Ambition  Fulfilled…?

2007 was the twenty-first time I had been to the race. Add to that a couple of trips to the May testing, and that makes twenty three visits to the circuit. One thing I had never achieved until 2002, however, was a visit to the museum. 

So on a wet and blustery Friday in late October, Mrs. Fartmeister (or should that be “Fartmeisterin?) and I put that right. We were in France for a long weekend to visit the circuit to sort out some ticket issues and to visit friends who had beaten us in upping sticks and moving to La Belle France. We duly paid our entrance fee and started on the recommended route around the (fairly) new building that is located on the left of the main circuit entrance. 

What I hadn’t appreciated was that the museum is not dedicated to the racing pedigree that La Sarthe has in abundance. It seems to major on the French automobile heritage in general, and although there are some beautiful past winners, they were in the minority. Perhaps I should have realised because it is called “Musée Automobile de la Sarthe”. 

The display seemed tired and disjointed. Each car had an information card giving details in French of the make model year hp etc. The cards were in a variety of formats and gave differing levels of information. Some had an English translation, but most didn’t. There was no consistency. The cars themselves were in various conditions and few could have been described as concourse. One had obviously had a panel brush-painted in a failed attempt to match the original colour. Lighting was poor and unimaginative but cynically I wonder whether this was a blessing in disguise and covered a multitude of sins! The one Rolls Royce had the Spirit of Ecstasy radiator cap missing, and one 1930’s car had been re-sprayed in very incongruous metallic gold. A display showing some of the principle vehicle workings – e.g. a differential – which took up a disproportionate amount of space, could best be described as Mickey Mouse! 

Apart from the few 24 Heures winners, the only saving grace was the shop. Stocked with different goodies than those found in the A.C.O. shop 300 metres away, it is well worth a look, as was the display of die cast models of winners and other significant entrants from the year dot.

Overall verdict: - if it’s raining and windy and you have nothing pressing to do, give it a try - you don’t get much for £4 nowadays. A pity really, they have the building, the location and some interesting exhibits, but it lacks the finishing touch. It will be interesting to see if any improvements have been made recently, so if anyone goes let us know!

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