The first official practice sessions for the Sebring 12 Hours will begin on the famous Florida circuit today, and the new series of endurance races created by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, will kick off. After the 2010 season launch that consisted of three races on three continents, the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup will get under way in the United States. The aim of this new international series conceived and run by the ACO, the club that has organized the Le Mans 24 Hours since 1923, is to give endurance events a global profile, as well as enabling the major car manufacturers involved to do battle in sporting fashion in the four corners of the earth. Thus, lovers of this core branch of motor sport can not only enjoy what will be an exciting, hotly-contested season, but they will also be able to attend the events more easily. Thanks to the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, endurance racing is going to meet its fans.
Eight of the world’s most important car manufacturers have decided to commit themselves fully to this series. Thus, throughout the seven races on the calendar, including the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours, Aston Martin (*), Audi, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche, all present at Sebring, plus Lotus, which will make its debut at Spa-Francorchamps in May in the second event, will go head-to-head out on the track. What’s more, major manufacturers like Toyota, Honda and Nissan are providing direct backing for private teams as engine suppliers. At the end of the season, the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup will crown new champions on the world endurance scene.
To launch the 2011 championship on Saturday 19th March, the teams will race in the 59th Sebring 12 Hours. The 20 ILMC entrants plus the 36 from the United States add up to no fewer than 56 cars competing in this major event in the cradle of endurance racing in the United States!
Peugeot won the event outright in 2010, and the French team is back to defend its laurels with its brand-new 908 against Audi, its eternal rival. In the LM GTE category, BMW with an updated evolution of its M3 GT will try to fend off the attacks of the new Ferrari 458 Italia, the Corvette C6-ZR1s and other tried and tested rivals like the Porsche 911s and the Aston Martin Vantage.
(*) Aston Martin, which is entering its new AMR-ONE prototype for the rest of the year, will be present in the opening round with a Vantage in the LM GTE Am category.
