2022 Le Mans Classic - Plateau 5 - 1966 to 1971

Peter Vögele and his 1970 Porsche 917.  Essential to have a 917 in this plateau as it won in both 1970 and 1971.  In the LM Classic this year it finished eleventh.

Plateau 5 at this year's Le Mans Classic had a very representative field of the period with a Porsche 917, a Ferrari 312P, a number of Ford GT40s including two MkIVs (which won in 1967), loads of Lola T70s, a Howmet TX and of course a host of 2 litre sports cars from Chevron and Lola and GT cars from Porsche, Ferrari and Chevrolet.   OK so some of them are continuation cars or recreations  but frankly I for one don't care.  Always better to see an actual car that raced at the time but some cars have become almost too expensive to race and I would rather see a couple of continuation models than never see a particular model ever race in my life.

Just after the start of race 3 and four Lola T70s lead the way up to the Dunlop Chicane.

The 1968 Howmet TX Gas Turbine car whistles past a Ferrari Daytona.  The Howmet is a car I just love seeing at Historic events.

Two fast Chevron B19's battling it out at Tertre Rouge.  

The winner on scratch of plateau 5 was this 1967 Lola T70 MkIII driven by Nick Sleep and Alex Montgomery.

Second on scratch was this 1971 Chevron B19 driven by Henry Fletcher.

Winner of the Performance Index and third on scratch was the beautiful 1969 Ferrari 312P driven by Remo Lips and David Franklin.

Fourth was the 1971 Chevron B19 of Nelson.

Overtaking a Ferrari Daytona on its way to fifth place is another 1971 Chevron B19, that of John Emberson.

The 1970 Lola T210 of Frank Jacob and Arnold Meier ended up in sixth place.

Yet another 1971 Chevron B19!  This one of Rory Jack finished seventh.

Eighth was this 1967 Lola T70 MkIII of Christophe Gadais and Romain Belleteste.

The ninth placed 1969 Lola T70 MkIIIB of D Desantis, D Desantis and D Hinton fights off a challenge from a Lola T212.

This 1970 Chevron B16 of John Sheldon finished tenth.

The first of the Ford GT40s in this plateau came twelfth.  This 1966 car was driven by the Doncieuxs.

The 1968 Howmet TX finished thirteenth driven by Xavier Micheron.

Simon Evans finished an excellent seventeenth in this 1972 Ford Capri RS2600.

In eighteenth place was this 1975 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Competizione (Daytona).

This 1966 Porsche 906 leads a 1970 Porsche 911 2.3L ST. they finished in reverse order in 22nd and 23rd positions.

The 1966 Alpine A210 driven by Von Opernheim and Middendorf.

A 1971 Datsun 240Z driven by Crofton and Packman.

A 1968 Chevron B8.

A 1967 Ford GT40 MkIV.

Another 1967 Ford GT40 MkIV leads a midfield pack.

The third Ford GT40 MkIV present didn't race.  

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.

1970 Porsche 914/6 GT.

Le Mans Classic 2018 - Plateau Five 1966 to 1971

The amazing 1968 Howmet TX Gas Turbine car at Tertre Rouge on Saturday night.   Incredible to hear it whistling past during the night - an eerie experience!

This is probably my favourite plateau at the Le Mans classic, for two reasons.  Firstly I remember seeing these cars race in the late sixties and early seventies and thus I get a real nostalgia kick from seeing them.  Secondly, they race on Saturday night and Sunday morning when the light gives you some classic Le Mans shots.   

It is dawn on Sunday morning and the sun rises below the iconic Dunlop bridge as Plateau Five cars race into the sunlight.

1966 to 1971 represents an era of change as Ferrari had dominated the early sixties but Ford won four times on the trot from 1966 to 1969,  Then Porsche began their amazing winning record at Le Mans by taking wins with the 917 in 1970 and 1971.  This latter era was well represented with a number of Porsche 917s including a recreation of one of the 1969 spec cars driven by a brave Romain Dumas.  Other famous drivers racing in this plateau included Jacques Lafitte.

The 1966 Lola T70 MkIIIB of Philippe Vandromme and Jacques Lafitte.

The winning car in the paddock.  It is the 1972 Duckhams-Ford which was racing in the 1966 to 1971 plateau as it started its life as a 1971 Formula One Brabham before being converted by Gordon Murray into a Le Mans car for Alain de Cadenet and Chris Craft.

A 1970 Chevron B16-FVC at the Ford Chicane in the twilight before dawn.

Unfortunately this 1970 Porsche 917K stayed in the paddock.  It looks resplendent in its David Piper colours.

A Lola T70 MkIIIB enters the start finish straight very early on Sunday morning.

Some Italian flavour in the plateau.  A 1971 Alfa Romeo 33 TT3 and a 1972 Ferrari Daytona 365GTB/4 Grp IV. 

The winning Duckhams-Ford driven by Jaques Nicolet.

Around dawn a group of cars heads up the hill towards the Dunlop chicane.

Some lovely period racing Ferraris.  The 1970 Ferrari 512S in the foreground and a 1970 Ferrari 512M behind.

The 1969 spec Porsche 917 driven by Romain Dumas.

An interview in the paddock whilst seated in the 1968 Healey-Climax SR2.

This 1972 Chevron B21 FVC finished ninth.

This 1969 Lola T70 MkIIIB finished runner up driven by P.France.

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.

The start of the second Plateau five race on Sunday morning before dawn.