the context
The 2014 season of “Historacing Festival" came to an end Sunday at the Ledenon in the south of France. This was the fourth and final round of the season counting for the different rankings after Dijon, Nogaro and Charade.
That's a total of ten trays that we found this weekend of October 18/19 (which will all take place in at least two distinct races) involving 300 vehicles from 60s to 90s.
Single-seaters in the “Trophée F3 Classic and Formule Renault Classic”, the “Challenge Formula Ford Historic” or the “Trophée Formule Ford Kent”.
Prototypes and GT in the “Challenge ASAVE GT / Tourisme” and “Trophée Saloon Car”.
Saloon-cars of any horizons in the “Trophée Maxi 1000” and the “HTCC Groupe 1”.
Famous Lotus Seven in the “trophée” being reserved for them.
The modernity was represented by the “Challenge Caterham” and the “Legend Cars Cup”.
Saturday, if started in the morning fog is in a summer weather that took place not less than 11 races.
On Sunday was a completely brightened up day which closed the chapter 2014 of the season of “Trophées Historiques des Circuits”.
HTCC (Historic Tourisme Champion Car) / Groupe 1
With 35 competitors registered, the tray of the HTCC, made up of old group 1 is still very competed.
This series puts in competition cars such as BMW 323I, Chevrolet Camaro Z28, Alfa Romeo GTV Bertone, Vauxhall Magnum or Simca rally III and many others.
The drivers of the HTCC Group 1 have delivered a brilliant show for their last confrontation of the season.
The title was between Patrick Bourguignon (Camaro Z28) and Stephane Delecour (Opel Commodore GSE).
If Didier Gruau (Vauxhall Magnum) won the both races of the weekend, the title has come to reward Patrick Bourguignon, driver of the magnificent yellow Camaro Z28.
Challenge ASAVE GT / Tourisme and Trophée Saloon Car
The “Challenge Asavé GT Tourisme and Trophée Saloon Car” making common tray, it’s two races in one in which we attended Lédenon.
With a contingent of about forty cars, the tray offers this weekend a rather exceptional diversity of vehicles Ferrari 308 Gr4, Porsche 911 RSR, RS, SC, Chevrolet Corvette C2 and Monza, Ford Mustang, Mustang Shelby and Falcon was also present of the VW beetle, Alpine A110 and GTA Europa Cup.
The first race was dominated by Christophe Terriou (Porsche 911 RS) and Gilles Ceron (Chevy Monza), who discovered the route of Ledenon.
Resuming their arm wrestling of the day before, Gilles Ceron (Chevy Monza - replica of the car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1976) and Christophe Terriou gave a hard fight during the first half of the race by constantly swapping their positions
Unfortunately, the withdrawal of the powerful American then put a premature term to their confrontation.
The "Porsche guy" so joined the arrival triumphantly and he is new winner of the “Trophée Saloon Car”. Ghislain Gaubert (Porsche 911) won the “Challenge Asavé”.
Trophée Maxi 1000
Maxime Lefebvre (Alpine A110) won the crown of champion 2014 “Trophée Maxi 1000” (which includes sports less than 1300 cm3 pre-1977), two weeks earlier on the British Brands Hatch circuit.
Further Mini Cooper this class sees being in confrontation alpine A110, Matra Jet6, CG 1300 and even Simca 1100 Ti.
As for the class 1000 cm3, it puts in the grips Ginetta G15, Honda N600 and Trabant P50.
Both races of the weekend were dominated by Lawrence Majou (Austin Cooper S) and Michel Frenoy (Mini Cooper) in this order on Saturday and Sunday in the reverse order.
Albert Donnay, driving his little Honda N600, won the class in 1000 cm3.
One of the attractions of this “Trophée Maxi 1000” meeting was the Michel Abeille and Jean Louis Petitjean’s Trabant P50, moved by twin-cylinder two-stroke engine of 594 CM3.
Its characteristic sound and its "great face” attracted the sympathy of the public present around the circuit.
Single-seaters trophies and others
The single-seater trophies gave rise to beautiful sparring throughout the weekend.
Whether it is in “Trophée F3 Classic and Formule Renault Classic”, the “Challenge Formula Ford Historic” or the “Trophée Formule Ford Kent” as well as the TROPHY LOTUS which invited a dozen old prototypes of the “Coupe de l'Avenir” to join it.
That's a total of 9 races, counting the final Single-seaters, off-championship, ran Sunday afternoon of 13 laps, which were offered to the public for the last meeting of this “Historacing Festival 2014”.
Off historical racing trophies
As a supplement to the events of the” Historacing Festival” Legends Cars Cup and Challenge Caterham R300 came to battle on the hilly Ledenon.
In equal cars, the “Challenge Caterham R300” always gives rise to particularly relentless confrontations.
With a victory which happened for a few milliseconds between Timothé Duret and Henri Bizet. As in “Trophée Maxi 1000”, Timothé Duret and Henri Bizet rose on the highest steps of the podium on Sunday but in an inverse order to that of the day before.
For its seventh and final round of the year, the “Legends Cars Cup” was present at Ledenon.
It is of formidable motor-driven machines of motorcycle (Yamaha 1300 engine) that keep their cards well hidden under their look of Americans of the 30s.
Two 20 minutes sprint races on Saturday and an endurance of 40 minutes on Sunday gathered together some 35 cars registered.
In the term of an undecided season, it’s Guillaume Pigeat who won the title with 793 points ahead of Mané Vignjevic 788 and Kenny Robles 784.
In conclusion, was an extremely beautiful weekend.The weather was with us, the races were contested and some giving rise to the attribution of the title of champion and especially it allowed us to see countless different cars.
See you in 2015 for the new French historic circuits championship.
If you have the opportunity to attend has one of these meeting, don't hesitate.
The provisional schedule:
4/5 avril : Dijon
2/3 mai : Le Castellet
20/21 juin : Charade
5/6 septembre : Nogaro
10/11 octobre : Lédenon