Club members not only shared their personal memories of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Bruno Vandestick, but also learned more about exactly what it is he does for the race when he happily took the mic that evening. He began describing how as a young fan he dreamed of becoming a driver, then talked about some incredible memories of his own watching the race from home, like when the Porsche 936 of Ickx-Barth-Haywood limped across the finish line to win the 1977 24 Hours, before admitting he was finally able to attend his first edition in person in 1980.

His incredible career as a commentator started in the 1980s, thanks to the liberalization of so-called free radios throughout France, peaking in 1988 when he first entered the speaker booth at the 24 Hours. Vandestick then shared some snapshots of press conferences, Scrutineering, driver autograph sessions and more.

Next - to the delight of everyone in the room - Bruno provided impromptu commentary on videos showing two unforgettable moments from the last two editions of the 24 Hours: the stunning last minute retirement for the Toyota leading the race in 2016 and the duel between Aston Martin and Corvette in the final laps of the 2017 edition. 

The history of the 24 Hours also provided a narrative for the evening. In addition to conversations and anecdotes shared with members of the ACO Club (from the Porsche 917 to the pole position record set by Kamui Kobayashi in 2017 to visible emotion when remembering certain drivers), Bruno Vandestick went all the way back to Amédée Bollée and his "Obéissante" (Obedient), the first steam car that covered 230 kilometers between Le Mans and Paris on 9 October 1875. Returning to present-day, Vandestick acknowledged the excellent efforts of Pierre Fillon, ACO president since 2012. On a side note, his colleague David Waldron is about to celebrate 30 years as the official speaker of the 24 Hours for anglophones.

He also provided a special sneak peek to ACO Club members: a presentation of the renewed driver line-ups on Saturday 16 June, as part of the pre-race ceremonies. The next time we'll hear Bruno Vandestick's inimitable voice will be later this week during Test Day, kicking off the famous two weeks leading up to the 86th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

PHOTO: Bruno Vandestick (far left) took part in a group selfie with ACO Club members at the ACO shop in Paris.