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Photography

Dix Mille Tours Le Castellet 2020 Yann SEITE - 25/26 July 2020

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ello,

The Dix Mille Tours are now an established reference in the world of historic events. But this year is special, due to the persistent Covid crisis. Initially scheduled in April, it took place on July 25 & 26, with (free) public access limited to a grandstand, but welcomed anyway !

On the participants' side, how great it was to see more than 350 cars on the track, sometimes in the hands of famous drivers ... Under the hot Provencal sun !

Here is my pictures selection of this 11th edition of the 10000 Tours, which kept its promises in a difficult context.

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nside an anonym pits, the absolute myth! Like many racing cars at that time, the story of 917-043 is tormented.
After its 2nd place at Le Mans in 1970, it was crashed by Siffert during tests at Hockenheim. According to its current Brazilian owner, the chassis was stored at the Porsche factory; the surviving parts were recycled, including the chassis plate, put on the spare chassis 044 (*)! This '044-043' was entered at Le Mans 71.
At the end of 1971, the change in regulations sounded the death knell for the 917 in the World Championship. Vasek Polak bought back the stored chassis, and recovered its original plate on '044-043'... This is how 043 is resurrected today, after paying a visit to the Retromobile 2020 show in Paris.

What a surprise, Gérard Larrousse himself took the wheel again 50 years later, with the jubilation that you can guess !

(*) : How to justify the frequent 'switches' of chassis plates: simplified customs formalities for a chassis already registered ? Other reasons ? To be investigated...

Porsche 917 LH (chassis 043)

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nother illustrious name: Marco Werner, 3 times winner at Le Mans (among others), drove this 935 K3 wearing the famous Interscope colors. A monster, which displays its turbos under its monumental rear wing.

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he 934/5 is an hybrid, which mixes the chassis and engine of the 934, with the wheels and rear wing of the 935.

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n the Porsche genealogy tree, the 911 RSR precedes the 934. This car was delivered new to the main French Porsche tuner of the time, Meznarie. It was entered in the Tour Auto (1975/76/78) and the Giro d'Italia 1976.

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he Obermaier Porsche 962 (962-155) wears the logo of the Le Mans 24 Hours track.
In 1993, this livery was the cause of a conflict between the ACO and the team, which was denied the right to compete under these colors, despite an honourable 9th place in the tests. Curiously (when one knows the inflexibility of the ACO), they finally gave in, and this 962 crossed the finish line in 7th position, with the unofficial title of first Porsche classified.

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nother 962, modified by Kremer. This is the Thomson CK6-08/03 carbon chassis, which raced 3 times in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991, 1992, 1993, taking 9th, 7th and 12th places respectively.

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62-170 is often seen in historic meetings, in spite of no prize list (she has never been entered in a race). It is one of the last chassis delivered by the Porsche factory, to the Japanese Trust Racing Team.
In the morning shadows, it is here caught at the end of the first straight of the track.

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ternal rivals : Porsche and Ferrari share a common emblem, the prancing horse!
The target of the 512 BB/LM was, as often, to counter Porsche and its hegemonic 935. The 512 didn't meet this objective (except at Le Mans in 1981), due to less efficient brakes, a high perched center of gravity of its engine and gearbox, that proved to be less reliable than those of the Porsche.

26685 has just been restored in the original '3M' livery. It was previously entered by the JMS Racing-Pozzi team in Daytona in 1979 (with the rallyman Jean-Claude Andruet) and in Le Mans 1979 & 1980.

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t is in the 'Endurance Racing Legends' series that we find the most recent 'oldies' :

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n the other hand, the Greatest Trophy competition allows you to admire the Italian classics of the 60's, like these sculptural Ferrari 250 and Bizzarrini 5300 :

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talians, continued, with this Osella that participated in the 1977 86th and last edition of the mythical Targa Florio. A crash involving spectators put an end to a race, that reached its peak when it was part of the World Constructors Championship.
The Le Mans prototypes (Porsche 908, Ferrari 512, ...) swallowed the 72 km of Sicilian mountain roads at an average of 130 km/h... 'Delightfully crazy', Jacky Ickx said !

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aguar ! The 10000 Tours always host emblematic models of the Coventry brand. The XJR9 J12-C-188, 3rd at the 1988 Daytona 24h (Cheever / Watson / Dumfries), bugles the ecstatic sound of the V12 7l !

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rom the V12, to the V8 inherited from F1 : Jaguar between tradition and innovation. This XJR14 due to Ross Brawn (1 out of 3) has a racing history, unlike the spare chassis seen last year.
In 1991, Martin Brundle and Derek Warwick won 3 poles and victory at Monza. In 1992, it crossed the ocean and was entered in IMSA.

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o less than 16 E Type's participated in the Sixties Endurance Plateau. The fights within the 64 cars pack were intense, especially between the AC Cobra and the Jaguar E-Type... Snakes vs cats !

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he art car livery of the JMW Aston Martin Vantage is the winner of a Dunlop design contest, for the 2010 Le Mans 24 hours.
Tim Sugden, Rob Bell and Bryce Miller would unfortunately be forced to retire. This 006 chassis is one of the 10 official Vantage GT2 chassis built by Prodrive.

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he Aston Martin DBR9/102 chassis was bought new by a wealthy Brazilian, Alcides Diniz, with the intention of entering it under the Capuava Racing banner; the crew was prestigious (Raul Boesel, Pedro Lamy and Tony Kanaan). The death of the team boss put an end to the project, and the DBR9 was never raced...
This model has some special features : a 'high downforce' kit, a more powerful 'spec D' engine (+75hp), and a faster gearbox.

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he LMPs of the 2000s are already 'old'... And they are well present in the Endurance Racing Legends series: the 'small' MG Lola below took part in the 24h of Le Mans, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

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ere is the 'Best of show' of the meeting !
Blessed be Shaun Lynn, its British owner, for daring to brave the track and its hazards with this car. Beyond the technical details and the performances (wins in both races of the weekend), it shows such a powerful and harmonious design !
In its career, this 2003 chassis (1st out of 5) finished 4th at Sebring (Smith / Kristensen / Capello), and set the pole of the test day at Le Mans. This performance heralded the final victory of its sister-ship 004/5, 004/1 being assigned the role of spare car.

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still haven't presented a French car... I'm done with this Peugeot 905. To tell the truth, this one is no less exclusive than the Bentley, but it has already been seen several times at Le Castellet. One becomes scandalously jaded when he regularly attends the 10000T !
This chassis is in 'Evo 1Bis' configuration: adjustable front wing, biplane rear wing, tunnels along the cockpit to feed two side radiators. The goal being to take one step ahead of its rivals Jaguar, Mazda, Toyota and Mercedes, which will be done successfully in 1992 and 1993. EV16 is the 3rd place laureate of the 1992 Le Mans 24 Hrs (Alliot / Baldi / Jabouille), and won the Donington and Magny Cours races. Crashed at the tests of the 1993 24h, she will not enter the race.

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ithout transition, electric cars... I'm kidding, of course. Historic race fans want to closely see 'living' cars, smell the burnt tyres and oil, and have their ears twisted by the mechanical sounds of the past.
Speaking of sounds, the US 'big blocks' below have no shortage of them!

The Riley & Scott MkIII, created in 1995, is a simple car (tubular chassis), accepting various engines (Ford, Chevy, Oldsmobile, ...), with easy maintenance. The opposite of its rival, the Ferrari 333SP.
Simple, but devilishly efficient: it will have a long (10 years) and prolific career in the USA: 48 victories (including 3 Daytona and 1 Sebring), 17 teams, manufacturers or drivers championships... A 'success story' which makes it the most successful sports prototype of the 90's !
In Europe, with a sharper competition, it will be another story.
Among other attempts, the 004 chassis, after winning Daytona and Sebring in 1996, was entered in Le Mans by Doyle Racing to try the winning draw, without success. The 006 chassis seen at Le Castellet has a 100% US career; it contributed to the superb 1996 season of the Doyle Racing: 7 victories in 10 races. In 1997, the same chassis finished 3rd at Daytona and Sebring.

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fter the original, the copy. The Keiler is a 'one shot UFO', based on a chassis from an aborted Chevron project; the bodywork is strongly inspired by the Riley & Scott. She was entered 3 times at Daytona (1997-98-99) and once at Sebring (1997); in the lineup, we find Jeff Ward, the legend of US motocross !

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obra on the track...

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nd on the parking lot (probably fake, but beautiful anyway).

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hat a fantastic car is the Saleen S7R (029R) of the ACEMCO team. 3rd of the ALMS American championship in 2004 (Brabham / Mowlem / Borcheller), her European career will start 5 long years later.
This GT1 may seem 'rustic' with its 7.0 liter Ford V8, but its bodywork is a true beauty!

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pileptics, stay out of the way ! Here is one of the 54 BMW M1 Procar built (chassis 4301076), which does not go unnoticed...

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he Procar series performed as a curtain-raiser for the European F1 Grand Prix in 1979 and 1980. It mixed F1 drivers selected according to their results, and drivers from other disciplins (endurance, tourism).
The two winners were Niki Lauda in 1979 and Nelson Piquet in 1980.

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lassic or... Comics (!) : two variations of the same theme, the BMW 3.0 CSL.

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unset feelings... The Chevron B36 that emerges from the Sainte Beaume bend has entered twice the Le Mans 24 hours (1978 - 11th, 1979 DNF due to an accident) for the French ROC team. Initially equipped with a SIMCA Chrysler engine, it was then seen in hillclimbing races, with a Cosworth or a BMW.

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n the midst of all these satisfactions, there is one regret. Here is the one I didn't even have time to capture on the track: 3 laps and... Over !

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t is on this shocking revelation that I take my leave ('Top Gear Style' conclusion...). Take care of yourself, and...

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ee you soon for a next event !