Le Mans Classic 2022

Le Mans, France
30/6 – 3/7/2022

Home Run

Le Mans is not only part of the Porsche DNA, it is home to the French Porsche Club community. PCA member Brock Keen visited the Le Mans Classic during an epic road trip from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen to the epicenter of motorsports at the Sarthe.

The excitement of the French Club members was palpable: The Le Mans Classic celebrated a spectacular comeback after a four-year break due to the pandemic. 200,000 motor sport enthusiasts flocked to the grounds of the legendary race track on the Sarthe from Friday onwards.

Porsche France, the Federation des Clubs Porsche de France, the thousands of Porsche Club members, fans and enthusiasts made the 10th edition a triumphant "Return to Le Mans". Not only was every one extremely happy to see all the outstanding race cars and meet their Club friends again… the fact that this year also marked the 70th anniversary of the worldwide Clubs underscored the feeling of a strong bonded community and Porsche family.

Le Mans Classic was a home race with many facets: Porsche France transformed the Porsche Experience Center into a base for Porsche customers, Club members and fans. Together, the French Federation of Porsche Clubs and Porsche France created a Club area with parking ground and two large tents for catering and hospitality for Porsche customers and Club members – highlighting the 70th anniversary of the Porsche Clubs Worldwide with flags, banners and give-aways. The Global Community Management arranged for a special guest, Brock Keen, who had previously documented the Porsche Parade in America to attend this event with his rooftop tent on a Taycan to meet and talk to Club members from all around the world.

On the track, Porsche dominated the action with the Porsche Parade and the Porsche Classic Race Le Mans. The Group C laps featured numerous 956 and 962 prototypes. The Porsche Museum sent five generations of race track-optimised RS models to the Sarthe to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Carrera 2.7 RS.

But it was the enthusiastic and overjoyed French Club members who made the Classic Event so special. Around 1,000 vehicles gathered on the grounds of the Federation Clubs Porsche de France; a colourful eye-catcher that attracted just as much attention as the Porsche classics on the race track. 1,531 Club members had registered – including Club members from all around the world. 35 volunteers were at the organising team around Federation President Dominique Desbordes, taking care of the organisation, hospitality and positioning of the vehicles at the parking area.

"Le Mans is part of the Porsche DNA. And with the Porsche Experience Centre and the Club grounds, it feels like home to us. We wanted to create a homely atmosphere and offer members a place where they can meet family members from around the world – just as we and the Clubs do now for 70 years,“ says Alessia Campanacci, who is responsible for coordinating and supporting the French Porsche Clubs at Porsche France. „As a result, everything revolves around Porsche at the Le Mans Classic," she adds.

Dominique Desbordes, President of the Federation, recalls the last months of collaboration: „After four years without Le Mans Classic, it was a real challenge for both of us to restart the Club event. But I think the result speaks for itself.“ The cooperation between Porsche France and the Federation has a long tradition and is a tight knit relationship. "We know that together we can grow and overcome any crisis, as the last few years have shown," Alessia explains. "And thats why we also relaunched Le Mans Classic together.“ Both know that next year will also be a challenging one. "We are celebrating the centenary of Le Mans and we have the 75th anniversary of Porsche sports cars. For that we want to create something new," Alessia gives us a preview of the next year.

Having Brock Keen as a special guest at Le Mans was one of the highlights for both of them. "We were very happy to have him here," says Dominique. "I think he was happy to talk to the French Club members, and they were happy to meet a well-known member of the American community. This is Porsche passion without barriers or borders." Alessia smiles: "I hope he'll come back next year – but then with his dog and, of course, the 996."

See you at Le Mans.