Barth and Porsche 935 Head Le Mans Classic entry

Porsche Legend Jürgen Barth is among the provisional entries for the second running of the Le Mans Classic on the full 8.5-mile circuit.

The Porsche 935-K3 to be raced by Barth, who won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1977, is one of a number of cars new to the event on July 23-25. This is the result of Peter Auto, which organises the affair in conjunction with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, extending the cut-off date for entries from 1975 to ’78.

The new regulations have also allowed in a gaggle of French-entered prototypes, induding a Matra MS670, a Porsche 936 and a 1976 Inaltera. Elsewhere, at least six Fond GT4Os will compete, including those of Ray Benin and Adrian Newey.

Revisions to the event for 2004 have allowed the organisers to raise the total entry to 366 cars, plus 72 reserves. To accommodate the greater number of cars, each of the six age categories will now compete only three times in the 24-hour period over which the races take place. The switch to a July date will increase the amount of daylight racing.

A 1923 Delage will be the oldest car on track, while Jean Sage will also contest the 1923-39 races in his 1935 Delahaye 135S. The definitive entry list will be finalised after Retromobile in Paris towards the end of February.