Motor Racing Legends is responsible for the historic support races at the modern Le Mans 24 Hours. The races are exclusively for Le Mans and Le Mans-type cars. In front of the vast Le Mans crowd, and basking in the unrivalled atmosphere of the greatest endurance race in the world, legendary battles of the past are fought again on the full 8.5-mile circuit. These are serious races – not parades – with classes based on engine size and age of car.
The inaugural Le Mans Legend in 2001 accepted cars which ran between 1949 and 1965; in 2003 the eligible years were 1959 to 1971. In 2004 the fabulous Group C, GTP and IMSA sports cars of the 1980s and 90s raced again at their spiritual home, while 2005 covered the 1935 to 1955 era. In celebration of the Centenary of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, 2006 saw two historic support races: 1923-1939, and post-War cars up to 1954. For 2007, the race covered 1956-1968 and the start of the great Ferrari vs Ford battles; while 2008 sees the return of the Group C cars to Le Mans.
The BRDC (British Racing Drivers’ Club) has appointed Motor Racing Legends to run its Historic Sportscar Championship from 2008 onwards. Says Stuart Pringle, Secretary of the BRDC, “We’re confident that Motor Racing Legends’ experience of organising historic races at the top level of the sport will be hugely beneficial. Working together, our aim is to build on the name and ethos of the BRDC Historic Sportscar Championship but also to attract a greater number of entrants and restore the vitality which the series has perhaps lacked in recent years.”
To this end, some significant changes are being introduced by Motor Racing Legends. From 2008, all races will be run as a series of individual invitation events, primarily for sports cars and sports-racers built before 1960. The aim is also to hold longer races – ideally of one hour, and for one or two-driver entries – at some of the most renowned British and European historic meetings. In addition, there will be more stringent eligibility controls to ensure that cars conform to the spirit of the series. See the Calendar page for the full 2008 season.
A new European Pre-War race series was launched in 2004 by Motor Racing Legends. Since then, the Motor Racing Legends Pre-War Sports Car Series has gone from strength to strength and has now grown into a major international series for genuine sports cars of the 1920s and ’30s.
The series is for ‘proper’ historic sports cars, running in road trim with wings and lights, and each round typically consists of two, 2-driver, 45-minute races on consecutive days. The races, open to a huge range of sports cars from the Twenties and Thirties, aim to recreate the heady days of Birkin against Caracciola, Blower Bentleys against the might of Mercedes-Benz, of Alfa Romeo and Talbot, and the great endurance racing of Le Mans and the Mille Miglia. The emphasis is on minimum bureaucracy and maximum fun. For details of our 2008 season, see the Calendar page.
In 2006, the Royal Automobile Club and Motor Racing Legends proudly announced the launch of a brand new European historic race series. The new series, called the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy, is for genuine sports-racers of the post-War era, up to and including December 1955. Organised and managed by Motor Racing Legends, the races are at least one hour long, for two drivers, and held at premier historic race meetings.
Commented Royal Automobile Club Chairman, Tim Keown, “The Club’s rich motorsport heritage lives on today through our ties to such high-calibre events as the London to Brighton veteran car run, the Tourist Trophy (now awarded to winners of the British round of the FIA GT Championship) and, from 2006, this new series for Fifties sports cars to be run by Motor Racing Legends.” The Woodcote Trophy actively encourages the highest possible driving standards, with cars running to period specification. Our 2007 season comprised three races, at the Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or of Dijon, the Silverstone Classic and the Spa Six-Hour Meeting. See the Calendar page for details of our 2008 schedule.
Each year, Motor Racing Legends gathers together a group of the finest original Le Mans cars and cars of the Le Mans type to travel to the Sarthe circuit on the weekend of the modern 24 Hours. The highlight of this trip is a parade lap of the circuit just before the start of the main race.
Up to 30 cars leave the UK via the traditional Newhaven-Dieppe crossing and make their way through the glorious French countryside to Le Mans – making the most of the clear roads en route. The event has been running since 1982 and grows ever more popular with the huge crowds of Le Mans spectators as a celebration of the history of this great endurance race. It is from the Le Mans Cavalcade that the idea of the Le Mans Legend race was born.
Click here for an account of The History of the Le Mans Cavalcade by noted historian and motoring journalist David Burgess-Wise.
Click here for a gallery of images from the Le Mans Cavalcade 2007
The annual Motor Racing Legends Dinner is traditionally held in February, at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall. Celebrating the start of the motorsport season, this annual event is renowned for attracting the very best speakers. The great names from our sport who have spoken at previous Dinners include Richard Attwood, Norman Dewis, Johnny Herbert, Brian Lister, Sir Stirling Moss, Win Percy, Michael Salmon and Mike Wilds. Our 2006 speaker was David Richards CBE, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Prodrive Group, while 2007 saw Ray Mallock and Professor Gordon Murray take the floor. In 2008, we welcomed two outright Le Mans winners from different eras: Jochen Mass and Allan McNish.
Each June, Motor Racing Legends’ sister company, Motoring Adventures, is entrusted with organising a range of premier activities for one-make clubs at the Le Mans 24 Hours. These activities celebrate the connections of specific marques with the great 24 Hours event, and complement the historic support races run by Motor Racing Legends. Typically, the Clubs package includes the rare privilege of driving several parade laps of the full Le Mans circuit, early on the Saturday morning of the 24 Hours weekend. For more details, see www.motoringadventures.com
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