Centenarian sports-car racers celebrated at the Le Mans Classic

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You've heard it all umpteen times by now: 2023 marks the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The motoring press has been running story after story about aspects of Le Mans history and the various celebratory events which have been arranged to make sure the anniversary doesn't pass anyone by, but the weekend of 30th June to 2nd July was reserved for the big one, the one and only Le Mans Classic.

Hailed by the organizers as an unprecedented success, with a record-breaking 235,000 spectators turning up to see over 800 racing cars on track, and more than 9,000 cars displayed off-track, it was a festival of motorsport like no other, with cars to suit all tastes from the Vintage era onwards.

For pre-war enthusiasts, there were three races dedicated to cars constructed between 1923 and 1939. We would have quite liked to see the pre-war grids divided into separate races for vintage and post-vintage cars, but we suppose there are only so many races that can be crammed into one weekend. In any case, the grid was a feast for the eyes, with multitudes of Bentleys, Bugattis and Alfa Romeos lining up alongside Talbots, Rileys, Morgans, Delages, plus one or two representatives of Chenard et Walcker, MG, Tracta, Delahaye, HRG, Chrysler, Frazer Nash, Amilcar, Citroën, Lagonda, Singer, Austin Sevens, BMW 328s and FWD Alvises. Additional entertainment was provided by the Benjafield's Racing Club, which organized a Bentley-only support race with no fewer than 73 of the 'world's fastest lorries' taking part.

Off-track, the highlight was undoubtedly Les Pionniers, an exhibition showcasing the various marques which raced in the inaugural 1923 24 Hours. Some, such as Bentley, Chenard et Walcker, Amilcar, Lorraine-Dietrich, Delage, Salmson and Bugatti needed no introduction but much rarer breeds, including Georges Irat, Bignan, Berliet, Rolland-Pilain, Sara, Corre La Licorne and Vinot-Deguingand, also featured. Highlights included a recreation of one of the Ford-Montier Model Ts specially built for Le Mans by French Ford agent Charles Montier, and an exquisite 1923 Excelsior Albert I torpédo, an impressive but short-lived Belgian luxury car which would have rivalled Hispano-Suiza during its brief production run.

Club displays predominantly revolved around post-war cars, but a notable exception was that of the Amicale Tricyclecariste de France, which displayed a fine spread of vintage three-wheelers, especially Darmonts, with a few four-wheeled cyclecars thrown in for good measure. One which stood out in particular was the 1927 Villard Type 27, a decidedly slothful-looking twin-cylinder, friction-drive three-wheeled pick-up in attractively scruffy condition, which is one of 600 Villards built between 1924 and 1936, of which 24 are known to survive.

Several other very special cars were brought along by manufacturers. Bentley, of course, had a prominent presence, displaying the 1929 4½-Litre 'Blower' with which Tim Birkin famously duelled with Caracciola's Mercedes-Benz SSK in the 1930 24 Hours, as well as the recently recreated 1939 Bentley Corniche prototype, an Art Déco marvel which was originally built by Vanvooren but was partially destroyed when its coachwork, having been removed from the chassis, was caught in a bombing raid on the Dieppe docks when it was just a few months old. Now that Delage has been relaunched as a supercar brand, it was also present and exhibited a historic 1927 15-S-8 Grand Prix car. Surprisingly, though, Bentley's nearest rival in the glamour stakes was Škoda, which displayed a gorgeous 1937 Popular Monte Carlo, a teardrop-shaped streamliner which embodied Déco styling at its most elegant.

Truly, the centenary festivities at the Le Mans Classic were well worth the long wait and anticipation.

Words and photographs: Zack Stiling
With thanks to the W. O. Bentley Memorial Foundtion for additional information
 

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