LAND Rovers and Le Mans – two terms that traditionally don’t go together. But over the last 18 years, five of my nine trips to the Le Mans Classic have been done in Series II or IIA models, interspersed with slightly faster average travelling speeds courtesy of an MGB, Porsche 912 and a Reliant Scimitar SE5A.
The trip almost always kicks off in the same manner: sitting in the queue for passport control at Portsmouth ferry terminal before being approached by someone driving a classic car with slightly better aerodynamic styling than a house brick with wheels. With a look of incredulity on their face, they will proceed to ask the same question: “You’re not going to Le Mans in that, are you?”
To be honest, I’ve never really understood the motivation behind this particular line of questioning; look at a map and it’s only around 100 miles from the French ferry port of Ouistreham – add
