Two Britons have been banned from driving in France after being caught at speeds of up to 210km/h (130mph) in high-performance vehicles on a cannonball run from London to Saint-Tropez.

They were among 12 drivers stopped by gendarmes as they raced along the A5 motorway in the Champagne region of eastern France.

The incident has fuelled anger among French officials and road safety campaigners over cannonball races organised by what Le Figaro newspaper described as la jet-set anglaise. “These people are very, very wealthy and they drive very, very fast,” a spokesman for the gendarmerie in Champagne said.

Amongst the cars on the London-Saint Tropez race were a Ferrari F430, a Bentley Continental, a Ford GT Mirage 720, an Aston Martin DB9, two Bugatti Veyrons and two Mercedes SLR McLarens.

Gendarmes have withdrawn the driving licences from the two Britons caught at speeds of 210km/h and 194km/h. They were also fined €2,250 (£1,900) and €750. One of the drivers had been stopped and fined an hour earlier.

Seven other cars were intercepted at speeds of up to 177km/h. They were fined €90 and allowed to continue the race.

Three more vehicles were stopped but escaped without a fine because the gendarmerie’s camera failed to register their speed.

“We were warned by our colleagues that they were coming and we were on the lookout for them,” the spokesman said. “We have passed the information on to units further down the line.”