth to a Camaro running in tribute to the 2023 Garage 56 Le Mans entry. My personal highlight, however, was the iconic Earnhardt-era black no.3, though it sadly retired halfway through the race.
Predictably, the V8 NASCAR sound was awesome. It was so loud, in fact, that by half distance I had my fingers in my ears whenever a gaggle of cars sprinted down the pit straight and into the Dunlop Curves. In the end, it was JC France’s Garage 56-tribute Camaro that snatched victory from Nigel Armstrong’s Toyota Camry by less than a second.
A three-and-a-half hour drive back to my accommodation meant leaving after the NASCAR race, disappointed to miss the Mazda 787B’s evening demonstration. But I departed simply amazed by what I’d seen, and determined to return for the entire weekend of next year’s Le Mans Classic Heritage – which celebrates the golden age of endurance racing from 1923 to the 1970s, on 1-4 July 2027.
For UK enthusiasts, the closest comparison is Goodwood’s Revival and Members’ Meeting – and while those events still edge the Sarthe for overall polish, Peter Auto and the ACO have created something unique that unquestionably belongs on any automotive bucket list.
