Christophe Bouchut in a Peugeot conjures up images of a brilliant white and patriotic prototype at Le Mans, sweeping to unchallenged victory in 1993. It doesn’t bring to mind a 1970s 504 Coupé, reinforced for a run from ‘Peking’ to Paris, in the company of Spanish royalty.
But that was the scene that brightened the Bicester Motion paddock on a grey winter’s day, three months before the flag drops on the 2025 edition of the Peking to Paris. The race sets off on 17 May, and evergreen racer Bouchut and team-mate Alfonso de Orléans-Borbón, Duke of Galliera, will be among the entry aboard the 1977 Peugeot 504 Coupé Jean-Pierre Nicolas used to win the Safari Rally in 1978.
Bouchut and Alfonso de Orléans-Borbón have shared cars before, not least a Porsche 911 GT2 for a handful of races in 1996 and ’97.
In a bizarre coincidence, Bouchut was on the grid when his P2P team-mate made his motor racing debut, also at Le Mans in 1994. With sports car racing in flux, defending winner Bouchut had little hope of retaining his trophy driving a Honda NSX while Alfonso de Orléans-Borbón was in a Ferrari 348 GTC-LM and finished ahead of Bouchut.
The Spanish Prince shared that weekend with Andrés Vilarino, whose son and NASCAR Euro Series legend Ander later raced for Alfonso de Orléans-Borbón’s versatile Racing Engineering squad and claimed its maiden win in the series. Bouchut was often in the chasing pack behind Vilarino.
It isn’t only the competitors bracing up for the toughest endurance of them all. HERO-ERA has already despatched 10 support vehicles to Beijing,
Guy Woodcock, HERO-ERA competition director, explained: “The support vehicles are our work horses, they must be tough, reliable and in the right place at the right time! From technical assistance to time controls and vital medical support, our 4x4 Toyota Hilux are truly the backbone of the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge.”
The ninth running of the event will also welcome a new category for the forefathers of those Hiluxes. An invitational class for Off-roaders built before 1985 will add a new flavour to the event, which has proven so popular in recent years that HERO-ERA is running it for the second time in as many years.
