8th Edition Of Le Mans Classic
123,000 Spectators
Celebrate History Of 24 Hours !
8th Edition Of Le Mans Classic
Story and photos by Lewis Schucart
LE MANS , France —
Every two years , a very special event takes place on a historically acclaimed track about two hours west of Paris . The eighth running this summer brought classic sport cars together , the model years ranging from 1923 to 1981 .
LeMans Classic is a biennial vintage sports car event held on the grounds of the 24 Hours of Le Mans . It began in 2002 and runs every two years in July on the full 13.65 kilometer ( 8.5 miles ) circuit — also used for the annual modern day 24 Hours of Le Mans .
The LeMans Classic event of 2002 was the first time since 1923 that the full 24-hour circuit — part of which are public roads the rest of the year — was closed specifically for an event other than the annual running of the 24 Hours of LeMans with contemporary sport cars and prototypes , thus allowing 1,000 car owners and gentleman drivers to experience what it must have been to race these cars on this circuit .
The biennial event consists of a series of races for cars which have competed at the 24 Hours of LeMans or for similar cars of the same model and vintage . Only cars built from 1979 and earlier are allowed , with all cars being broken into seven different eras . To compete in the races a driver must own an international competition license , meaning the drivers are of a professional level .
Car shows and auctions are also hosted on the Bugatti Circuit grounds , with various car clubs gathering to show off their nearly 8,500 of vintage and collector cars .
A couple of historic sport cars pass under the famous Dunlop Tire bridge in the late afternoon .
24 DENTON COUNTY Living Well Magazine | SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016