RICHARD MILLE
It’s 3AM on a Sunday and I’m standing near the Mulsanne turn, happily breathing in the smell of burnt rubber, hot oil and exhaust fumes as a Chevron B8 and a Ford GT40 nip at the heels of a Porsche 908 which, once it’s back in a straight line, spits the two rivals out to the tune of a spinetingling howl from its flat-eight engine as its tail lights fade rapidly into the distance. You’ve guessed this is the Le Mans 24 Hours, but what year – 1968, ’69 maybe?
Of course not. This was 2018 and those old stagers, beautifully prepared and probably running better than when they were new, were being raced hard and fast at the Le Mans Classic, the (usually) biennial event that celebrates the glory days of motor racing before the advent of billion-dollar team budgets and electronic gadgetry. As most readers will know, the 2021 Classic slated for July was cancelled but will return next year, with a special edition happening in 2023 to honour the centenary of the first Le Mans race.