2022 Le Mans Classic - Plateau 3 - 1957 to 1961

The battle for the lead between the winning 1958 Lotus XV and the 1961 Ferrari Breadvan on Sunday morning.

 This Le Mans Classic plateau 3 covers the relatively short period from 1957 to 1961.  This was the period that saw Jaguar's last D-Type victory, the old Aston Martin victory but on the whole was a period dominated by Ferrari with wins in 1958, 1960 and 1961.  Porsche also scored a podium in this period.  Other manufacturers such as Lotus, Chevrolet and OSCA, amongst others, scored class wins.  It was perhaps also the period that saw GT cars begin to increase in importance.

Plateau 3 at this year's Le Mans Classic had 75 cars take part but only 68 of these completed a lap.   I saw their second race on Sunday morning and took photos of the start and the race at both the Ford and Dunlop chicanes.  I had also visited their paddock on Friday afternoon.  I hope that the 35 photos in this blogpost give you a flavour of this amazing plateau that had Lotus, Jaguar, Ferrari and Tojeiro battling to be on the podium.

The rolling start of the Sunday morning race at 6.30am with Tojeiro Jaguar, Lotus XV and Ferrari Breadvan approaching the start line.

Lots more cars now approaching the line but still no green light.

The lights have gone green and the race is now underway.

The huge field continues to go past.

This 1958 Lotus XV won Plateau 3 on scratch driven by Oliver and Grahame Bryant.  Here the Lotus goes through the Dunlop Chicane on Sun day morning.

The second placed 1956 Jaguar D-Type of Joe Macari and Harrison Newey leads the third placed car through the Ford Chicane on Sunday morning.

The third placed 1959 Tojeiro Jaguar driven by James Cottingham and Max Girardo exiting the Dunlop Chicane on Sunday morning.

The fourth placed 1959 Lotus XV of Quirina Louwman and James Wood leads a Lotus Elite through the Dunlop Chicane.

The fifth placed 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta exiting the Dunlop Chicane on Sunday morning.

It was driven by Vincent Gaye.

The sixth placed 1955 Jaguar D-Type of Steve Brooks.

The seventh placed 1963 TVR Grantura MkIII of Eugène Deleplanque.

The eighth placed Lotus XV of Olivier Blanpain and V.Janssens leading an Aston Martin up the straight to the Dunlop Chicane.

The ninth placed 1960 Aston Martin DB4GT of  Wolfgang Friedrichs in the Dunlop Chicane.

The tenth placed 1969 Aston Martin DB4GT of Tom and J.Alexander.

Winner of the Plateau 3 Index of Performance was this 1959 Lotus Elite driven by David Clark and Pierre Fillon.

The third place in the Index of performance went to this 1963 CD 62 Panhard driven by Laguerre/Laguerre/Zagame.

Seventh place in the IoP went to this 1961 Lotus Elite driven by Edouard Deguemp and M.Jully.

On its way to twelfth place on scratch this 1961 Austin Healey 3000 Mk1 gets a little crossed up at the Ford Chicane.

A 1961 Austin Healey 3000 MkII BN7 bumps over the kerbs at the chicane.

A 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB takes a wider line at the chicane.

A 1959 Cooper T49 Monaco leads a Lotus XI through the chicane.

A 1956 Lotus XI 1500 in the Ford Chicane.

A 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ in the Dunlop Chicane on Sunday morning.

A 1961 Jaguar E-Type 3.8 leads a 1958 Porsche 356 A 1500 Coupé through the Dunlop Chicane.

A 1961 OSCA 1600 GT Zagato in the Dunlop Chicane.

A 1959 Lister Knobbly Chevrolet.

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB leads an Aston Martin through the chicane.

A 1955 Jaguar D-Type in the DunlopChicane.

A 1961 Lotus Elite S2 catches the early Sunday morning light.

A 1961 Lotus Elite S2.  This won the Plateau 3 back in 2016.

There were a number of Morgans in this Plateau including this 1963 Morgan Plus 4 Super Sports.

A 1964 René Bonnet Djet about to be lapped.

John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web à condition de créditer le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com, et de fournir un lien vers cette page.

This 1960 Austin Healey 3000 Mk1 BN7 is the ex-woks car that competed as a works entry in the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 hours of Le Mans (when it had Reg No.UJB 143).  I remember this car when John Chatham raced it for many years.

A 1960 Chevrolet Corvette C1 Phase 2 in the paddock.