The former journalist for France Télévisions later developed a passion for motorsport in general and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in particular.
At 76, Gérard Holtz is still just as in love with sport. If he now devotes himself to his other passion, the stage, it is mainly for plays relating to sport such as his last show, Vive le sport… et ses petits secrets, which he performed last year. last. The former Stade 2 presenter also continues to write books with his son Julien. This year, with “24 Hours of Le Mans: 100 Years of Legends”, published by Gründ, the duo decided to put on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, whose 100th anniversary will be celebrated next weekend.
Gérard Holtz has a real passion for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and more generally for motorsport. “Personally, it’s a dream. Being a journalist, I was able to test a lot of things. I had the opportunity to exchange a few tennis balls with Bjorn Borg, Ilie Năstase or Mats Wilander. I was also able to play football with Nantes or even rugby with Biarritz. But there is only one sport that I would have liked to do at the highest level: to be a pilot. I would have liked to do the 24 Hours of Le Mans as such,” he said in an interview with Télé 7 Jours.
Unfortunately today I am too old
Coming late to driving, during a karting lesson with his sons when he was in his fifties, Gérard Holtz nevertheless made up his mind. “I was invited to car races, and I was able to do two major races on the Le Mans circuit. Since that moment, doing the 24 Hours has been the absolute dream. Unfortunately today I’m too old, it’s too complicated, especially since there are races all year round.he breathed.
Confined to the role of spectator, Gérard Holtz is nonetheless transported by the magic of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “It’s one of the three biggest races in the world, along with Indianapolis and Monaco. But it’s almost more than that in the end: it goes beyond sport, it’s a real event. It’s a huge party.” he confided, adding: “When you arrive at Le Mans, you take a breath of enthusiasm and passion with the noise and the smells, between the oil, the forest, the merguez sausages… You are caught up in an atmosphere that takes you on board. I fell in love with it there. »