It’s an elegant, understated car but you’d be making a mistake to wander past the ‘Red Dragon’ without lingering. Emblazoned with a red Welsh dragon, the 1936 2-litre Speed Model has an astounding racing history, says Robert Blakemore, managing director of pre-war Aston Martin sales, service and parts specialist Ecurie Bertelli Ltd. “Built in Aston Martin’s experimental workshop, the Red Dragon is just one of 23 Speed Models produced. It competed at Le Mans twice in period and is so far, still, the only Grand Prix-winning Aston Martin.” Racing in this historic car will be, for Blakemore, the highlight of the Le Mans Classic 2025.
And the wait is nearly over. Appetites are being whetted for the 12th edition of the biennial retrospective of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which takes place over a long weekend in July with event posters paying tribute to the cars that made history as the endurance race evolved over the decades. Nearly 240 drivers have raced Aston Martins at Le Mans since its earliest days – in 27 different engine and chassis combinations – and as such, the marque has a significant presence at Le Mans Classic, where 24 thrilling races take place on the full 13.65km circuit in northwest France, also used for the annual modern-day 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Blakemore is keenly anticipating the 2025 edition, which will be the fifth time he has competed. “I’ve been to every edition since 2016,” he notes. At the last, in 2023, every entrance to the famous Circuit de la Sarthe had a ‘sold out’ sign, thanks to the 235,000 enthusiasts who had snapped up more tickets than are sold to the Glastonbury music festival. It was, in fact, the biggest gathering of historic automobiles ever, anywhere – 8,500 club and collector cars, and hundreds more taking part in races – and even more impressive when one considers that the event had only been established 21 years earlier, by Peter Auto and Richard Mille, in association with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest.
“The sheer number of amazing historic cars competing is just fantastic,” enthuses Blakemore. “The event covers cars from the very beginning of Le Mans’ history up to the 1980s, so there’s something for everybody.” For the uninitiated, the Le Mans Classic consists of a series of races for historic cars which have competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, or for similar cars of the same model. The traditional classes feature cars from 1923 to 1981 divided into six eras, or grids, based on their age, to create a level playing field both for competitors and spectators. “My team is expecting to run 10 cars, including a number of Astons,” confirms Blakemore. “We’ll also be running LM8 – the LM chassis numbers were the works cars – which is rather special. LM8 competed in Le Mans in 1932 and won the Biennial Cup, which we have in our office. As far as I know, LM8 has not competed at Le Mans since that win.”
You’d be forgiven for thinking you’ll find cars at every turn at the Circuit de la Sarthe but there’s a lot more to Le Mans Classic than just motoring; ticket holders can enjoy shopping, restaurants, fairground stalls and entertainment. New for 2025 are the concerts taking place on the Friday and Saturday nights, ranging from French house music DJ Kavinsky to disco producer Cerrone. “There’s a great deal going on,” confirms Blakemore. “The whole site has a sensational carnival atmosphere. And it’s more than 24 hours of racing because, on Friday, there are the qualifying and practice sessions; the support races take place on Saturday morning; and then the Le Mans Classic itself goes from Saturday afternoon right through the night to Sunday afternoon. It’s a huge festival of historic racing cars, with loads of people and a massive buzz.”
One of Blakemore’s tips, for those who arrive a bit early or stay on after the event, is that it’s possible to drive along the famous 6.8km Mulsanne Straight – obeying the 90km/h speed limit, of course. Driving this stretch of road at night, Blakemore concludes, is one of his favourite things about the Le Mans Classic. “We don’t often get to race during the night so I love going down the Mulsanne Straight with the stars and the moon above. And as you’re going around some of those corners, you can even smell the barbecues,” fired up around the site for spectators refuelling while taking in the high-octane, on-track action, “which feels bizarre, and fantastic – all part of the Le Mans Classic fun!”
Le Mans Classic, from 9 am on Thursday 3 July to 5 pm on Sunday 6 July.
