"The Jaguar D-Type won the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1955 to 1957. Solido released this scale model in 1957, riding the wave of enthusiasm among young people at the time for racing cars. This one belonged to my grandfather."

RACING BULL

Young Julien Chaffard, in charge of the Racing Classic School, looks back on the small frustrations and dissatisfactions that were excellent driving forces for him to succeed in realizing his childhood dreams and finding his path.

There were old Sport Auto magazines piled up on my father's shelves. I was completely absorbed in them, barely able to read. I could perfectly describe the photographs of Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo, and especially their Matras in endurance races, from Montlhéry to Buenos Aires. I was captivated by the majestically sleek lines of these racing cars and by the 1960s atmosphere of those races. I felt something similar observing every detail of the miniature that held pride of place in the living room of my grandparents' chalet: a Jaguar D -Type. The cars were teeming with toy cars, but this Jaguar seemed timeless, marked by the patina that gives it a certain charm. In my eyes, "It's the real thing!", an authentic legend of the 1950s, and for me, born in the 1990s, it was like being granted the power to travel through time. Despite the distance, she followed me to this day so that Julien could immortalize her. A true work of art speaks directly to the heart; why does this vintage car from an era not mine speak so deeply to mine?

Motorsport was not part of my parents' DNA. Without an exotic car in the garage, nor any way to get close to it through connections, there was a certain frustration which may have been at the origin of this desire to one day flourish in this world which was then so inaccessible to my child's eyes.

As if my father had sensed this overwhelming need, he decided to take us to Le Mans Classic in 2006; I was twelve years old. It was a revelation. Never had a sleepless night affected me so deeply, with its heel-toe shifting and the roar of a V12. I was ecstatic. The idea took root in me then: my life would be dedicated to historic racing cars. I would be in the shoes of these legendary heroes, like in the movie "Back to the Future," I would travel through time. You have to imagine the harsh return to reality for my exhilarated young heart when we hit the road again in our family Chrysler Grand Voyager, surrounded by all these wonders.

A few years later, during my engineering studies, I fulfilled one of my childhood dreams in the world of single-seaters. "Dad, I drove an F1 car!" During a simple two-month internship, and lacking a test driver that day, I was miraculously chosen to get behind the wheel to validate the proper functioning of the cars on the track. My first experience on a circuit was therefore in an F1 car, a 1999 Prost AP02. That's all!

What a crazy experience, when I think back on it. Of course, it was all rather brief, with a trip into the gravel trap in the first few laps. No one can expect two miracles in one day! But this latest disappointment allowed me to refine my vision for the future: I will dedicate my life to classic cars and give everyone who has dreamed of it as much as I have the opportunity to drive them…  without ending up in the gravel!

The rest of the story is what led to the creation of the Classic Racing School. It takes a certain kind of madness to embark on such a venture, fueled by a touch of youthful naiveté, punctuated by a dash of luck and, above all, some truly wonderful encounters. I don't regret having believed in it.

What an honor to be able to share and pass on this passion today with a mix of different generations, united by this dream of experiencing a little of the joy of our idols of the past. A period I never knew, but to which I hope to pay tribute every day in vintage single-seaters and in the delightfully old-fashioned atmosphere of the Charade circuit.

Julien Chaffard for MyLittleRedCar

"My two brothers and I traveled hundreds of meters in that red pedal car in the family garden."

"It was the first time I'd ever seen a full-size Type D. Since then, the dream of driving one at Charade has been on my very long wish list! Calling all owners!"

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