Le Mans Classic 2018 - Plateau Four - 1962 to 1965

An incident at Tertre Rouge as Ford GT40s 8 and 64 fight it out into the corner despite the waved yellow flag.    Both got penalized in the first race but the number 64 car of Cottingham and Twyman recovered to finish third on scratch.

What is there not to like about seeing a race with a Ferrari 250LM and eleven Ford GT40s.  Add to that five Porsche 904s or 906s plus some Shelby Cobras and you have classic racing heaven!   These guys were really racing and hence lots of yellow flag incidents.

The photos below are from their first race on late Saturday afternoon and from the paddock.  Lovely to see some unusual cars like the Elva.   In period Ferrari won all the Le Mans 24 hours from 1962 to 1965 as Ford showed reliability issues in period.  However, nowadays the Fords dominate and most Ferraris don't get raced due to their huge price tags.

Ford GT40s early in race one of Plateau Four.

Podium Finishers

The winner on scratch was Diogo Ferrao in his 1965 Ford GT40 MkI.

Second on scratch was Shaun Lynn in his 1965 Ford GT40 MkI.

This 1963 Shelby Cobra 289 finished first in the Index of Performance driven by Ludovic Caron.

Erwin France came second in the Index of Performance is his 1963 Shelby Cobra 289.

BRITISH MARQUES

Rare 1964 Elva GT160.  I believe it has a 2 litre BMW engine.

I loved seeing this 1965 Volvo engined Marcos GT race.

Marcos detail.

1965 Austin Healey 3000 MkII

1964 MG B

Some more MG Bs in the paddock.

Two Jaguar E-Types chase a Cobra and the Lotus Elan that finished third in the Index.

1964 Lotus Elan 26R.

ITALIAN MARQUES

A joy to see this 1964 Ferrari 250LM.  A similar car won the 24 hours in 1965.

1964 Ferrari 275 GTB

Bizzarrini / Iso AS3 badge.

1964 Iso A3/C Grifo.

1965 Abarth 1300GT.

PORSCHE

Porsche 906 in the paddock.

1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS.

1966 Porsche Carrera 6 

Unfortunately this Porsche 904 GTS completed no laps.

FRENCH MARQUES

1965 Alpine Renault M65

No.52 - 1966 CD SP66, No.9 - 1964 René Bonnet D-Jet.

1968 Alpine Renault A110 1300S

René Bonnet detail.

AMERICAN MARQUES

Rare 1965 Ford GT40 Roadster.

1964 Chevrolet Corvette C2 undergoing preparation.

Shelby Cobra 289 battle.

Ford GT40 detail.

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 aussi longtemps que vous créditez le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com et fournissez un lien vers cette page. 

Bizzarrinis and transporter.  Note the Bizzarrini Spider.