The sun shone for the entire duration of this biannual event celebrating the Le Mans 24 Hours and its nearly a century of history. Among the new features introduced this year was access to the circuit on Friday morning for the opening act: a return of Group C Racing (1982-1993), with more than forty cars representing the golden age of endurance present on the track.

On Saturday the 9th of July at 3:30 pm, Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake, a Richard Mille sporting partner, gave the departure signal for Little Big Mans, which offers very young drivers 6 to 10 years old the chance to experience a starting grid just like grownups and to drive on the historic Bugatti circuit. Shortly thereafter, the artist Pharrell Williams, also a friend of the brand, waved a French flag to indicate the official start of the race.

A thousand drivers took turns around the clock at the wheel of the 550 entries. Among them were hallowed names of motorsports and of the Le Mans 24 Hours, such as champions Henri Pescarolo, Gérard Larrousse and Éric Hélary, or indeed Romain Dumas, winner of the race in 2016.

A full 180 clubs with 8,500 cars representing 60 constructors convened to celebrate both the 100th birthday of BMW and the 50th anniversary of the Ford GT40’s first victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Other highlights of the weekend included the Artcurial Motorcars auction, and the prestigious Le Mans Heritage Club competition consisting of 24 select vehicles, all participants in Le Mans 24 Hours of years past going back to 1923. Trucks also received top billing, with a special exhibition by the Fédération française des véhicules d’époque (FFVE) dedicated to the transportation of racing teams.

In homage to this edition, and to highlight the passion for automobiles that defines the brand, Richard Mille once again has the pleasure of presenting a model dedicated to this year’s event: the RM 11-02 Le Mans Classic, and limited edition of 150 pieces in the colours of the historic race.