For the second year in a row, the Le Mans Classic will have a rally raid presence. This time, the Lada Niva of Pom’Family Racing will be on display at the ACO and Goodyear stands.

The Niva was piloted by Nicolas Fantin and his son Lucien in January’s Dakar Classic, where they had to deal with a myriad of mechanical issues. They ultimately finished 68th among cars and 88th overall.

They acquired the car in 2024 and it underwent an extensive restoration courtesy of Normandy Rétro Prestige. It was put up for sale in April as the Fantins try to recoup their financial losses incurred from entering such a costly race.

With how much money was spent getting to Dakar, they understandably will not return in 2027.

Despite being such a different discipline (or maybe similar, as many see Dakar as like the Le Mans of off-road racing), the Automobile Club de l’Ouest has been keen on promoting rally raid at Le Mans. In 2025, six Dakar cars—Seth Quintero’s Toyota GR DKR Hilux, Kenjiro Shinozuka’s 1997 Mitsubishi Pajero Type 2, the Citroën ZX Rallye Raid, the Mitsubishi PX33, Jules II Proto, and Puck Klaassen’s 2024 Porsche 911 Safari—were on display at the Le Mans Classic.

Earlier this month, fellow Dakar Classic team Compagnie Saharienne brought the Toyota Land Cruisers of Kim Matzen and Julian Johan to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where they and a service truck were displayed at Tertre Rouge. At the entrance to Circuit de la Sarthe, the newly-opened M24 Museum has a Porsche 959 that René Metge drove to victory in the 1986 Dakar.

Technically speaking, Pom’Family won’t be the only Dakar team at the Le Mans Classic Legend (the Legend is for cars after 1975, whereas the Le Mans Classic Heritage—held in odd-numbered years—is for those between the inaugural Le Mans 24 in 1923 and ’75). Nantes Prestige Autos, who brought said Porsche to the 2025 race, will field a 1995 Ferrari F355 for team owner Jérémy Athimon.

Featured image credit: Pom’Family Racing