The preliminary list of cars and drivers entered for the 11th edition of the popular Peter Auto Le Mans Classic is online. This year’s Classic, to be held June 29-July 2, will be a very special one celebrating the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Peter Auto Classic is an incredible “rolling museum,” with well-remembered machinery brought back to life every summer for four full days of qualifying and racing. This year’s centenary edition is all the more “the edition not to be missed” for the majority of competitors.
And the entry data tells the story: More than 600 entries have been received and 275 cars have already been selected.
On list of ‘big names’ entered so far:
Emanuele Pirro who distinguished himself in Touring and Endurance events and won Le Mans five times in his 13 starts;
Jenson Button, the Formula 1 World Champion in 2009, raced 17 seasons in F1 from 2000 to 2016 and competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018;
Jan Magnussen has 22 Le Mans appearances and 25 F1 Grand Prix starts to his credit;
Darren Turner won the 24 Hours in the GT1 category in 2007 and 2008, and has made 17 Le Mans appearances;
Brian Redman took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 12 times. He boasts a remarkable sport-prototype record, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona three times and the 12 Hours of Sebring twice among other successes;
Vanina Ickx is the daughter of Belgian star Jacky Ickx (aka “Monsieur Le Mans”) and knows the Sarthe circuit well as she has competed there seven times. She has also participated in the Dakar, raced in the FIA GT, Le Mans Series and Pikes Peak.
In order to offer the public and the competitors homogeneous grids in terms of performance and historical relevance, the models selected for the 2023 Le Mans Classic are those which took part in the 24 Hour between 1923 and 1981. Priority is given to cars that have competed in the event.
In order to complete this provisional list, two further selection committees will be held at the end of January and February, with the final list expected to feature 750 cars. Grids 1 to 6 will bring together a total of 450 cars; a further 300 will be support-race machines: Endurance Racing Legends, Group C Racing, Porsche Classic Race Le Mans, and The Benjafield’s Le Mans Centenary Race.