8.482 Miles with Fabrice Deglan in His C3 Racer.(Column)

Byline: Matt Davis

I was sitting in a 1973 454 Sting Ray with its Swiss owner at the wheel. We were waiting behind the guardrail at the Porsche Curves to do a parade lap of the La Sarthe circuit with about 70 other Corvettes prior to the start of this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Then someone had the brainstorm that I switch cars to sit in a true uncaged beast near the front of the row: Parisian Fabrice Deglan's 1972 open-air racing C3 roadster with an unrestricted big-block 427.

We can all try to imagine what it must have been like to be in a raw, wide-open racing car going full-tilt before the age of extensive safety regulations. Or maybe sitting next to Giuseppe Campari in an Alfa Romeo 6C during a Mille Miglia victory in the 1920s before the age of pavement. I had a taste of it going around La Sarthe in that stripped C3 sport.

Adding to the rawness, the light rain started just as we did and the fire-breather carrying us had competition slicks on. The fastest we got was a burst of about 80 mph on the Mulsanne Straight (or ligne droite des Hunaudieres if you're French and/or picky). And if you've ever done hot time in a pillar-free rocket, you know all too well how even the smallest raindrops hit your face like BBs. Such seat time renews my worship of all drivers who had to deal with this and worse at twice the speed over longer distances, skull protected from injury by a sturdy layer of leather.

A lap of La Sarthe also lends one a daunting perspective on the reality of doing a full day on it. The grandstand straight is the safest portion of the track and then you're sort of out there on your own to deal with it. Uphill from the start/finish you see the infamous Dunlop Bridge at the crest of the hill and the track ...