Since 2010, the Peter Auto Dix Mille Tours is a yearly event that has become major in the ever growing historic racing galaxy. It brings together the different historic series by Peter Auto, featurings wonders from the 1950’s to the early 2000’s fighting on the track. Well, we should say ‘tracks’, as this is the only event of the season to use two variants : the one of the French F1 Grand Prix for the oldest cars, and the ‘classic’, without the North chicane. In this second case, the Mistral straight stretches over 1,800 meters, allowing the Group C prototypes to reach a top speed of 300 km/h.
This year, among the 348 cars seen on the track, we can point out some outstanding ones like the Jaguar D-Type 1954, or the Maserati MC12 which dominated the FIA GT championship.
In addition to the 12 races, magnificent exhibitions delighted the fans of motorsport history. The organizers had brought some Formula 1 cars from the 1970s which had run on the asphalt of the Circuit Paul Ricard : a Tyrrell 002 ex Jackie Stewart, the Tyrrell 006 of François Cevert, or the 1975 Ferrari 312T of Clay Regazzoni. Not only exhibited in the paddock, these single-seaters from the golden age also went on the track for some demo laps.
Exceptional guests from Le Mans were also present such as the Toyota GT1, the Ferrari 550 Prodrive, the Aston Martin DBR9 or the Porsche 911 GT1, accompanied by drivers who distinguished themselves during the 24 Hours of Le Mans: Yannick Dalmas, Emmanuel Collard, Soheil Ayary, Eric Helary, Thierry Boutsen and Matthieu Vaxivière.
This 13th edition of the Dix Mille Tours was marked by an attendance record, with 25,000 spectators over three days, proving that vintage car races still fascinate the public.
Photos by Yann Séité
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