Organisers of the Le Mans 24 Hour endurance race are pleased with the turnout of teams lining up to compete in the LM-GT2 class, and suggest the category could become "the future for endurance racing".
The GT2 grid has a wide variety of manufacturers prepared for the upcoming race at Circuit de le Sarthe as well as events in the Le Mans Series in Europe, Asia and the USA this year.
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) attributes the class's popularity this year as a result of modifications made to regulations last year, including a freeze on rules relating to 2009 through to 2011.
The performance level for the class has also been 'lowered' with a view to increasing the reliability of vehicles.
The ACO has also opened the category to other manufacturers. According to organisers, the category attracted 26 requests. Seven of those are different makes, while three makers -- BMW, Jaguar and Corvette -- are new to the category as of this year's race.
"The stability of its rules, the opening to projects coming from different manufacturers, and the fact of mastering the level of performance of the cars make it possible today for the LM-GT2 category to group together exceptional line-ups where private and official competitors fight on equal terms for victory," say organisers.
"The ACO believes that the future will allow an even more important expansion of this GT category, notably with the arrival of new technologies on the 'road' versions of the manufacturers."
LM-GT2 Entry List
Corvette Racing - Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
Corvette Racing - Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
BMW Motorsport - BMW M3 GT2
BMW Motorsport - BMW M3 GT2
IMSA Performance Matmut - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
Team Felbermayr-Proton - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
ProSpeed Competition - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
Flying Lizard Motorsports - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
RSR - Jaguar XKR GT2
Risi Competizione - Ferrari F430 GT2
Risi Competizione - Ferrari F430 GT2
Modena Group Racing - Ferrari F430 GT2
Spyker Squadron - Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R
Hankook Team Farnbacher - Ferrari F430 GT2
JMW Motorsport - Aston Martin Vantage GT2
AF Corse - Ferrari F430 GT2
BMS Scuderia Italia - Ferrari F430 GT2
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