Le Mans: First 42 entries announced by the ACO. No Ginetta's in LMP1, Ford GT in GTE Am.

The first 42 entries for the 24 Hours of Le Mans have been announced today by the Automobile Club de L’Ouest. Out of a total of 75 applications to participate at the classic endurance race and finale of the 2018/2019 FIA WEC Super Season, 60 teams will be invited for the race mid-June.  The next step is scheduled on March 1st with the release of the complete official entry list for the 87th running of the race. 

With four months to go before the race, the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans is drawing an enormous amount of interest. The Automobile Club de l’Ouest has received 75 applications for the 87th running of the greatest endurance race in the world. During a meeting last week, the 24 Hours of Le Mans Selection Committee confirmed 42 entrants. They include the 34 participants in the 2018-2019 World Endurance Championship Super Season and the eight competitors invited thanks to their results at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in the European Le Mans Series and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2018. 

Despite earlier announcements which said 50 teams would be announced today and the remaining 10 plus 10 reserve teams on March 1st, the ACO decided only to confirm the teams racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and auto-entries which have been taken up. The four invitations from the Asian Le Mans Series will be announced on 24 February after the final round in Sepang.  This leaves "just" 14 entries to be assigned. 

LMP1

Toyota doesn’t take up its third entry leaving both Toyota TS050 Hybrids from the FIA WEC at the start.  They will be joined by Rebellion's R13’s, the Dragonspeed BR1, ByKolles and the 2 SMP Racing BR1’s.  As announced earlier by the team, Nathanaël Berthon replaces Mathias Beche in the #3 Rebellion. Jenson Button will make his return to the #11 SMP Racing after missing out Sebring and Spa later this season. 

The ByKolles Enso CLM P1/01 is still listed with a Nismo engine, although recent reports have hinted at a disturbed relationship between the Austrian team and Japanese manufacturer.  ByKolles will miss Sebring due to this and is believed to be on the market for a new engine supplier.  So far, only Tom Dillmann has been confirmed by the team. 

Ginetta has - unsurprisingly - disappeared from the entry list after failing to race in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the exception of Le Mans.  It was already doubtable whether we would see the Ginetta LMP1’s on track since they only turned a few laps at the prologue and “raced” at Le Mans.  Since then it all went quiet, except for an engine switch from Mecachrome to AER which hasn’t done much more than a straight line test, no on track testing at all.  And although Ginetta claims to have their prototypes ready to race “whenever a customer” turns up, apparently nobody wants to make that investment. A good call thus by the ACO by leaving these 2 entries vacant at the moment.  With just 18 entries left to be assigned, there will be more than enough teams who race in an ACO endorsed championship eagerly waiting for an invite for Le Mans.   

LMP2

In LMP2, nine cars have been confirmed today, lead by last year’s Le Mans winner Signatech Alpine and ELMS champions G-Drive.  The 7 remaining cars all compete in the FIA WEC.  

In the #26 G-Drive Racing Oreca, Roman Rusinov has been announced as the lead driver. It seems likely though that he will be joined by ELMS drivers Job Van Uitert and Jean-Eric Vergne. In the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing - the former Malaysian backed LMP2 - only David Heinemeier Hansson has been confirmed.  Other open seats are the third drivers for Larbre Competition (Creed/Ricci) and RLR M Sport/Tower Events (Farana/Maini), the latter in need for a replacement driver for Bruno Senna who is racing with Rebellion at Le Mans. 

Expect (a lot) more LMP2 cars on March 1st when the second batch of entries will be announced, with the European Le Mans Series as main suppliers for this class. At this time there’s no Ligier on the entry list and just one Dallara (Racing Team Nederland). 

LMGTE Pro

The 10 WEC cars have been announced in the GTE Pro class so far, Porsche not taking up their auto entry from winning Le Mans last season.  There’s no sign (yet) of the IMSA GTE teams, but it’s fair to accept that at least both Corvettes (celebrating their 20th anniversary at Le Mans this year), a Risi Ferrari and possible the IMSA entries of Porsche and Ford will be added later on. 

So far, only AF Corse and Porsche have confirmed their full driver line-ups. Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado will have Daniel Serra with them in the #51 Ferrari, Miguel Molina joins Davide Rigon and Sam Bird in the #71.  At Porsche Fred Makowiecki completes the #91 line up with Richard Lietz and Gianmaria Bruni while Laurens Vanthoor returns to last years winning #92 of Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre.

LMGTE Am

The GTE Am class seems almost complete already with a total of 15 invited cars.  Proton Competition takes up 4 spots on the entry list: 2 cars from the WEC, and 2 auto-entries after winning the class at Le Mans last year and the ELMS GTE championship. With just 1 line-up complete (the #88 for Hoshino/Roda/Cairoli), there’s still a lot of seats to be filled for Christian Ried’s team. Patrick Long already has been assigned in the #77 Porsche 911 RSR, continuing his Le Mans streak with another year. 

ELMS runner-up JMW Motorsport returns to La Sarthe with his Ferrari and Jonny Cocker as designated driver.  Swiss team Kessel Racing is set to make its Le Mans debut after winning the 2018 Michelin Le Mans Cup.  They will enter a Ferrari 488 GTE with Francesco Schiavoni as their lead driver.   Another non-WEC entrant is the #62 Weathertech Racing Ferrari of Cooper Macneil. 

The biggest surprise is Keating Motorsport’s entry with the first Ford GT in the Am class.  Ben Keating will be joined by Jeroen Bleekemolen and Felipe Fraga, the same line-up as with the Riley AMG in the IMSA championship.  This will be Keating’s fifth Le Mans after 2 appearances in LMP2 (Oreca 03 and Riley) and GTE (Viper in 2015 and Ferrari last year).  

All other cars are the FIA WEC entrants.  All driver line-ups for those entrants are complete except for the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche with one seat left next to Michael Wainwright and Ben Barker. 

Entry list presentation

Le Mans: Montoya to make his debut at Le Mans with United Autosports

United Autosports have confirmed that Juan Pablo Montoya will join the team for the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours. The former F1 racer will join Will Owen and Hugo de Sadeleer in the #32 Ligier JS P217 for his debut at the most prestigious endurance race in the world.

© United Autosports

Although Montoya will be making his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he is no stranger to sports car racing, as he currently races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Team Penske. Along with his Formula One career, Juan Pablo has also raced and won in NASCAR and IndyCar and became the only driver to win a CART Series title, the Indy 500 and the Rolex 24 At Daytona all at his first attempt.

Montoya has won many stand out races such as the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. These victories mean he has won two out of three races in the Triple Crown of Motorsport, leaving the Le Mans 24 Hours the final race to conquer to complete this goal.

The 2018 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will begin at 15:00 on Saturday 16th June. United Autosports have had two entries confirmed by the ACO and will be entering the #32 Ligier JS P2 for Juan Pablo, Will and Hugo and the #22 Ligier JS P217 for Phil Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque and a third as yet unconfirmed driver.

Juan Pablo Montoya, driver, United Autosports:

“I’m very excited about the opportunity to experience Le Mans and I’m looking forward to joining United Autosports after they had such a strong finish at Le Mans last year. I’ve always watched the race so I’m very happy to finally be part of it. Hopefully we can have a shot at a win.”

Zak Brown, Team Owner and Chairman, United Autosports:

“Juan Pablo has been around racing for a long time now and he knows what it takes to win. I’m sure he will bring experience and speed to the team, which is exactly what we need for such a demanding race as Le Mans.”

Richard Dean, Team Owner and Managing Director, United Autosports:

“I watched Juan Pablo race against us at Daytona this year and was so impressed by him through the traffic, he definitely hasn’t lost any of his speed or determination. He’s a great character so I have no doubt that he will fit into the team well at Le Mans. Although it will be his first Le Mans venture, he has a vast amount of racing experience, including wins at the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500, meaning this Le Mans venture could be a chance for him to win the triple crown of motorsport. Either way, I’m looking forward to welcoming Juan Pablo to the team.”

Le Mans 2017 : Driver 'cheat sheet'

The Club Arnage Driver 'cheat sheet' is now online and ready to download on this   LINK

Le Mans 2017 : Pesage, the slowest lap.

A few years ago we had a running joke regarding the scrutineering (pesage) days at Le Mans that nothing happened in the morning and then surprisingly little happened in the afternoon. To be fair, although it's never going to be a thrill ride, it does have its own unique charm.

United Autosports #35 Ligier-Gibson arrives at the square.

If you have never experienced it before, the process works something like this. In one of the main squares of Le Mans (Place de la République ), a set of tents open at each end are set up along the four sides of a square. Race cars arrive according to a strict schedule in the south east corner and are pushed one after another through the sequence of tents within which they are weighed, measured and minutely inspected to ensure they conform to regulations. At the same time as the cars are getting a serious bit of looking-at, the drivers are summoned to present their licenses, helmets, suits and other safety gear in the registration office in the centre of the square. All this sounds a bit dull and if that was all there was to 'pesage' then I would agree that it is an unlikely spectator event.  

Porsche drivers are interviewed on the covered stage.

Once the cars have passed inspection the official ACO stickers are applied and the cars are wheeled into an area where they are joined by the drivers and the rest of the team for a set-up photo opportunity for the group of press photographers positioned to capture the moment. Once the group-shot is done the drivers are invited onto a covered stage area where they are interviewed by Le Mans commentators Bruno Vandestick and David Waldron in front of an audience gathered in small grandstand. Outside the square of inspection tents there is another ring of awnings that contain a range of stalls where you can shop for a T-shirt, hat or scale model of your favourite car past or present. 

In past years the pesage has been on Monday and Tuesday, but a few years ago it was brought forward to Sunday and Monday. The move to Sunday has made the event incredibly popular with the local population of Le Mans, not least because it is entirely free to attend and they can see the cars and drivers at close quarters, possibly the closest race fans will have a chance to get all week. 

Thrilling it isn't, but well worth attending for the party atmosphere, particularly in the gorgeous weather we have been blessed with today.

Dave Davies.

Le Mans 2017: Testday - Friday pictures

Scrutineering was in full swing yesterday at Le Mans, as the teams are preparing their cars for the test day tomorrow.

Full gallery is available here




Kristof Vermeulen.

24 Hours of Le Mans 2017: A first look into the entry list

60 cars will be at the start of the 85th 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 17th. 31 prototypes and 29 Gt's will fight for victory in what's probably the most beautiful race on earth on one of the most demanding race tracks around. 

39 teams representing 16 different countries from all over the world will be racing at La Sarthe. They will be split up in four categories: 6 LM P1s (Le Mans Prototype 1), 25 LM P2s (Le Mans Prototype 2), 13 LM GTE Pros and 16 LM GTE Am.  Mark Webber has been appointed as Grand Marshal for this years race. 

Here's a first look into the invited teams, cars and leading drivers. 

The list of invited cars and competitors can be downloaded here. 

LMP1

After last years heartbraking end for Toyota Gazoo Racing, the Japanese team returns to Le Mans in full force to finally claim that victory they have been chasing for many years. Toyota will field three revised TS050 Hybrids to counter attack Porsche who will be eager to score their third win in a row. The #7 and #8 cars will feature the same driver line-up as in the World Endurance championship with Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and newcomer José María López in the #7. The second car (#8) will be driven by Sébastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima.

Stéphane Sarrazin won't race the full WEC championship, but will take the leading drive in the third car at Le Mans (#9), with the two other drivers still to be confirmed. 

2 Porsche 919 Hybrid's will be on the grid next June. Almost immediately after last season's finale in Bahrain, Porsche started testing their upgraded 2017 spec car. The #1 car will be driven by Neel Jani, André Lotterer and Nick Tandy. Timo Bernhard has control over the #2 Porsche and will be joined by two "Kiwi's": Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber. 

The only remaining car in the LMP1-L class is the ByKolles ENSO CLM P1/01. Now powered with the Nismo engine of the GTR-LM and with substantial upgrades, the Austrian team is working onto a far more reliable and competitive package. With Robert Kubica as their lead driver, there will be no shortage of attention for the team at Le Mans and in the WEC. 

LMP2

A record field of 25 brand new prototypes will make a record field of 25 cars. All 4 LMP2 manufacturers will be pesent on the grid in June. 

Oreca has an numerical advantage with 15 cars. Signatech Alpine Matmut will lead the LMP2 field, defending their 2016 win in the class. 2 rebadged Alpine A470 will be fielded for Stéphane Richelmi and Nicolas Lapierre. G-Drive Racing also returns with two cars to La Sarthe, Memo Rojas and Roman Rusinov the appointed as lead drivers. Last year's debutants Manor are also back in the WEC and Le Mans with a 2 car effort as CEFC Manor TRS Racing. Tor Graves and Roberto Gonzalez have been selected as drivers. 

Coming over from LMP1-L is Rebellion Racing with 2 Oreca's under the Vaillante-Rebellion flag, the return of Michel Vaillant to Le Mans. A stellar driver line-up already has been confirmed by the team, led by Nelson Piquet Jr and Nicolas Prost.  Dragonspeed 10-Star who made an impressive debut in the European Le Mans Series last year will debut at Le Mans, Hendrik Hedman is the first confirmed driver for the team. 

Jackie Chan DC Racing will be at the WEC and Le Mans with two cars this season. After a collaboration with Signatech last year, the Chinese team will now be supported by Jota Sport. 2 Oreca's will be on the grid, David Cheng and Ho-Pin Tung have been appointed as lead drivers. French team Graff Racing which has a rich history at Le Mans with 11 starts between 1980 and 1993 returns to the 24 hours with 2 cars. Both cars entered in the ELMS will race at La Sarthe, with James Allen and Enzo Guibbert as their first confirmed drivers. 

ARC Bratislava is a new team in LMP2 and has been racing a pair of Ginetta LMP3's in the Asian Le Mans Series. For their debut at Le Mans, they will also run an Oreca07, with Miroslav Konopka as lead driver. 

Six Ligiers JSP217 are invited for this years Le Mans 24.  Panis-Barthez Competition returns to Le Mans with a new Ligier and Fabien Barthez at the wheel. Another team returning is Algarve Pro Racing who also acquiered a JSP217 and have Mark Patterson on board for Le Mans. 

Debutants at Le Mans are IDEC Sport Racing with Patrice Lafargue, Tockwith Motorsports with Nigel Moore and last year's European Le Mans LMP3 champions United Autosports (William Owen).  All three teams are combining a full season ELMS campaign with Le Mans. 

Eurasia Motorsports returns to Le Mans, but have traded in their Oreca05 for a Ligier JSP217. Their leading driver will be Sir Chris Hoy, who will make his second appearance in the 24 hour race. 

3 teams running the Dallara P217 have been invited. SMP Racing will run the #27 Dallara P217 ahead of their scheduled entry in the LMP1 class in 2018. Racing Team Nederland is a new team which makes its debut in the European Le Mans Series and Le Mans with Jan Lammers (ready for his 23th start at Le Mans) and Rubens Barichello behind the wheel. The third Dallara will be run by Cetilar Villorba Corse who will also race in the ELMS. 

A single Riley MK30 has been invited for Keating Motorsports. Ben Keating raced for the first time at Le Mans last year with Murphy Prototypes and now returns with his own car to the French classic. The team of Visit Florida Racing who is racing a Riley in the WeatherTech Championship will support the Texan in his new adventure. 

LMGTE-PRO

13 cars will race in the LMGTE-Pro class, where the return of Porsche GT is the headline this year. The new 911 made his 24 hour-debut at Daytona last week and immediately got onto the podium. 

Porsche returns with his all new, mid engined, 911 RSR. A two car effort led by Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen. Last year's Le Mans winners Ford are back at La Sarthe with 4 cars. Two cars competing in the FIA World Endurance championship (Stefan Mücke and Andy Priaulx) and their 2 Ford GT's which are racing in the IMSA WeatherTech championship (Joey Hand & Ryan Briscoe). 

Corvette Racing makes his yearly pilgrimage to France with two C7.R's. Jan Magnussen and Oliver Gavin again appointed as lead drivers. Also two cars for Aston Martin Racing, with Nicki Thiim and Darren Turner up for driving duties. 

The final manufacturer in the Pro class is Ferrari. Both AF Corse's Ferrari F488 GTE's will be back in June, driven by James Calado and Davide Rigon. The third invited car is the Risi Competizione of Toni Vilander. 

LMGTE-AM

Cars who are over one year old are eligible in the LMGTE-AM category, meaning the Ferrari 488 will make its debut in the class, competing against Porsche, Aston Martin and Corvette.

8 out of the 16 cars are Ferrari's. JMW Motorsport (Robert Smith) which returns to Le Mans after not being invited last year are the only team with an "older" Ferrari F458 Italia on the list. American team Scuderia Corsa returns to Le Mans with 2 Ferrari 488's, the first for Christina Nielsen - who made her debut last year with Formula Racing - the second for Cooper Mac Neil. WEC debutants Clearwater Racing, who raced at Le Mans for the first time last year, now have been granted an invite for 2 cars. Matt Griffin and Wen Sun Mok have already been appointed as drivers. Another team coming over from Asia is Hong Kong based DH Racing, with a single Ferrari 488 for Riccardo Ragazzi. The final 2 Ferrari's will be fielded by Swiss team Spirit of Race; a new team in the ELMS with support from AF Corse. Leading drivers will be Thomas Flohr and Duncan Cameron. 

4 Porsches have been invited this year. Proton Competition is leading the Porsche field with two 911 RSR's for Patrick Long and Wolf Henzler. Joining the German team is Dempsey Proton Racing with Christian Ried and Gulf Racing UK for Michael Wainwright. 

Aston Martin will have three cars on the Am grid. Paul Dalla Lana returns to the WEC and Le Mans with his Vantage V8. He will be joined by ELMS GTE-Am champions Beachdean AMR of Andrew Howard and last year's Michelin Le Mans Cup champions TF Sport and Salih Yoluc. 

Larbre Competition will field the only Corvette C7-Z06 in the Am class, with Ricky Taylor as first confirmed driver. 

Reserve cars

Only 2 cars have been listed as reserves this year. 

RLR M Sport in LMP2 with a Ligier JSP217 and Mentos-Proton Racing in LM GTE-AM with a Porsche 911 RSR. 

Kristof Vermeulen. 

United Autosports confirms LMP2 entry in Le Mans and ELMS

This afternoon at the Autosport Show in Birmingham, United Autosports conformed its LMP2 entry in the European Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The first two drivers of the LMP2 line-up have also been announced.

© United Autosports

Will Owen and Hugo de Sadeleer have joined the reigning ELMS LMP3 championship winning team for their debut LMP2 season. Will and Hugo will also be racing at the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours in June as part of the agreement.

American, Will Owen began karting at the age of 15, quickly moving into single seater racing. He has previously competed in the USF2000 Championship, winning in Indianapolis and scoring multiple top-10 finishes in his debut year. Most recently, Will has been racing in the Pro Mazda Championship. Swiss-born Hugo de Sadeleer also comes from a single seater racing background, having most recently raced in the 2016 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 – one of the support races to the ELMS. Hugo has previously tested with United Autosports in one of their Ligier JS P3 sports prototypes at Estoril, Portugal at the end of last year.

Will and Hugo will be joined by an as yet unconfirmed third driver in the United Autosports Ligier JS P217.

Last week United Autosports have already confirmed their two-car ELMS LMP3 drivers, by announcing American pairing, John Falb and Sean Rayhall at the end of the 2016 season, with the announcement last week that Mark Patterson, Wayne Boyd and Christian England will remain with the team for 2017.

Quotes: 

Will Owen, driver, United Autosports:

“I am so excited to be a part of the United Autosports LMP2 team. 2017 is shaping up to be a fantastic year and I am very thankful to have this opportunity to race in the European Le Mans Series with such an experienced and professional team. There is going to be great competition this year in the LMP2 category and we are all going to learn so much but I also know everyone on the team is pushing to win. It is a dream come true to be able to go race at circuits like Silverstone, Monza, Spa and Le Mans. It has been a goal of mine to race at the Le Mans 24 Hours but I never thought I would make it this early in my racing career. It is an honour to be a part of an event with such deep history.

Hugo de Sadeleer, driver, United Autosports:

“I am excited and hopeful about taking this huge step from single-seater racing to endurance racing. The ELMS will be a thrilling challenge; if I look back to a year ago, I would never have imagined myself transitioning to such an impressive machine. I am honoured to be joining such a distinguished team too. It was by chance that I met with United Autosports last season and they gave me the incredible opportunity to prove myself in their winning LMP3 car. I am very grateful for their belief in me and hope our partnership will lead to success. The Le Mans 24 Hours always felt like just a dream but the fact that it has become a reality is beyond belief. The history of Le Mans, as well as competing against drivers that I look up to, is something I am very proud to be a part of.”

Zak Brown, Team Owner and Chairman, United Autosports:

“It’s going to be great having Hugo and Will as part of our LMP2 driver line up. Hugo tested our LMP3 car at the end of last year and did an excellent job and I have followed Will for a while now with his racing in America. I have high expectations for both of them. I’m so excited that United Autosports will be racing at the Le Mans 24 Hours. The team had a great year in 2016, winning the LMP3 championship so I’m confident we can carry the momentum onto 2017. Now we need to finish our driver line up. We know who we want and are just putting our finishing touches together to get our entire programme in place.”

Richard Dean, Team Owner and Managing Director, United Autosports:

“I’m really pleased Will and Hugo are joining the United family for our debut year in LMP2 racing. The decision to race in LMP2 came quite late at the end of last year. Once it was confirmed we would have an entry into the Le Mans 24 Hours after winning the LMP3 championship, we decided to go ahead and planned to race in the LMP2 category, alongside our existing LMP3 commitments. It’s taken a lot of work in a short space of time to pull it all together, but I’m excited for what we’ve got going on this year.”