Le Mans Classic 2025

[RobTwin]

A bit later than I had planned, but a lot of photos to sort through with not enough spare time hopefully worth the wait...

Way back at the start of July, a few of us set off from Hitchin to get the 11pm ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe.
Us it the Sport Satellite , Matt and Mandie in the Challenger, Paul & Andy in their '57 2-dr wagon and Stu's eldest Charlotte & other-half, James in his Subaru.
Quite a convoy, for the first few miles, till the 57 had a spot of rear wheel-stud bother and had to return home

In true Top Gear fashion we carried on as we had a ferry to catch, so we left Paul & Andy waiting for the AA, and had a trouble-free trip south to Newhaven, getting there at 9.45pm, meeting up with Kev &Tina in their '71 Satellite. Paul & Andy got back home at 11pm - same time as the ferry departed - and made plans to get the first ferry they could in the morning (using Paul's Ram) and meet us at Le Mans later on the Thursday afternoon/evening.

So here's a few pics from the queue at Newhaven, 10pm ish...

[RobTwin]

After a sleep-less crossing, thanks to the loudest snorer on the ship who had to be in the seat in front of me we docked in Dieppe at 5am and set off for Le Mans, with a couple of planned stops, thanks to Matt's organisational skills plus a couple extra fuel stops for us, of course

We also met up with Paul & Shaun, in Paul's F150

First coffee/patisserie stop was at a small town on the Seine near the Pont de Brotonne bridge, which was cloaked in mist when we got there around 7am.

As you can see we let Matt & Kev take the lead, most of the way...

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[RobTwin]

More to follow...

[Pete]

Excellent report and photos!!!

[RobTwin]

Thanks Pete, now where were we....? Oh yes, first scheduled stop.

Next stop was to be at a service area about an hour short of Le Mans, where we'd meet Steve Rawlings & other-half - who have recently relocated to France, an hour or two south of Le Mans.

[RobTwin]

And there was us, thinking we wouldnt see Paul & Andy till later in the day, as they had to wait for a morning ferry... and guess who turns up in the very same service area while we were chatting in the car park? Yes, they'd pulled a crafty one and driven to Folkestone at about 2am to get the Eurotunnel Shuttle and driven non-stop to meet us at the services

So the convoy had now gained a Dodge Ram and a Ford Excursion...

[RobTwin]

Our campsite at Le Mans didn't open until midday and we got there soon after, and straight away got to work putting tents up... in the high 30's deg C temps

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Paul grabs a well-earned bit of shut-eye after an almost non-stop drive from Calais...

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[RobTwin]

For the rest of the Thursday, we had a mooch round our hosts' (Triumph Sports Six club) camp site and some of the displays towards the paddock...

[RobTwin]

Friday - first full day of racing, staring at 9.30am with qualifying through to 3am

A few-ish photos...

[RobTwin]

[RobTwin]

Last ones for today - Plateau 6 (1972 to 1981), my fave class...

[Stu Twin]

Ooh thanks for posting them. I predict a few more to come. Nice memories of a fantastic event.
Will be a shame if they change it from bi-annual to annual, and split the years of the classes.
Currently every era from Twenties up to almost present day.
No dramas from any of the cars, thankfully.
(apart from Paul’s 57)

[RobTwin]

Yes, more to come this evening

And yes it's already confirmed:

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And I think next year is the 1976 - 2015

Shame

[RobTwin]

Ooh thanks for posting them. I predict a few more to come. Nice memories of a fantastic event.
Will be a shame if they change it from bi-annual to annual, and split the years of the classes.
Currently every era from Twenties up to almost present day.
No dramas from any of the cars, thankfully.
(apart from Paul’s 57)

Oh and I think you meant biennial, not bi-annual... that would be a bit too often

[Stu Twin]

I did wonder.
Everything seems to be ‘Bi’ something these days.