Memorable tribute to David Piper steals the show at Montlhéry

| 26 Sep 2017

The third edition of the annual Les Grandes Heures Automobiles returned to the banked Linas-Montlhéry Autodrome circuit on 23-24 September, with an on-track tribute to racer David Piper one of the weekend’s highlights. 

A special celebration of the life and motor racing career of British ex-Formula One racer, sports car privateer driver and team owner David Piper proved one of the main draws of the event, with several cars from the ace’s competition career taking part in a demonstration run. Among the machines to take to the banking were his famous green Ferrari 250LM, Lola T70 MkIII B, Ferrari 365 P2 and Porsche 917K. 

The event also played host to a brace of stunning vehicles from the Peter Mullin Collection: a 1927 Delage 15 S-8 grand prix racer and 1927 Voisin Montlhéry record car. They were joined by the Sebring 12 Hours-winning Jaguar D-type, the ex-Le Mans 1966 CD-Peugeot LM66 and a dazzling selection of rally cars from the fire-spitting Group B era. 

The rally theme continued with the arrival of multiple World Champion Sebastian Loeb, who took to the circuit in his outrageous Pikes Peak-winning Peugeot 208 T16. The French manufacturer also brought along an ex-works Peugeot 307 WRC, 306 F2 and 308 Cup cars. 

A huge array of classic car clubs turned out for the event, while auction highlights included a 1958 Lotus Eleven S2, which sold for £116,000, and a Lancia-Autobianchi Y10 Turbo, which fetched just under £16,000.