The plan was actually quite simple: watch a few of the club parades from the Classic and Sports Car hospitality in the morning, wander out towards the circuit for the corporate ones and then see what interesting cars were parked up before seeing the Grid 1 race begin the competition. Only it didn't really work like that. We did wander after watching above the pit straight but then stumbled across the most stunning line up of classic cars assembled around the circuit; admiring them has taken up very nearly the rest of the day.
It's probably naive to comment on this but I knew nothing about the owners club displays before arriving at my first Classic. They were totally engrossing. There must have been 1,000 Porsches there, from 914 to 991 GT3, with every derivative of RS, 924, 944 and 928 seemingly there too. And if you haven't seen a Riviera Blue 968 CS before, see the pic below!
The Ford GT European registry sat opposite the Pantera French Connection, the latter containing more than 20 of De Tomaso's most famous model as well as two Longchamps and Mangustas. Lancia, Maserati, Ferrari and Lamborghini were out in force, with particular highlights there including a 350GT and beautiful Aurelia. There were a pair LaFerraris.
Ah yes, a noteworthy racer or two as well
Too common for you? How about the Venturi owners club? Or a Renault 21 Turbo? Ah yes, the French clubs for French cars. What a show. There must have been 30 A110s lined along with nearly as many A610s, many 5 Turbos and the like. I may have got quite excited about seeing an Alfa Montreal and Lexus LFA Nurburgring for the first time as well.
So even before having watched an old LM start for the Grid 1, the Classic has proved completely absorbing. Being able to wander through the paddocks and watch D-Types, GTOs, T70s and 917s being fettled with before their races only adds to the appeal.
Having watched a few laps of sterner men than I battling with the motorised behemoths of the early LM years, I can't wait for tonight's races. Grid 4 (1962-1965) starts at 9:40 so the later stuff will run at night. Harris is running in Grid 3 also. Should make for quite a show.
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