This years trip to Le Mans was once again all my fault. 60 cars made the journey in our group with other Mogs travelling independently. 24 of the cars were driven by members of Cranmog (Premier Centre). Despite the absence of a works car in the line up, a good time was had by one and all.
The details of the actual race have been reported in the press with predictable winners, so I will concentrate on the social side. We sent an advance party of 5 cars on the Tuesday to rope off Morgan Village in the legendary cow sheds. There is always a large Danish influx of fans so it is always necessary to repel the Viking invasion. This was achieved with only minor wounds and verbal exchanges. 50 cars boarded the Wednesday night ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre after a 30 minute delay. The cabaret and bar on board was enjoyed by all before retiring to cabins for the crossing. The wake up call at 5.45 on the ship's tannoy was greeted with shouts of abuse and we rolled off the ferry at 07.00 except those on the car deck above a vintage Bentley whose occupants had over slept and stopped the deck being lowered to disgorge lots of the Mogs. 100 of us took breakfast at Bazoques and then carried on to Le Mans. The only casualty so far was a +8 whose recent service had resulted in a loose sump nut which dropped out but was luckily spotted by a following car as oil spewed out. No damage was done but a few hours delay for recovery and replacement was not the ideal start for this chap's trip. Phone calls were made!! The cow sheds were up to the normal high standard and had been left in good order by the previous occupants. Thursday afternoon was spent at the hypermarket helping the local economy, especially that of the wine and beer industry followed by the evening practice sessions in daylight and darkness. It is a fabulous sight to see the kevlar discs glowing in the dark as they do their work.
Friday was a long day starting with the meet up at Arnage Corner for all the Mogs. My phone rang just as I was driving onto the grass and I was delighted to hear CBK sending us his best wishes. I had to curtail the conversation as a Gendarme nearly became a Gen and a Darme as he was in the way of the emog badge. It was a great sight to see 60 cars lined up against the barrier. The fast driving of previous years was reduced quite rightly by a heavy police presence. Even so, an XKR managed to spin at Indy bend in front of the course director and a cop. Result, a trip to the nick and a 90 euro fine. At 11.00, 30 cars headed south to a cave at Mosnes near Amboise on the river Loire. During the afternoon, we sampled 10 different wines with seconds available interspersed with local delicacies cooked by Madame Durand. A spittoon was available for those not wishing to increase their alcohol intake further. Everyone could choose a complimentary bottle to take away with them. Some of us then let our passengers drive us along the Loire to the lovely town of Saumur where the local classic car club had arranged a Champagne reception followed by dinner at the Cheval Blanc restaurant where we all sat outside under the trees after which we drove back north to Le Mans for midnight. We covered 250 miles during the day on sunbaked French roads. Marvellous.
Saturday morning started at 06.00 for me as I was to be the passenger in a Proteus 'C'Type Jaguar in the drive round the circuit. It was Jaguar's 50th anniversary of their 1953 victory and were invited to be the main marque on the track this year as Morgan were last year. It was a great experience and I thank Peter Mead for thinking of me. He totalled his +8 a few weeks ago when his LSD locked up on a bend and he rolled it. You can imagine how I felt going down the Mulsanne Straight with eye balls trying to look in one direction at a time and losing out to the vibration. At 10.00 it was the race of legends. Really a race within a race , as Adrian and Jack piloted XOV 555 against Rick and Rob in TOK 258. All our eyes were on the 2 Mogs as XOV started a few cars up the grid from TOK and kept it's place throughout the race. It was a marvellous spectacle. I am sure plenty will be written about it and it is a credit to both owners and support crews that they gave such a good performance in illustrious company.
We took our places in the Grandstand for the main 24hr race which started at 16.00. I won't go into details as you know the outcome already. Bentley had a 3 year programme and achieved their aim. I am sure they will be missing from next year's race as a factory team. One TVR got shunted up the rear which rearranged its handling somewhat resulting in it crashing out a bit later. Whilst I was imbibing at Tertre Rouge Bar at midnight, the second car went out with BTR diff/axle problems,deja vu? Obviously they had no spare with them. Incredibly the Audi UK car had stopped after 16 laps due to running out of fuel. You would have thought their budget would have run to a tank of gas, wouldn't you. The race finished predictably 24hrs after it started and it was still baking hot. In the evening, over 100 of us went to a clearing in the woods in the centre of the circuit for a Mechoui, comprising of 3 whole lambs (veggies, look away now) that had been spit roasting all afternoon, buckets of ratatouille, beans etc with as much as you could eat. Wine was liberally dispensed and cheese, gateau and coffee finished off the memorable meal.
Monday morning was an early start to head for Honfleur and park by the port for lunch courtesy of the Mayor who gave us the OK to park in front of the Town Hall or Hotel de Ville as they confusingly call it. Mussels were consumed in great numbers. Unfortunately, one of the + 8's got accosted from behind by a local battered old car and sustained a bit of damage, but occupants were OK. One other +8 returned home using only front brakes after the brake pipe to the rears was crimped flat on a protruding gate stop to a chateau, causing them to lock on. Cured by stopping any fluid going rearwards and bleeding them. Most of us tried to drive behind him or keep as much distance as possible. We caught the evening ferry back to the UK and all arrived home safe and exhausted. I was so pleased with the way my car ran and still smile at some of the incidents we saw.
After 5 years of organising the trip, I have decided to take a break, but others have been brave enough to take it over, so the tradition continues. Next year a Morgan at Le Mans again? Who knows? I hope so.
Kindest regards to all
Blue Boisterous but exhausted
Footnote: I am pleased to tell you that Adrian Clements and Mark Metcalfe have agreed to organise next years trip to Le Mans on a similar basis to previous years but with their own ideas and thoughts incorporated. As always, places will fill up fast, so I suggest you contact Adrian at adrian@clemtech.co.uk, using Le Mans 2004 as the subject line. I know that some of you have started to look at alternative ways of attending, so I hope that this now dispels any uncertainty.
The Vagabonds live on.
Dallas Jones
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