Report & Gallery: The Grand Prix de l’Age d’Or 2022 At Circuit Dijon-Prenois

By Marcel Hundscheid / Speed-O-Graphica

During the first weekend of June, the magic circuit of Dijon-Prenois was the setting for the 52^nd edition of the Grand Prix de l’Age d’Or. It was the 5^th event on the Peter Auto calendar for 2022, attracting 6200 spectators and 220 historic racing cars. The Dijon-Prenois circuit also celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year.

I traveled to the Burgundy region and created this report and gallery to bring the action home for you to enjoy.

The 3800 meter race track is still a formidable challenge including the blind Bretelle curve, the Parabolic hairpin uphill and the very fast and interminable Pouas bend.

In Sixties Endurance the battle for victory was fought between the Shelby Cobra 289 of Maxime Guenat and Guillaume Mahem, and the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe of Pierre-Alain and Erwin France. An oil pressure problem forced Guenat and Mahe to retire, giving the lead to the France family. An illegal pit stop resulted in a 15-second penalty giving the victory to Saif Assam and Sam Hancock in their Shelby Cobra 289.

Fans of touring cars from the ’70s were treated with a large grid including Ford Capris, Ford Escorts and BMW CSLs. As expected it was the Capri RS 3100s who dominated the Heritage Touring Cup. Throughout the first part of the race it was Maxime Guenat who ruled with his Capri RS 3100. After the mandatory pit stop Yves Scemama took the lead, but due to a pit stop infringement Guenat inherited the lead again and claimed victory.

Classic Endurance Racing was as usual divided in two separate divisions. In Classic Endurance Racing 1, the single 60 minute race was overshadowed by lots of accidents and interventions by the safety car. In the end it was the Lola T70 Mk.IIIB of Armand Mille who crossed the finish line first after the 60-minute race.

In Classic Endurance Racing 2 Maxime Guenat (Lola T286) and Yves Scemama (TOJ SC 304) fought a fierce nose to tail battle. After the mandatory pit stop it was Guenat who grabbed the lead. But when Scemama ended his race in the gravel trap, Guenat raced unthreatened to victory.

In Fifties Legends it was Eugene Deleplanque in his TVR Grantura who won the single race of the weekend despite a penalty. The Golden Age Trophy was reserved for cars that have been seen evolving in Sixties Endurance and Fifties Legends. Simon Evans drove a lonely race in Lotus Elan 26R and grabbed the honours.

The Greatest Trophy held two races over the weekend. As expected the battle for the lead went between the Ferrari 275 GTB/C of Vincent Gaye and the Bizzarrini 5300 GT of Christian Bouriez. At the finish line both cars were almost side by side, with Bouriez winning the race by just three tenths of a second.

This immaculate Chevron B26 is one of just two cars (B26-74-02) built in 1973. The Chevron B26 used a monocoque chassis combined with the front suspension from the earlier B23 and the rear suspension from the Formula 2 Chevron B25.

The car that raced in Dijon over the weekend was raced by John Watson and Ian Scheckter in the South African Springbok Series. Later it appeared in the Interseries and Thundersports series.

Harvey Postlethwaite and George Ryton designed the Tyrrell 020 for the Formula 1 World Championship in 1991. Initially the 020 was powered by a 690 hp Honda RA101E V10 engine.

The car that was entered in Formula 3.5 Legends at Dijon was in fact a Tyrrell 020C, based on the 020 but equipped with a 690 hp Yamaha OX10A. The Tyrrell 020C was driven by Andrea de Cesaris and Ukyo Katayama who both failed to score a single World Championship point.

In Formula 3.5 Legends, this AGS JH24 appeared on track. The AGS JH24 raced during the 1989 Formula 1 World Championship driven by Gabriele Tarquini, Yannick Dalmas and Joachim Winkelhock.

AGS (Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives) was a motor racing constructor that competed in Formula 1 from 1986 to 1991 and founded by French racing driver Henri Julien. Initially he worked on Formula 2 cars as a mechanic and from 1967 he became a mechanic for the Matra F1 team. In the same he created AGS along with the first car the AGS JH1. Before entering F1 AGS designed and raced in Formula France, Formula 3 and Formula 3000.