24h Le Mans
For its third edition on Sunday, September 4th, once again Chantilly Arts & Elégance will highlight the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This year for the first time, a past winner will serve on the Concours d'Elégance jury. President of the Fédération Internationale (FIA) Jean Tody will be in attendance.
In 2014, President de l'Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) Pierre Fillon served on the jury at the first edition of Chantilly Arts & Elégance, as did South African engineer Gordon Murray, designer of the McLaren F1 GTR that won at Le Mans back in 1995 with Yannick Dalmas, J.J. Lehto and Masanori Sekiya at the wheel.
Jean Guichet, a Le Mans legend - For the first time ever, a previous 24 Hours of Le Mans winner will figure among the jury members at Chantilly Arts & Elégance. Now 89 years young, Guichet is - with Maurice Trintignant (1917-2005) - one of two French drivers to win at the 24 Hours at the wheel of a Ferrari. Along with Sicilian driver Nino Vaccarella, Guichet won in 1964. It was at the wheel of Ferraris that he experienced some of his greatest moments at Le Mans, with two other podium finishes in 1961 (third) and 1962 when he finished second at the wheel of the legendary GTO. Guichet will serve on the Chantilly Arts & Elégance jury with two other former drivers seen at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: Paul Belmondo (11 participations) and Nick Mason, drummer for Pink Floyd (five participations).
Jean Todt, triumph at Le Mans - The third edition will also honour via a retrospective the exceptional journey of Jean Todt. The current president of the FIA, who celebrated his 70th birthday in February, achieved success in all the disciplines in which he participated as an outfit owner. No one has forgotten the two victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans when he was head of Peugeot's competition activities in 1992 (with Yannick Dalmas, Derek Warwick and Mark Blundell) and 1993 with a huge one-two-three scored with Geoff Brabham, Eric Helary and Christophe Bouchut. Three weeks after that triumph, he was at the Formula 1 Grand Prix of France as owner of Scuderia Ferrari, and with Michael Schumacher at the wheel won a whopping 11 world titles between 1999 and 2004. Todt will also serve on the 2016 Chantilly Arts & Elégance jury.
Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
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Photo (Louis Monnier/ACO): The first Ferrari to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 1949, the 166 MM was present at Chantilly Arts & Elégance in 2015.
