Les Vingt-Quatre Heures du Mans 1991 and 1992

Contractual negotiations delayed the launch of 1991’s edition of what used to be known as Radio Le Mans – The Video. So much so that it finally reached the shops at the same time as the 1992 version . . .

The recipe under the new name, demanded by those who control the film rights, is much the same as it was under the old. It’s a package of highlights from the world’s most charismatic sports car race, set to excerpts from the live Radio Le Mans commentary.

The best feature is its immediacy: this doesn’t have some banal, scripted, studio voice-over. The use of the Radio Le Mans ‘soundtrack’, warts and all, gives you a real taste of being there . . . which not many people were for the ’92 event. Still, even if there were only just about enough cars to fill the grid at Mallory Park, the last-generation Group C cars were as impressive to watch as they were thin on the ground.

Le Mans is many things to many people. An annual pilgrimage. A festival. An excuse to drink beer. Above all else, it’s an event, and these well produced tapes are an appropriate commemoration.

S A