June 22, 2023

SA team to participate in 2023 Le Mans Classic

Billed as “the world’s biggest retro motor race”, Le Mans Classic 2023 takes place on the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France, from 29 June to 2 July.  South Africans Jaki Scheckter, Paolo Cavalieri and Maurizio Bianco will count among the 1 000 drivers to take to the circuit in this legendary classic endurance event.

The team, representing Pablo Clark Racing, will be driving a 1971 Ferrari 365GTB/4 Group IV Competizione (Daytona) – and our friends at EasyEquities will be one of the sponsors!

EasyEquities believes there are many reasons for an investment company to get involved in motor racing. Firstly, it’s high-adrenaline! Like investing, participants are extremely passionate and driven (pardon the pun). They love the ride and they love the results.

Secondly, there’s the skill, concentration and focus that are required in both activities. Thirdly, there’s the strategy. Your game plan is super important. And finally, you need the right tools – a great track and the best car for motorsport, and great advice and the best platform for investing.

Check out the article by EasyRetire CEO Deresh Lawangee titled “Crossing the finish line: Analogies between motor racing and retirement investing”.

Le Mans Classic

The Le Mans Classic will feature cars dating back 100 years, to 1923, up to 1981. The PCR-entered Daytona will race in the fifth category for cars built between 1966 and 1971.

According to Jaki Scheckter, the team will go straight to qualifying to determine the grid for race 1.

“Le Mans Classic works a little bit differently from what we know today,” he explains. “Each grid/plateau race starts roughly every hour and has three sub-one-hour race sessions over the 24-hour period.”

Jaki has not driven the circuit before.

“If you think piloting a 50-year-old car in excess of 250 km/h without practice sounds daunting, you’d be right!” he says. “Fortunately, though, technology is the salvation of the day.”

Thanks to a simulator at the Pablo Clark workshop, which has been bootstrapped with a classic wooden Ferrari wheel and gated gearbox to its right, the drivers have been able to replicate what awaits them in a few days’ time.

“It’s not just a video game,” says Jaki. “The Asseto Corsa program that runs the simulations has the Daytona topping 280 km/h down the Mulsanne Straight before reaching the chicanes – a fact confirmed by drivers who have taken the same Ferrari around the circuit.”

This high-end simulator is the exact same one on offer for attendees of the Pablo Clark Racing Pit Crew Challenge.

Paolo and Maurizio will also drive a 1964 Jaguar E-Type 3.8 litre straight-six in a separate class at the event. The Jag will go up against early 60s stalwarts in grid 4, which includes Shelby Cobras as the main opposition alongside Ferrari’s last overall Le Mans victor – the sleek 250 LM. 

This isn’t Pablo Clark’s first international racing event (the team previously competed successfully in the ICGT 9 Hour at Kyalami, and Maurizio has raced at Le Mans before), but it will certainly strike a chord with lovers of classics.

“What better opportunity to show the world who Pablo Clark Racing is, while giving the skillset of team members in their arsenal the opportunity to enjoy the event, marking its important centenary?” says Jaki. “Just as the Daytona managed in the GT class in its heyday, we trust it will dominate against opposition from GM and their Corvette, Ford, Porsche and De Tomaso at the end of the month.” 

Keep an eye out for the Pablo Clark team in the epic 24-hour race, which is set to draw 8 500 club cars and over 200 000 spectators!

A special thanks to Autofficina Bonini and Pastorelli Classic for making the Daytona available in perfect race-ready condition.

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