Having a Ball Judging at La Baule

Images: Gautam Sen

A century ago, in 1924, François André, one of the founders of the French seaside resort town La Baule in the early 20th century, organised a week dedicated to cars.

The event featured a grand prix-style beach race, various forms of entertainment, a touring rally, and a concours d’élégance competition held in front of the newly built casino.

Before World War II, the event moved to the gardens of the Tennis Club on Avenue de l'Étoile.

The war interrupted the La Baule Concours d’Élégance, but by 1952, the popular competition made a strong comeback and was soon regarded as one of "the most beautiful events in the most prestigious of seaside resorts".

In 1973, the competition moved to the François-André stadium to attract a larger audience, but eventually, the event faded into obscurity.

In 2019, the La Baule Concours d’Élégance was briefly revived for a one-time celebration. However, it made a full return this year, on 14^th August, to mark the centenary of the inaugural event.Once again held at the François André stadium, which is renowned as one of Europe’s finest horse show jumping venues, the event featured three days of automotive entertainment from 13^th to 15^th August.

The festivities included a ‘village’ of 40 exhibitors, free entry for all visitors, supercar and collector car experiences, two car rallies, a charity auction, and a VIP dinner during the concours d’élégance parade on the evening of 14^th August, where I had the honour of serving as a jury member.

The concours d’élégance à la française featured 47 cars, divided into five categories: vintage cars from before 1930, post-vintage cars from 1931-1944, classics from 1945-1959, post-classics from 1960-1975, and a collection of more recent supercars and cars from after 1976.

“The first edition of the competition took place in 1924,” explained Olivier Bernadet, the organiser of the concours and owner of automobilia stores in La Baule, Monaco, Cannes, and Dubai. “A hundred years later, we wanted to create an event that would bring together car enthusiasts and those curious about this world.”

The jury, comprising both men and women to ensure gender balance, was chaired by Franck Louvrier, the mayor of La Baule. Among the female jurors were Corinne Cérède and Pascaline Mascitti, experienced judges at various French concours events and members of the French federation FFVE’s panel of experts.

Representing the FFVE (Fédération Française de Véhicule d’Epoque) was Gilbert Marchini, while Alain Redon and Mme. Glon attended from the mayor’s office in La Baule. And yours truly.

The master of ceremonies was Patrick Rollet, former president of FIVA, who skilfully narrated the history of each model, the specific cars being judged, the people involved, and relevant circumstances.

Following the tradition of the concours d’élégance à la française, the parade before the jury and audience, seated in the show jumping stadium stands, began with the most ‘modern’ car, a 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV, and concluded with the oldest, a rare 1900 Hurtu, which ran impeccably well.

In between, the parade featured rarities like two Edwardians, a 1907 Aries and a 1910 Brasier, a Citroën SM Le Mylord convertible (one of only five ever coach-built by Heuliez), a genuine Citroën Traction Avant Cabriolet (from 1939), a rare 1924 Delaunay-Belleville, one of three Moretti 2300 SSs (1964), a ’57 Rometsch cabriolet (presented by historic vehicle veterans Chatuna and Emmanuel Bacquet), and a Rosengart, as well as several Maseratis, Delages, Corvettes, and more.

Many participants presented their cars in the traditional French style, stepping out with their companions, and several included a delightful dog scampering around.

The ensembles were elegant, with one particularly charming presentation by Mme. and M. Didier Fourcault in their Renault 4CV. Dressed as working-class people on their annual holiday in their very middle-class car, they delighted the audience and won the Prix du Public, awarded to the most popular car with the public.

Class winners included the Moretti, a ’56 Jaguar XK140, the Citroën Traction Avant Cabriolet, and the 1900 Hurtu.

The famous replica Bentley Blue Train was also in attendance, winning the Prix de la Ville, the trophy awarded by the city of La Baule.

The Prix d’Excellence, equivalent to Best of Show, was awarded to a stunning Delage D6 3L Cabriolet Milord with elegant Guilloré bodywork (from 1948).

With over two thousand paying attendees and an additional twenty thousand visitors to the "village" over the three days, the centenary La Baule Concours d’Elégance was a tremendous success.

All credit goes to the organising spirit of Olivier Bernadet and the brilliant orchestration of ceremonies by the indomitable Patrick Rollet.