RETRO-SPEED
The online classic car and historic motorsport magazine supports:
GoMW, Guild of Motoring Writers
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BMMC, British Motorsport Marshals Club
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Brooklands Museum
Race Against Dementia, founder Sir Jackie Stewart
The online classic car and historic motorsport magazine supports:
GoMW, Guild of Motoring Writers
BOC, Bugatti Owners' Club / Prescott Speed Hill Climb
BMMC, British Motorsport Marshals Club
IRDC, International Rally Drivers Club
Brooklands Museum
Race Against Dementia, founder Sir Jackie Stewart
Le Mans 24 Hours 2026: Retro-Speed Report
Friday 19th June 2026
CLOSE FEATURE
The Editor Goes To France: Le Mans 24 Hours 2026
Living two hundred miles from the Kent coast makes visiting mainland Europe by car on a regular basis a tactical nightmare where planning is everything. Take my recent trip to Le Mans, a good example.
The cheapest way to cross the English Channel is via Dover, using one of myriad ferries making the short crossing to Calais. A bargain you say at around £135 there and back. Not so fast. At the moment Brittany Ferries out of Portsmouth are offering a special short stay, three day deal of £148 return to Caen, which, in case you don't know, is a mere 100 miles from Le Mans, representing a saving of 300 miles on the round trip. And Portsmouth is nearer my house by 80 miles. That's another 160 miles. Only drawback, I have to be in Portsmouth at 06.30. Not a problem. I stayed at the pleasant Red Lion in Fareham for £60. Total saving in fuel less hotel, equals £30. One more thing, two actually, no it's three: using Portsmouth means no M25 and arriving at Caen allows use of the delightful and more leisurely old Route Nationale, having spent six hours relaxing on deck. And from Calais one is forced to use expensive autoroute all the way. So another £40 in my pocket to spend on decent wine.
Friday night I stayed at an Ibis Budget Hotel, where each visit adds to my loyalty points score. After croissant and coffee I headed for Le Mans, arriving at the free aerodrome parking area around 10.30. It's a twenty minute walk to the circuit. My two day, free to roam but no grandstand ticket by the way was 109 euro. Three hours into the race I left and headed west where another twenty minutes saw me at my overnight accommodation, a small self contained apartment, one of four constructed from an old barn. It was quiet, with a comfortable bed, a great shower, and best of all, the unexpected air conditioning worked. All this for £88 when the cheapest downtown hotel was asking 250 euro. By now you'll have gathered this was, a there and back budget trip. Dinner consisted of smoked salmon, sushi, a fresh baguette and a bottle of local wine, all for fifteen euro. Come Sunday and I left in time to catch the 16.30 Caen ferry home, once again using Route Nationale. All good except the road out of Alencon was closed, involving a 8km deviation.
But what about the race you ask? Entertaining, if not quite memorable. A good entry, some really close racing, and an uninterrupted blue sky. Memorable because of the challenge presented by America. Cadillac took the lead on lap one in Hypercar category their, gritty, not without a fight, attitude only thwarted by the superior race knowledge of Toyota who waited and waited and then pounced in the final hour to make this their third win. Further down the field a bright yellow Corvette, its old fashioned V8 echoing through the night wowed its fans by rumbling on and on, winning the LMGT3 win.
I'm glad I went. Simply because, there is no better sportscar race in the world. And at less than five euro an hour, in terms of bangs for the buck, nothing else comes close.
The cheapest way to cross the English Channel is via Dover, using one of myriad ferries making the short crossing to Calais. A bargain you say at around £135 there and back. Not so fast. At the moment Brittany Ferries out of Portsmouth are offering a special short stay, three day deal of £148 return to Caen, which, in case you don't know, is a mere 100 miles from Le Mans, representing a saving of 300 miles on the round trip. And Portsmouth is nearer my house by 80 miles. That's another 160 miles. Only drawback, I have to be in Portsmouth at 06.30. Not a problem. I stayed at the pleasant Red Lion in Fareham for £60. Total saving in fuel less hotel, equals £30. One more thing, two actually, no it's three: using Portsmouth means no M25 and arriving at Caen allows use of the delightful and more leisurely old Route Nationale, having spent six hours relaxing on deck. And from Calais one is forced to use expensive autoroute all the way. So another £40 in my pocket to spend on decent wine.
Friday night I stayed at an Ibis Budget Hotel, where each visit adds to my loyalty points score. After croissant and coffee I headed for Le Mans, arriving at the free aerodrome parking area around 10.30. It's a twenty minute walk to the circuit. My two day, free to roam but no grandstand ticket by the way was 109 euro. Three hours into the race I left and headed west where another twenty minutes saw me at my overnight accommodation, a small self contained apartment, one of four constructed from an old barn. It was quiet, with a comfortable bed, a great shower, and best of all, the unexpected air conditioning worked. All this for £88 when the cheapest downtown hotel was asking 250 euro. By now you'll have gathered this was, a there and back budget trip. Dinner consisted of smoked salmon, sushi, a fresh baguette and a bottle of local wine, all for fifteen euro. Come Sunday and I left in time to catch the 16.30 Caen ferry home, once again using Route Nationale. All good except the road out of Alencon was closed, involving a 8km deviation.
But what about the race you ask? Entertaining, if not quite memorable. A good entry, some really close racing, and an uninterrupted blue sky. Memorable because of the challenge presented by America. Cadillac took the lead on lap one in Hypercar category their, gritty, not without a fight, attitude only thwarted by the superior race knowledge of Toyota who waited and waited and then pounced in the final hour to make this their third win. Further down the field a bright yellow Corvette, its old fashioned V8 echoing through the night wowed its fans by rumbling on and on, winning the LMGT3 win.
I'm glad I went. Simply because, there is no better sportscar race in the world. And at less than five euro an hour, in terms of bangs for the buck, nothing else comes close.
