THE MOMENT WAS not lost on me, of course. Like most sports-car racing fans, I had watched Steve McQueen's 1971 homage to the world's greatest race a million times. And here I was, just like Steve, driving into the Place des Jacobins - the town square at Le Mans ... except I was driving a silver Alfa Romeo 159 rather than a black Porsche 911S. There also wasn't a blonde buying flowers from the stall by the cathedral. And I'm not Steve McQueen.
But for a weekend I lived the part.
This was not the Le Mans 24 Hours, the annual race held 74 times since 1923, but the Le Mans Classic, founded in 2002 and held every two years on the same 13.6km racetrack. The other highlights of the classic-car racing season are the annual Goodwood Revival in Britain and the Monterey Historic Automobile Races in California. Last year, a Le Mans Classic was trialled in Japan and its success has guaranteed its position on alternate years to the one in France. The Paris-based organisers, Peter Auto, received 700 applications for the Classic and selected 390 cars built between 1923 and 1979. The entries were split into six grids defined by era. The event consists of 18 races run during a 24-hour period - each grid enjoying three races of 45 minutes.
Of the 1,000 drivers of 28 nationalities, three were from Hong Kong. Ferrari enthusiast Brandon Wang drove his 1978 Ferrari 308 while Chip Connor (chief executive of sourcing company The Connor Group) and I shared his 1964 Alfa Romeo TZ1 and 1972 Ferrari Daytona with retired American racing driver Danny Sullivan. Strong Hong Kong connections were claimed by investment banker Anil Thadani, now living in Singapore (1966 Ferrari 275) and shipbroker Richard Meins (1964 Ford GT40 and 1968 Lola T70).
While historic-car racing can be highly competitive, the drivers tend to respect their machinery as the cars are extremely valuable and offer nothing like the crash protection of modern racers. This cautious approach attracts an interesting mix of drivers. Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and Pink Floyd's Nick Mason (with wife Annette and daughter Holly) are regular classic-car racers. Claude Ruiz-Picasso (son of Pablo) was listed to drive a 1954 Porsche. Dr Ulrich Bez, chief executive of Aston Martin, drove the same DBR1 that won the 24 Hours in 1959. Watchmaker and sponsor of the event Richard Mille drove a 1968 Lola.
It's the history that makes these events, particularly the Indianapolis 500 in the US, Formula One's Monaco Grand Prix and the Le Mans 24 Hours such a draw. Indeed Le Mans can claim to have been part of the dawn of motor sport - the first Grand Prix was held there in 1906 using 64km of public roads around the city. The current track requires closure of, in particular, the N138, known to racers as les Hunaudieres. The semi-permanent nature of the circuit means that, like Macau and Monaco, access is limited. Thadani says this is one of the attractions: 'It is a fabulous track to drive on - and most drivers never get the chance.'