The main attraction at last weekend's "LM Story 2007" was the third round of the European Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge. Returning to the scene of so many triumphs for the company in the early '60s were several historic cars of the type that competed in-period at the famous circuit of La Sarthe.

In total, around 300 historic cars took part over the weekend of 7/8 July 2007, the idea being to give modern spectators the chance to see the very best racing cars from the event's 74-year history.

The Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge includes many long-distance sports racing cars, and this time the grids were split into two; A and B (single-seaters and cars with drum brakes respectively), and C (disc brake cars) for the really fast machinery.



On Saturday in race 1, it was the 1937 Maserati 6CM of Willi Balz which recorded the win in Grid A (single-seaters). In the separate grid B classification (sports-prototypes and GT cars fitted with drum brakes) victory went to Max Werner's 1955 Maserati 300 S, Irvine Laidlaw winning the faster dic-braked Grid C in his 1972 Ferrari 312 PB.



The next day, under the watchful eye of French Prime Minister François Fillon, both grids were on the track with Willi Balz and his 1937 Maserati 6CM once again victorious in the oldest single-seater category, and Max Werner doing the double in his drum-braked 1955 Maserati 300 S.

Laidlaw could not repeat his Saturday success, so victory in Grid C went to Jean Guittard, driving a Ferrari 1980 512 BB LM.



Text: Classic Driver
Photos: Ferrari SpA strictly copyright