10/07/2026
Grand Prix de l’age d’Or 2026
After an intense week in the workshop, with only seven days to prepare and repair 21 cars, the team arrived at Dijon-Prenois ready for the third round of the Le Mans Classic Series.
✨Friday✨
Under near perfect conditions,in a 30-minute session, the grid was set for the first of the two Gentlemen Challenge heats. Volker Hichert had a great day behind the wheel of his Bizzarrini 5300 GT and set the third fastest time overall and was also first in his class. Hot on his heels, Luc-Pierre qualified his Lister Chevrolet fourth. His father Georges ended the day second in the GT category and 16th overall with his Jaguar E-Type.
As always, qualifying for the Sixties’ Endurance grid was hotly contested. Maxime and Guillaume had a great session in their Shelby Cobra Daytona and will start the two-hour race on the first row. Still in striking distance, Armand and Yves set the 12th fastest time on aggregate in the Cobra Daytona they share. Charles was 20th fastest in his Cobra and the E-Type of Jeanne and Hervé will start in 40th.
✨Saturday✨
We were once again treated to glorious weather, the action was split between qualifying and the weekend’s first races. First up was the Heritage Touring Cup 2 with Pierre-Alain and Erwin setting the eighth fastest time with their M3 and Jeanne claiming tenth on the grid in her BMW 635 CSI. Armand then had two great sessions. He first put his Lola T70 on the front row of the highly competitive CER1 grid and then claimed pole position for HTC in his Ford Capri. He will line up alongside Yves, who grabbed second. Jean-Marc Merlin is one row behind as he gets further acquainted with his BMW 3.5 CSL. In their Es**rts Hervé and Pierre Alain were 16th and 17th fastest. Dominique and Maxime could not get a time on the boards as a belt in the fuel injection pump had failed. This has already been sorted so they will start at the back of the grid in their CSL. Final qualifying of the day was for CER2 where Maxime, Yves and Dominique placed fourth, sixth and eighth respectively.
Usually the Saturday finale, the two-hour Sixties’ Endurance race was now scheduled right after the lunch break. Guillaume got a great start in the Cobra Daytona, he would later hand over to Maxime. Starting second, he quickly moved up the order and was firmly in the lead going into the pit stops. Sadly, successive pits stops ate away at the lead and the French / Swiss duo eventually had to settle for fourth after penalty post-race. Charles had a strong race and finished thirteenth overall. Sharing an E-Type, Jeanne and Hervé finished 34th. In contention for a podium for much of the race, the Cobra driven by Yves and Armand was sadly forced to retire with only a few minutes to go. The Gentlemen Challenge also had a bittersweet finish as, after a fabulous race, Luc-Pierre managed to cross the line in first with his Lister Chevrolet but he missed the finish flag and completed one more lap. For this he was penalised and relegated. His father, Georges, also managed to score a podium finish, in his class, with his Jaguar E-Type.
✨Sunday✨
The final day of the 2026 Grand Prix de l’Age d’Or kicked off with Armand on pole position for the Heritage Touring Cup 1 race in his Ford Capri and Dominique right at the back with the BMW 3.5 CSL that he would hand over to his son Maxime halfway through the race. Armand had a straightforward race and scored a dominant victory. The Guenats had more work to do in the BMW that was firing on all six cylinders again. They did so with verve and moved up all the way up to finish a superb second. Along the way they passed among others the Ford Es**rt of Pierre-Alain , who finished 17th, Jean-Marc Merlin, who was ended the race in fifth with his CSL and Yves Scemama, who was fourth in his Capri.
After the lunch break all eyes were on Armand again, who lined up on the front row of the Classic Endurance Racing 1 grid. In this highly competitive field, which included ex-F1 driver Jan Magnussen and Nürburgring 24 Hours winner Frank Stippler, Armand put in a fantastic performance to score his second outright win of the day. Next up was HTC2 where Pierre-Alain finished seventh with his BMW M3, just ahead of Jeanne, who finished second in class in her BMW 635 CSI. The penultimate race of the weekend was for CER2. Maxime had qualified his Lola T286 fourth but managed to move up the order to finish runner up. Just missing out on the podium was Yves, who crossed the line in fourth with his TOJ. The second Gentlemen Challenge heat brought down the curtain on a great weekend of racing. As in the first race, Luc-Pierre was close to victory with his Lister but eventually had to settle for second. His father Georges had a superb race in his Jaguar E-Type and was rewarded with a class victory.
It was a great weekend of racing at the Circuit Dijon-Prenois, helped in no small part by the lovely weather, great organisation and our dedicated and diligent mechanics.
