Memory Lane trip for Aston Le Mans cars

  • Race team back at Hotel de France
  • Base for Le Mans 1950s/60s
  • Iconic film and photography recreated

LE MANS, France - Aston Martin Racing and Hotel de France has reunited after more than 50 years to relive some of the most iconic memories from the automaker’s history at the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans.

IMAGE GALLERY: Aston Martin Racing at Hotel de France

Aston Martin says that during the 1950's and 1960's its racing team used the Hotel de France as its base for the 24-Hour. This year (2015) it has returned with three of its 2015 V8 Vantage GTE race cars for the June 13/14 event.

Also there are works drivers Darren Turner (GB), Richie Stanaway (NZ) and Mathias Lauda (AT) who helped to recreate the photos and footage that captured some of the greatest moments in the brand’s 102-year history.

REMINISCING YESTERYEAR

Aston Martin Racing's chairman David Richards said: “The hotel is an important part of Aston Martin’s motorsport heritage, having been the team’s Le Mans base for many years in the late 1950's, including 1959 when the team won the 24-Hour.

"For 2015 we wanted to recreate the nostalgia of those days, when the racing cars had their final preparations alongside the hotel before being driven 40km to the circuit along public roads.”

The hotel's association with motorsport and the Le Mans 24-Hour started when John Wyer, Aston Martin’s then team manager, discovered it in 1952 and based his teams there.

Every year hundreds of locals and motorsport enthusiasts gather in the small French town to catch a glimpse of the cars and, in 1959, the hotel saw its first victory party when an Aston Martin DBR1, driven by Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori, won the race for Wyer’s Aston Martin team.

BACK FOR THE 2015 RACE

Martin Overington, owner of the hotel which he bought and refurbished in 2014, said: “This is one of the biggest events ever to take place at the hotel. It is literally history repeating itself and we are delighted to welcome the racing cars, their drivers and of course David Richards.”

Aston Martin Racing will return to the Le Mans’ Circuit de la Sarthe to contest the 2015 24-hour race with its five V8 Vantage GTEs.

Follow the team on social media using #teamAMR.

MODERN RACERS: The 2015 Aston Martin Le Mans racing team (from left) Richie Stanaway, Mathias Lauda and Darren Turner outside the Hotel de France. Image: Aston Martin