Tom Kristensen to be reunited with £10m Le Mans Bentley at Race Retro

Driver Tom Kristensen will be reunited with the Bentley Speed 8 that he drove to victory at Le Mans later this month. The car, which is valued at £10m, will be reunited with the Danish driver at Race Retro on 24-26 February.

The car, which won the 24-hour race in 2003, is bound to wow the crowds at the annual international historic motorsport show, which takes place at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire. Kristensen will be reunited with the car in the Motor Sport Hall of Fame, which will have more than £25 million of motorsport heritage on display.

Other vehicles on show include the John Surtees’ DFV powered racers, TS7 and TS14. TS7 was Team Surtees’ first Formula One car, introduced for the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch in 1970 driven by John Surtees running in the top six when it retired with engine problems. It won the Gold Cup against an international field at Oulton Park. 

The TS14 was the first car to be introduced to the new safety regulations in 1972 and was driven by Mike Hailwood and Carlos Pace setting lap records in the German and Austrian Grand Prix. Hailwood took second place at the Italian Grand Prix. The team finished fifth in the World Championship (one place behind Ferrari).

TS14 was driven by Mike Hailwood.

Adding to the DFV 50^th anniversary celebrations is James Hunt’s McLaren M23, the Williams FW08 raced to Championship victory by Keko Rosberg, and the Lotus 49B R10, along with the Cosworth four-wheel and six-wheel Tyrell.

Lotus will also have a Jim Clark tribute with the first public viewing of the Lotus 33 R11 in over 40 years, complete with Clark memorabilia from the Jim Clark Trust and Museum in Duns.

Celebrating the Hall of Fame inductees, the 1957 Vanwall that Sir Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks drove to success in the British Grand Prix will be on show. This was the first British car piloted by British drivers to win a World Championship race on its home ground.

The show will also feature a 1950s D-Type Jaguar which has raced at the Sebring 12-hr, Aston Martin Racing’s endurance racer the V8 Vantage GTE, and a British Touring Cars Championship ex-works Rover 3500 SD1, driven in period by Steve Soper and Tom Walkinshaw.

Rally legends Markku Alén and Ari Vatanen are also represented with an ex-works Fiat 131 Abarth, and a Ford Escort 1700T, both driven by the drivers in period, displayed respectfully. They will also be reunited with period cars out on the Live Rally Stage, with both getting behind the wheel of the Subaru Legacy they drove in the early 1990s. Vatanen will also drive the iconic Rothmans Escort as well as the BMW M3.

This year’s Race Retro will have more cars than ever before on static display as well as around 80 cars in action on the Live Rally Stage including the Andrews Heat for Hire Opel Manta 400, Ford Escort RS1800, and Sierra Cosworth, Dai Llewellyn’s Subaru Impreza 555, and the late Colin McRae’s Ford Focus WRC.

Tickets are now on sale for Race Retro, held 24-26 February 2017 at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, with free parking and a free show guide for all visitors. For the latest updates and ticket information, visit www.raceretro.com.