The pace car for the ACO Centenary Races supporting this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours has been confirmed as the CAV GT – a top quality recreation of the Ford GT40 built by South Africa-based Auto Futura.
Sir Stirling Moss will pilot the CAV GT during the pace car lap for the first ACO Centenary Race (running Le Mans-type cars from 1923 to 1939), before pulling off into the pits as the race begins. Sir Stirling will then take his place as a competitor on the grid for the second ACO Centenary Race (post-War Le Mans cars up to 1955), while race driver and journalist Tony Dron takes over at the wheel of the CAV GT pace car.
Both ACO Centenary Races take place on the morning of Saturday 17th June, a few hours before the start of the modern Le Mans 24 Hours, in front of the vast crowds and assembled media from around the world.
The history of the Ford GT40 is, of course, intricately linked with Le Mans. The GT40’s string of outright victories began in 1966 with a glorious 1-2-3 finish in the world’s great endurance race, and culminated in the nailbitingly close win of Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver in 1969.
The CAV GT is built at the Auto Futura factory in Westlake, Cape Town – a showpiece of engineering excellence. Each CAV GT takes 600 man-hours to create, and it is this attention to detail which has earned the car an international reputation as the best GT40 recreation in the business. For more information on the CAV GT, see www.cav.co.za.
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