Classic Le Mans 3rd to 7th July
Well this was an outing and a half! David in his Bentley and Jack in his Lagonda with his Dad Jason as passenger, Roger with his son Dave in David’s Lagonda and our customers Richard and Wendy Jones in their Lagonda joined forces for a trip to classic Le Mans. Thankfully it was a much shorter ferry journey to Cherbourg than the earlier trip to Portugal with a lovely smooth 4 hour crossing (no seasickness this time!) and then a good drive onto the Le Mans circuit.
Despite a late arrival at around 10.30pm the hospitality was excellent allowing the group to secure beers and pizza before bed.
David wasn’t keen on camping but thanks to the great hospitality that was organised by Lycian Events he had nothing to worry about, this was “posh camping”!
The group enjoyed Village Belle Glamping Tents with proper beds and duvets and finished off with a battery operated candle and fairy lights on the outside – very cosy and civilised complete with hot showers and flushing toilets.
The group were staying within the Lagonda Club enclosure and joined the club at the Friday evening reception celebrating 90 years of a Lagonda winning at Le Mans. It was lovely to see lots of Lagonda’s parked up around the marquee.
Unfortunately, David didn’t get to enjoy the reception as he went off to fix one of the Lagonda’s that was racing.
It had broken down after its first practise race due to a water leak. Luckily David always takes his tools and some spare parts to events and using our spare water pump successfully repaired the Lagonda belonging to Martin Bugler – chairman of the Lagonda club. After this fix, Martin successfully went out to do his night practise and then on to do his race.
David fixing the water leak
There was no racing for our boys this time, but plenty of networking and, as mentioned, helping out fellow Lagonda owners.
The hospitality food tent was conveniently located next to the racetrack. This proved to be a bonus as whilst watching the late night racing it started drizzling around midnight just as the racing was getting exciting and therefore had to be stopped. But Jack advised that the hospitality crew came around in the early hours with chicken drumsticks! The racing resumed around 4am.
The Cars outside the "Posh Camping" Tents
The grids were all full with a great selection of cars. The Pre War grid had a variety of vintage Bentley’s along with Lagonda’s, Alfa’s and other exotic cars. Sadly the Vintage Cars didn’t get to compete in their race due to an accident in a prior race. One of the highlights was watching 2 of the GT40’s that were trying to take each other out, seriously racing hard at over 200mph, just as they would have done in period.
Clearly, for Jack one of the highlights of the Classic Le Mans road trip was the food! Especially the nice roast dinner they enjoyed on Sunday 6th when they could sit and enjoy the racing from the table.
Dave also liked the Baguette and pizza vending machines in the villages! Not so much classic Le Mans, more like classic le mange!
As a veteran and Vintage Bentley and Lagonda owner and restorer (as well as Rally Support and competitor), we pride ourselves in having the knowledge, enthusiasm and expertise to be able to offer the most detailed and comprehensive service to our worldwide customer base.
30 plus years in the trade and a real passion for vintage Bentley and Lagonda cars has given us an extensive knowledge and experience of vintage car restoration. Our complete service means no matter whether it’s a full restoration or a service, you’ll be in expert hands. From a complete engine rebuild to an interim service, we’ll take care of your vintage car to the highest of standards.
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