Audi up against an armada of prototypes; Corvette-Ferrari and Ferrari-Porsche duels in the Grand Touring Category; the 72nd Le Mans 24 Hours promises to be an exceptional race.
Pescarolo, Dallara, Lister, Dome, Taurus, Panoz against four Audis in << LM >> P 1. Reynard, Lola, Zytek and WR against five Courages in << LM >> P 2: Ferrari against Corvette with Pagani as outsider in << LM >> GTS: another Ferrari-Porsche battle in << LM >> GT with TVR and Morgan adding spice to the mix. Such is the selection of cars announced by the “Automobile Club de l’Ouest” Selection Committee on Thursday 25th March, which will take part in preliminary practices on Sunday 25th April 2004 in anticipation of the 24 Hour race on 12th and 13th June. Unfortunately, out of the 77 entries received by the Club by 11th February 27 had to be turned down. “We had to make a choice and refuse some entries,” admitted one of the Selection Committee members. “In certain cases it was like cutting off your own arm, the only choice being whether it would be the left or the right, and as we expected, it was among the GTs that the choice was the most difficult.” Will the fact of being on the list of the six reserves soften the blow of being turned down? It’s more than a consolation prize as the choice here was just as difficult.
The field for the coming Le Mans 24 Hours is a varied one as much in terms of nationalities (8 different ones: see statistics further on) as in engines. In the << LM >> P 1 Category is a car powered by bio-ethanol (the Nasamax Judd) and another is using diesel fuel (the Lola-Caterpillar entered by Taurus Racing). This is the first time that a diesel figures on the entry list since the early 50s! The selection of the four Audis entered by Audi UK (2), Team Goh (1) and Champion racing (1) was already expected. The surprise in this category comes from Henri Pescarolo who has entered a brace of Judd-powered Courages, and for the first time in the history of the team the chassis originating from the Courage workshops change their name and are now “Pescarolos!”
Courage, on the other hand, will be out in force in << LM >> P 2 in which five C 65s have been selected: 2 entered by Courage Competition, another 2 by Michel Leconte’s Epsilon Sports Team all powered by the JPX engine. The fifth, though, from Belmondo Racing has an English power unit, the AER, often used by the MG Lolas. The Grand Touring Category has also attracted a high-quality entry and the battle between Corvette and Ferrari in << LM >> GTS and Ferrari and Porsche in << LM >> GT will have nothing to envy the famous duels of yesteryear. What more could one ask for ?
§ 26/24: the balance between the cars selected is 26 prototypes and 24 grand touring vehicles§ Statistics: The breakdown of the nationality of the 50 teams chosen by the Selection Committee is: Great Britain 15, France, 14, USA 9, Germany, Holland and Japan 3, Italy 2, Austria 1.
§ Reserves: In addition to the 50 cars selected, 6 reserves will be admitted to preliminary practice on 25th April increasing the number of vehicles on the track to 56. One or more will be asked to replace any withdrawals announced before 28th May at midnight. Beyond that date no car will be replaced. Here is the list of reserves in the order decided by the Selection Committee :1. Lola-Judd << LM >> P 1 (Taurus Sports Racing); 2. Porsche 911 GT3 << LM >> GT (Thierry Perrier); 3. Ferrari 550 Maranello << LM >> GT (XL Racing): 4. Dome-Judd << LM >> P 1 (Racing for Holland); 5. TVR << LM >> GT (Chamberlain-Synergy Motorsport); 6. Porsche 911 GT3 << LM >> GT (Seikel Motorsport).
§ Selection Committee: Its seven members are as follows: Messrs Jean-Claude Plassart, President of the A.C.O, Jean-Pierre Allain, Member of the A.C.O Steering Committee, Jean-Marc Desnues, A.C.O Central Director, Daniel Poissonot, A.C.O Sports Director and Clerk of the Course, Jacques Olivier, President of the Stewards of the Meeting, Gérard Caschet, International Relations Delegate and Daniel Perdrix, International Technical Delegate.
§ Preliminary practice sessions : they will be held on Sunday 25th April. The track (13,650 kms), will be open from 09h00 to 13h00 and from 14h00 to 18h00. Technical checks and scrutineering will take place on Friday 23rd April from 10h00 to 18h00 and Saturday 24th April from 09h00 to 15h00.
§ Drivers: At least two of the team drivers chosen for the race must be among those down to drive the car during preliminary practices. Those who are not on the reference list drawn up by the A.C.O must take part in preliminary practices and cover at least 10 laps to be admitted to official qualifying practice in June.
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N° CONCURRENTS NAT. CATEGORIES DENOMINATIONS CYL.OFFICIELLESPROTOTYPE "LM" P1
2 * CHAMPION RACING - DAVE MARAJ USA LMP 900 AUDI 3600T3 ARENA INTERNATIONAL MOTORSPORT GBR LMP 900 DOME MUGEN 4000A5 * AUDI SPORT JAPAN TEAM GOH JPN LMP 900 AUDI 3600T6 ROLLCENTRE RACING GBR LMP 900 DALLARA JUDD 4000A7 SPINNAKER CLANDESTEAM ITA LMP 900 DALLARA JUDD 4000A8 AUDI SPORT UK TEAM VELOQX GBR LMP 900 AUDI 3600T9 KONDO RACING JPN LMP 900 DOME MUGEN 4000A10 TAURUS SPORTS RACING GBR LMP 900 LOLA CATERPILLAR 4920T11 PANOZ MOTOR SPORTS USA LM GTP PANOZ ELAN 6000A14 TEAM NASAMAX GBR LM P1 NASAMAX JUDD 4997A15 RACING FOR HOLLAND NLD LMP 900 DOME JUDD 3994A17 PESCAROLO SPORT FRA LMP 900 PESCAROLO JUDD 4997A18 PESCAROLO SPORT FRA LMP 900 PESCAROLO JUDD 4997A20 * LISTER RACING GBR LMP 900 LISTER STORM 5990A22 ZYTEK ENGINEERING LTD GBR LMP 675 ZYTEK 3396A25 RML GBR LMP 675 LOLA MG 1995T27 * INTERSPORT RACING USA LMP 675 LOLA JUDD 3397A29 * NOEL DEL BELLO FRA LMP 675 REYNARD LEHMANN 1998T88 AUDI SPORT UK TEAM VELOQX GBR LMP 900 AUDI 3600TPROTOTYPE "LM" P224 RACHEL WELTER FRA LM P2 WR 1999T31 * COURAGE COMPETITION FRA LM P2 COURAGE JPX 3400A32 * INTERSPORT RACING USA LMP 675 LOLA JUDD 3397A33 COURAGE COMPETITION FRA LM P2 COURAGE JPX 3400A34 EPSILON SPORT FRA LM P2 COURAGE JPX 3400A35 EPSILON SPORT FRA LM P2 COURAGE JPX 3400A37 PAUL BELMONDO RACING FRA LM P2 COURAGE AER 1995TLISTE DES CONCURRENTS & VOITURES INVITES AUX VERIFICATIONS ADMINISTRATIVES & TECHNIQUESLIST OF THE COMPETITORS AND CARS INVITED TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHECKING & SCRUTINEERINGESSAIS PRELIMINAIRES - DIMANCHE 25 AVRIL 2004GRAND TOURISME ("LM" GTS)60 FORCE ONE RACING FRA LM GTS PAGANI ZONDA 6916A61 BARRON CONNOR RACING NLD LM GTS FERRARI 575 MARANELLO 5997A62 BARRON CONNOR RACING NLD LM GTS FERRARI 575 MARANELLO 5997A63 * CORVETTE RACING USA LM GTS CORVETTE C5-R 6991A64 * CORVETTE RACING USA LM GTS CORVETTE C5-R 6991A65 * PRODRIVE RACING GBR LM GTS FERRARI 550 MARANELLO 5853A66 * PRODRIVE RACING GBR LM GTS FERRARI 550 MARANELLO 5983A67 * CARE RACING GBR LM GTS FERRARI 550 MARANELLO 5853A68 * BMS SCUDERIA ITALIA ITA LM GTS FERRARI 550 MARANELLO 5853A69 LARBRE COMPETITION FRA LM GTS FERRARI 550 MARANELLO 5853AGRAND TOURISME70 * JMB RACING FRA LM GT FERRARI 360 MODENA 3586A72 LUC ALPHAND AVENTURES FRA LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS 3598A77 CHOROQ RACING TEAM JPN LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR 3598A78 * PK SPORT LTD GBR LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS 3598A80 MORGAN WORKS RACE TEAM GBR LM GT MORGAN AERO8 4500A81 THE RACERS GROUP USA LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR 3598A83 SEIKEL MOTORSPORT DEU LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS 3598A85 * FREISINGER MOTORSPORT DEU LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR 3598A86 * FREISINGER MOTORSPORT DEU LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR 3598A87 * ORBIT USA LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR 3598A89 CHAMBERLAIN - SYNERGY MOTORSPORT GBR LM GT TVR TUSCAN 400R 3996A90 DALE WHITE, WHITE LIGHTNING RACING USA LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR 3598A92 * CIRTEK MOTORSPORT AUT LM GT FERRARI 360 MODENA 3596A95 * RISI COMPETIZIONE/GUISEPPE RISI USA LM GT FERRARI 360 MODENA 3586A
