Peter Auto Grids, Which Now Include Group C

AN EIGHT-PART SEASON ...... PAGE 3 PETER AUTO'S 2016 CALENDAR ...... PAGE 4 KICK-OFF IN SPAIN! ...... PAGE 5 PROGRAMME ...... PAGE 6 GRIDS BY PETER AUTO ...... PAGE 7 CLASSIC ENDURANCE RACING ...... PAGE 8 GROUP C RACING ...... PAGE 11 HERITAGE TOURING CUP ...... PAGE 13 SIXTIES’ ENDURANCE ...... PAGE 15 TROFEO NASTRO ROSSO ...... PAGE 17 IBERIAN HISTORIC ENDURANCE ...... PAGE 19

Press contact

Julien Hergault [email protected] +33 (0)6 25 77 85 34

Henri Suzeau [email protected] +33 (0)6 11 87 05 05

Peter Auto 103, rue Lamarck 75018 Paris – France

Tél. +33 (0)1 42 59 73 40 Fax +33 (0)1 42 59 48 28 www.peterauto.peter.fr

AN EIGHT-PART SEASON

The 2016 Peter Auto's calendar plans eight meetings. Two venues are scheduled to circuits which were not visited 2015, Jarama to start the season and Imola to finish it. There are of Race the classics among which the three top of the bill events: the Le Mans Classic, the Tour Auto Optic 2ooo, celebrating its silver jubilee in 2016 and the third Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille concours.

WHAT’S NEW

Jarama-Classic (1-3 April) - the Spanish track, which has undergone major renovation works, always offers a winding layout, very attractive for the drivers; while neighboring Madrid is a first class stop off. Not to be forgotten, a mild and friendly weather: the ideal destination for a calendar starting on the three first days of April.

Imola-Classic (21-23 October) – a come back to the Lombardian circuit, already visited in 2012 and 2013, which is very popular with the drivers and… the Organisers. The meeting by late October on this track, also appreciated by the competitors will close the season by Peter Auto with an Italian note which always pleases everybody…

THE FLAGSHIPS

The Tour Auto Optic 2ooo (18-24 April) - the rally will celebrate its silver jubilee through its iconic models such as the 250GT Ferrari, MKII Jaguar, as well as the prototypes which left the racetracks at the time: Ligier JS2... A 'must'!

Le Mans Classic (8-10 July) - the appointment that no driver would miss ever and for which they need to apply as soon as they can …

Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille (3-4 September) - the concours will establish, on the occasion of its third edition, its annual appointment for an elegant Sunday in the countryside centered around its two concours and the Art de Vivre à la Française. A charm offensive!

THE UNMISSABLE CLASSICS

Peter Auto has given appointments to their drivers on the basis of gathering its grids –Classic Endurance Racing 1 & 2, Heritage Touring Cup, Sixties' Endurance, Trofeo Nastro Rosso and from 2016 on, the Group C- on three famous racetracks.

Spa-Classic (13-15 May) - the event is now THE Belgian historic meeting.

Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or (3-5 June) - Dijon offers a layout which is as much appreciated as the Burgundy region's Art de Vivre values

The Dix Mille Tours (1-2 October) - the usual end-of-the-season by Peter Auto event, in another very successful French region and furthermore with first class infrastructures, will this year be the next to one before Imola.

A one off for the Group C with a round at Silverstone Classic due on the last week end of July.

PETER AUTO 2016 CALENDAR

www.peterauto.peter.fr 4

KICK-OFF IN SPAIN!

For a change, Peter Auto’s season will kick off in Spain on the Jarama circuit inaugurated in July 1967. It was a red-letter day in the history of Spanish motor sport which had been waiting in vain for the construction of a permanent track: up till then the majority of car races had taken place on non- permanent city circuits. Fans had to wait until 1964 for the Spanish Automobile Club (RACE) to be in a position to build a circuit fit to host an F1 grand prix. After choosing a place in scrubland to the north of Madrid (in San Sebastian), the RACE entrusted Dutch architect John Hugenholtz, who had already designed the Zandvoort, Suzuka and Zolder tracks, with the project. The brand-new Jarama circuit opened its doors in July 1967 and hosted the Spanish Grand Prix the following year.

Between 1968 and 1981 nine Spanish Grands Prix were held at Jarama with victories going to famous drivers like Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Mario Andretti, Patrick Depailler and Gilles Villeneuve. In the early 90s the circuit was extended and its length increased from 3.4 to 3.8 km. But with the exception of the pits straight it still consisted mainly of tight corners making overtaking very tricky.

It has recently been revamped, and after the winter break this old-style circuit will give the season a great start and get the adrenalin flowing again among the drivers in the six Peter Auto grids, which now include Group C. The event should enjoy mild temperatures and the warm sun of the Iberian spring.

IN SHORT Creation: 1967 Localisation: Madrid (Spain) Length: 3 404 km Direction: Clockwise Best lap: Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari 312T4) 1'16"44

INFORMATIONS - CONTACTS Circuito del Jarama Autovía A-1 km 28 28700 San Sebastián de los Reyes (MADRID) Website: www.jarama.org Tel: +34 91 657 08 75 Email: [email protected]

www.jarama-classic.com 5

PROGRAMME

JARAMA CLASSIC 2016

Horaires / Timetable

1-3 avril 2016 / 1st-3rd April 2016

VENDREDI 1er AVRIL / FRIDAY 1st APRIL Start - End Duration Category Session Int. 09:00 - 09:40 00:40 SIXTIES' ENDURANCE Free Practice 00:15 09:55 - 10:40 00:45 CLASSIC ENDURANCE RACING 1 Free Practice 00:15 10:55 - 11:35 00:40 TROFEO NASTRO ROSSO Free Practice 00:15 11:50 - 12:30 00:40 IBERIAN HISTORIC ENDURANCE Qualifying 00:05 12:35 - 13:35 01:00 LUNCH BREAK / DEMO - 00:05 13:40 - 14:10 00:30 HERITAGE TOURING CUP Free Practice 00:15 14:25 - 15:10 00:45 GROUP C Qualifying 1 00:15 15:25 - 16:10 00:45 CLASSIC ENDURANCE RACING 1 Qualifying 00:15 16:25 - 17:05 00:40 TROFEO NASTRO ROSSO Qualifying 00:15 17:20 - 18:00 00:40 SIXTIES' ENDURANCE Qualifying

SAMEDI 2 AVRIL / SATURDAY 2nd APRIL 09:00 - 09:45 00:45 CLASSIC ENDURANCE RACING 2 Free Practice 00:15 10:00 - 10:40 00:40 HERITAGE TOURING CUP Qualifying 00:15 10:55 - 11:40 00:45 GROUP C Qualifying 2 00:15 11:55 - 12:55 01:00 CLASSIC ENDURANCE RACING 1 Race 00:05 13:00 14:00 01:00 LUNCH BREAK / DEMO - 00:05 14:05 - 14:40 00:35 TROFEO NASTRO ROSSO Race 1 00:15 14:55 - 15:45 00:50 IBERIAN HISTORIC ENDURANCE Race 1 00:15 16:00 - 16:40 00:40 BREAK - 00:10 16:50 - 18:50 02:00 SIXTIES' ENDURANCE Race

DIMANCHE 3 AVRIL / SUNDAY 3rd APRIL 09:00 - 09:45 00:45 CLASSIC ENDURANCE RACING 2 Qualifying 00:20 10:05 - 10:50 00:45 GROUP C Race 1 00:20 11:10 - 12:10 01:00 HERITAGE TOURING CUP Race 00:05 12:15 - 13:15 01:00 LUNCH BREAK / DEMO - 00:05 13:20 - 14:20 01:00 CLASSIC ENDURANCE RACING 2 Race 00:20 14:40 - 15:15 00:35 TROFEO NASTRO ROSSO Race 2 00:20 15:35 16:20 00:45 GROUP C Race 2 00:20 16:40 - 17:30 00:50 IBERIAN HISTORIC ENDURANCE Race 2

Free Practice Qualifying Race 1 CER 1 1 x 45' 1 x 45' 1 x 60' 2 CER 2 1 x 45' 1 x 45' 1 x 60' 3 TNR 1 x 40' 1 x 40' 2 x 35' 4 SIXTIES 1 x 40' 1 x 40' 1 x 120' 5 HTC 1x 30' 1 x 40' 1 x 60' 6 Group C - 2 x 45' 2 x 45' 7 IHE - 1 x 40' 2 x 50'

PETER AUTO GRIDS

Since the early 2000s Peter Auto has created grids devoted to the different periods of the history of motor sport and to different racing cars. The Peter Auto grids, Classic Endurance Racing 1 & 2, Sixties’ Endurance, Trofeo Nastro Rosso, Group C Racing and Heritage Touring cars highlight the GT, Sports,

Prototype and Touring cars that have marked the history of endurance racing.

Thanks to the name that Peter Auto has built up since its creation and the expertise of its teams, the company has acquired a reputation of being able to assemble the richest and biggest grids of historic cars for which it organises races at its European events.

As proof of the quality of these grids, in 2015 Classic Endurance Racing was awarded the title of the Racing Series of the Year at the International Historic Motoring Awards.

In 2016, C.E.R will celebrate its thirteenth season. A great achievement throughout Europe where the drivers and their cars revived the great days of endurance creating one of the most important historic events. In addition, at the end of 2015 it was awarded the Race Series of the Year Prize at the International Historic Motoring Awards.

Since 2004 Classic Endurance Racing has been THE retrospective of endurance races held between 1966 and 1979, an era when this branch of the sport topped the bill in world motor racing. It was the glorious years of the Ford GT40s, Porsches 910 and 917, Ferraris 512S and M, BMWs, etc. driven by the likes of Jacky Ickx, Henri Pescarolo, Gérard Larrousse, whose playing fields were not limited to the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours: they also raced on the greatest European circuits in the context of the Sports Car World Championship. Classic Endurance Racing is much more than a simple historic commemoration. With grids of 50 cars and drivers determined to pay homage to the glorious past of their vehicles, the on-track spectacle is simply awesome!

In 2016, Classic Endurance Racing will be part of five Peter Auto meetings: the new Jarama-Classic (1-3 April), Spa-Classic (13-15 May), The Grand Prix de l’Age d’Or (3-5 June), Les Dix Mille Tours (1-2 October) and Imola-Classic (21-23 October).

To meet the demand the field will be split into two at all the Peter Auto events: CER 1: GT 1966 / 1974 & Protos 1966 / 1971 CER 2: GT 1975 / 1981 & Protos 1972 / 1981

Track time slots: Free Practice 1 x 45' Qualifications 1 x 45' Race 1 x 60'

www.classicenduranceracing.com 8

The Group C Racing grid has recently come under the Peter Auto banner, and it will be present at five events put on by the French organiser.

Up to now the sports prototypes of the 80s were invited to certain events like Spa-Classic and the Dix Mille Tours on an occasional basis. Henceforth, these incredible cars will be present at each event on the calendar as the Group C Racing Association and Patrick Peter have decided to unite their forces.

The Group C regulations led to the production of fabulous cars which wrote some of the most glorious pages in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours and the World Endurance Championship. Early on, the Porsche 956s dominated despite stiff opposition from the Lancia LC2s, and then in 962 configuration came up against much tougher rivals with the arrival of Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda. Alongside the major manufacturers small constructors like Cougar, Dome, Rondeau, Spice and WM could still pull off the odd coup thanks to an intelligent interpretation of the regulations based essentially on fuel consumption. Group C was abandoned in the early 90s after a brief cohabitation with the Sport 3.5s (Peugeot 905, Jaguar XJR-14, Toyota TS010, etc), but that era is still considered as the Golden Age of endurance racing by the majority of the specialists.

The Group C cars are modern looking with their rounded windscreens and their doors in elytron, and they exert an incredible fascination on all generations of fans with performances that are not too far off those of the current crop of LM P prototypes as their top speed was way north of 300 km/h! The Group C Racing grid will feature in five events run by the organisation: the new Jarama-Classic (1-3 April), Spa-Classic (13-15 May), the Grand Prix de l’Age d’Or (3-5 June), Le Mans Classic (8-10 July), Silverstone Classic (29-31 July, not organised by Peter Auto) and the Dix Mille Tours (1-2 October).

Track time slots: Qualifications 2 x 45' Races 2 x 45'

www.groupcracing.com 11

The brand-new Heritage Touring Cup was the 2014 bill-topping Peter Auto grid. It came from the success of the Spa Endurance Touring Car event.

In the same way that Le Mans is the temple of Endurance racing for prototypes and Grand Touring cars, since its early days Spa-Francorchamps has been the House of Touring Car racing with its famous 24-Hours race, which is the favorite playing field for the majority of manufacturers and some of the best-know drivers in the world, as the ultimate highlight. During this long period of Touring Car racing a number of manufacturers won with their flagship makes. BMW was one of the most loyal entrants as over three decades the Bavarian manufacturer raced a whole string of models ranging from the T1800 Ti to the famous M3. It holds the record for the number of victories (21) in the Spa- Francorchamps 24 Hours. The cars from Munich had several rivals over their reign and were beaten by the Alfa Romeo GTAs and GTVs, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SEs, Ford Mustangs and the Capri RSs, Porsche 911s, Mazda RX-7s and Jaguar XJSs…

Thanks to the success of the Spa event Peter Auto decided to revive this great era of the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) between 1966 and 1984.

In 2016, five Heritage Touring Cup events will take place on the following tracks: the new Jarama- Classic (1-3 April), Spa-Classic (13-15 May), the Grand Prix de l’Age d’Or (3-5 June), the Dix Mille Tours (1-2 October) and Imola-Classic (21-23 October).

Track time slots: Free Practice 1 x 30' Qualifications 1 x 40' Race 1 x 60' (1 or 2 drivers)

www.heritagetouringcup.com 13

2016 will be the seventh season of Sixties’ Endurance racing. Since its debut at the Dix Mille Tours on the Paul Ricard circuit in 2010, it has attracted a large following among spectators thanks to its all-inclusive quality field of pre-63 World Endurance Championship cars and pre-66 GTs.

On the track cars, whose names still echo in the memories of fans of this era of endurance racing which, at the time, was the top motor sport category, thrill the crowd. AC Cobras, Ferrari 250 GTs, Lotus 15s and E-Type Jaguars are part of a long list of machines that still bewitch spectators by their shapes and their sounds from another epoch.

This diversity, which today’s public really appreciates, gave an in-depth richness to the world championship of the time. During these 2-hour long races the pre-63 sports and GT cars recreate the battles of that long-gone past.

A Peter Auto innovation: a classification based on an Index of Performance, in addition to the scratch classification, gives an advantage to the small capacity cars and the oldest warriors faced with their more powerful and more modern rivals like the AC Cobras.

This year, the Sixties’ Endurance will be part of five Peter Auto meetings: the new Jarama-Classic (1-3 April), Spa-Classic (13-15 May), The Grand Prix de l’Age d’Or (3-5 June), Les Dix Mille Tours (1-2 October) and Imola-Classic (21-23 October).

Track time slots: Free Practice 1 x 40' Qualifications 1 x 40' Race 1 x 120’

www.sixtiesendurance.com 15

Peter Auto created the Trofeo Nastro Rosso in 2010 and it follows in the footsteps of the Shell Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge.

Peter Auto launched the Trofeo Nastro Rosso after the end of the Challenge was announced with the aim of attracting a similar field to the one in the Shell Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge. It also opened it up to pre-66 Sports and GT cars made by other Italian makes: Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Bizzarini, Iso, Lancia, Osca Stanguellini, etc. As was the case in 2013 when the Porsche Carrera Abarths were accepted among the Italian thoroughbreds, in 2016 some beautiful hand-picked cars, Aston Martin DB4 GTs and DB4 GT Zagatos, will be invited to share the track with their Italian rivals.

Peter Auto is obviously aware of the fact that some of the cars in question are now worth a great deal of money, and that their owners, with good reason, are not that keen on racing them in historic events where they have to share the track with many other vehicles, Peter Auto has decided to apply sporting ethical rules to ensure the respect of the cars taking part in the Trofeo Nastro Rosso to reduce risks to the minimum. Respect and fair play are the key words for the gentlemen drivers.

In 2016, Trofeo Nastro Rosso will take part of will be part of five Peter Auto meetings: the new Jarama-Classic (1-3 April), Spa-Classic (13-15 May), The Grand Prix de l’Age d’Or (3-5 June), Les Dix Mille Tours (1-2 October) and Imola-Classic (21-23 October).

Track time slots: Free Practice 1 x 40' Qualifications 1 x 40' Races 2 x 35'

www.trofeonastrorosso.com 17

GUEST GRID

The competition’s goal is to offer races only in the best events and circuits of the Iberian Peninsula. The concept benefits from the amazing circuits and magnificent weather conditions in southern Europe, allowing races under brilliant blue skies.

Track time slots: Qualifications 1 x 40' Races 2 x 50'

Contact: [email protected]