Le Mans 24 Hour - Preview

This weekend's Le Mans 24 hour race will feature the biggest grid of sportscar prototypes in decades and broad manufacturer involvement in the support categories. If you're not already a fan of endurance motorsport, tuning in to this year's event will convince you otherwise.

At the top end, the LMP1 cars of Peugeot and Audi continue their diesel-fuelled duel. The closed-top Peugeot 908 cars took a 1-2 finish in last year's event ahead of Audi's R15 entries, ending the German brand's three-year R10-run winning streak. Audi has won the race eight times in the past 10 outings.

Audi's new 'R15 plus' won its first race out at this year's eight-hour race at Le Castellet however Peugeot dominated qualifying for the 24 hour race, taking the first four positions with Le Mans local Sebastien Bourdais leading the lion brand's attack.

Audi spokespersons were quick to defend the team's performance after the qualifying session, suggesting "at Le Mans, speed isn't the only thing that counts".

"It's important to have vehicles with good drivability and, above all, efficiency as well. This is what we've been concentrating on," said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.

Audi says the R15 plus is "slightly faster" than last year's R15 while Peugeot's 908 cars are four 'seasons' old now, and will be replaced with new cars next year.

The LMP1 class this year stars the famous Mansell name with Nigel and sons Leo and Greg sharing duties behind the #5 Ginetta Zytek car.

Expected to shake up the class are the Lola Aston Martin cars, with three entries. Sadly, French outfit Pescarolo Sports withdrew its two entries last month due to lack of funds.

Perhaps the most interesting fight will be among contenders in the GT2 category, which has attracted considerable manufacturer entry.

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.

Even the starting ceremony will be different this year, with a modern day version of the herringbone start used for over 40 years, when drivers would run across the grid and jump in to their cars for a running start to the race.

Live timing is available at lemans.org. For a spotter's guide, go to planetlemans.com

Visit the Carsales Network again for our full race report.

2010 Le Mans 24 Hour entry list
1 TEAM PEUGEOT TOTAL  (FRA) LMP1 PEUGEOT 908  Alexander WURZ Marc GENE Anthony DAVIDSON
2 TEAM PEUGEOT TOTAL  (FRA) LMP1 PEUGEOT 908 Nicolas MINASSIAN Stéphane SARRAZIN Franck MONTAGNY
3 PEUGEOT SPORT TOTAL  (FRA) LMP1 PEUGEOT 908 Sébastien BOURDAIS Pedro LAMY Simon PAGENAUD
4 TEAM ORECA MATMUT  (FRA) LMP1 PEUGEOT 908  Olivier PANIS Nicolas LAPIERRE Loic DUVAL
5 BEECHDEAN MANSELL  (GBR) LMP1 GINETTA ZYTEK Nigel MANSELL Greg MANSELL Leo MANSELL
6 AIM TEAM ORECA MATMUT  (FRA) LMP1 ORECA AIM Soheil AYARI Didier ANDRE Andy MEYRICK
7 AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST  (DEU) LMP1 AUDI R15  Tom KRISTENSEN Dindo CAPELLO Allan McNISH
8 AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST  (DEU) LMP1 AUDI R15  Andre LOTTERER Marcel FASSLER Benoit TRELUYER
9 AUDI SPORT NORTH AMERICA  (DEU) LMP1 AUDI R15  Mike ROCKENFELLER Timo BERNHARD Romain DUMAS
11 DRAYSON RACING  (GBR) LMP1 LOLA JUDD COUPE  Paul DRAYSON Jonny COCKER Emanuele PIRRO
12 REBELLION RACING  (CHE) LMP1 LOLA REBELLION COUPE Nicolas PROST Neel JANI Marco ANDRETTI
13 REBELLION RACING  (CHE) LMP1 LOLA REBELLION COUPE Andrea BELICCHI J.Christophe BOULLION Guy SMITH
14 KOLLES  (DEU) LMP1 AUDI R10  Christijan ALBERS Scott TUCKER Manuel RODRIGUES
15 KOLLES  (DEU) LMP1 AUDI R10  Christian BAKKERUD Oliver JARVIS Christophe BOUCHUT
19 MICHAEL LEWIS/AUTOCON  (USA) LMP1 LOLA AER  Michael LEWIS Bryan WILLMAN Tony BURGESS
007 ASTON MARTIN RACING  (GBR) LMP1 LOLA ASTON MARTIN Harold PRIMAT Stefan MUCKE Adrian FERNANDEZ
008 SIGNATURE PLUS  (FRA) LMP1 LOLA ASTON MARTIN Pierre RAGUES Vanina ICKX Franck MAILLEUX
009 ASTON MARTIN RACING  (GBR) LMP1 LOLA ASTON MARTIN Darren TURNER Juan BARAZI Sam HANCOCK
24 OAK RACING  (FRA) LMP2 PESCAROLO JUDD  Jacques NICOLET Richard HEIN Jean-François YVON
25 RML  (GBR) LMP2 LOLA HPD COUPE  Mike NEWTON Thomas ERDOS Andy WALLACE
26 HIGHCROFT RACING  (USA) LMP2 HPD ARX.01 David BRABHAM Marino FRANCHITTI Marco WERNER
28 RACE PERFORMANCE AG LMP2 RADICAL JUDD SR9 Pierre BRUNEAU Marc ROSTAN Ralph MEICHTRY
29 RACING BOX SRL  (ITA) LMP2 LOLA JUDD COUPE  Luca PIRRI Marco CIOCI Piergiuseppe PERAZZINI
35 OAK RACING  (FRA) LMP2 PESCAROLO JUDD  Matthieu LAHAYE Guillaume MOREAU Jan CHAROUZ
37 GERARD WELTER  (FRA) LMP2 WR ZYTEK  Philippe SALINI Stéphane SALINI Tristan GOMMENDY
38 PEGASUS RACING  (FRA) LMP2 NORMA JUDD Julien SCHELL Frédéric DA ROCHA David ZOLLINGER
39 KSM  (DEU) LMP2 LOLA JUDD Jean de POURTALES Hideki NODA Johnathan KENNARD
40 QUIFEL - ASM TEAM  (PRT) LMP2 GINETTA ZYTEK 09S Miguel AMARAL Olivier PLA Warren HUGHES
41 TEAM BRUICHLADDICH  (GBR) LMP2 GINETTA ZYTEK 09S Karim OJJEH Tim GREAVES Gary CHALANDON
42 STRAKKA RACING  (GBR) LMP2 HPD ARX.01 Nick LEVENTIS Danny WATTS Jonny KANE
50 LARBRE COMPETITION  (FRA) LMGT1 SALEEN S7R Roland BERVILLE Julien CANAL Gabriele GARDEL
52 YOUNG DRIVER AMR  (DEU) LMGT1 ASTON MARTIN DBR9 Christoffer NYGAARD Tomas ENGE Peter KOX
60 MATECH COMPETITION  (CHE) LMGT1 FORD GT  Thomas MUTSCH Romain GROSJEAN Jonathan HIRSCHI
61 MATECH COMPETITION  (CHE) LMGT1 FORD GT  Natacha GACHNANG Rahel FREY Cyndie ALLEMANN
69 JLOC  (JPN) LMGT1 LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO Atsushi YOGO Koji YAMANISHI Hiroyuki IIRI
70 MARC VDS RACING TEAM  (BEL) LMGT1 FORD GT  Eric DE DONCKER Bas LEINDERS Markus PALTTALA
72 LUC ALPHAND AVENTURES  (FRA) LMGT1 CORVETTE C6.R Stephan GREGOIRE Jérôme POLICAND David HART
73 LUC ALPHAND AVENTURES  (FRA) LMGT1 CORVETTE C6.R Julien JOUSSE Xavier MAASSEN Patrice GOUESLARD
63 CORVETTE RACING  (USA) LMGT2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C6 ZR1  Jan MAGNUSSEN Johnny O'CONNELL Antonio GARCIA
64 CORVETTE RACING  (USA) LMGT2 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C6 ZR1 Oliver GAVIN Olivier BERETTA Emmanuel COLLARD
75 PROSPEED COMPETITION  (BEL) LMGT2 PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997) Paul Van SPLUNTEREN Niek HOMMERSON Louis MACHIELS
76 IMSA PERFORMANCE MATMUT  (FRA) LMGT2 PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997)  Raymond NARAC Patrick PILET Patrick LONG
77 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON  (DEU) LMGT2 PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997) (3996A) Marc LIEB Richard LIETZ Wolf HENZLER
78 BMW MOTORSPORT  (DEU) LMGT2 BMW M3 GT2  Jörg MULLER Augusto FARFUS Uwe ALZEN
79 BMW MOTORSPORT  (DEU) LMGT2 BMW M3 GT2 Andy PRIAULX Dirk MULLER Dirk WERNER
80 FLYING LIZARD MOTORSPORT  (USA) LMGT2 PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997)  Seth NEIMAN Darren LAW Joerg BERGMEISTER
81 JAGUAR RSR  (USA) LMGT2 JAGUAR XKRS  Paul GENTILOZZI Ryan DALZIEL Marc GOOSSENS
82 RISI COMPETIZIONE  (USA) LMGT2 FERRARI F 430 GT Jaime MELO Gianmaria BRUNI Pierre KAFFER
83 RISI COMPETIZIONE  (USA) LMGT2 FERRARI F 430 GT Tracy KROHN Nic JONSSON Eric van de POELE
85 SPYKER SQUADRON  (NLD) LMGT2 SPYKER C8 LAVIOLETTE  Tom CORONEL Peter DUMBRECK Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN
88 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON  (DEU) LMGT2 PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997) Horst FELBERMAYR Sen Horst FELBERMAYR Jr Miro KONOPKA
89 HANKOOK - TEAM FARNBACHER  (DEU) LMGT2 FERRARI F 430 GT Dominik FARNBACHER Allan SIMONSEN Leh KEEN
92 JMW MOTORSPORT  (GBR) LMGT2 ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE  Rob BELL Tim SUGDEN Bryce MILLER
95 AF CORSE SRL  (ITA) LMGT2 FERRARI F 430 GT  Giancarlo FISICHELLA Jean ALESI Toni VILANDER
96 AF CORSE SRL  (ITA) LMGT2 FERRARI F 430 GT Luis PEREZ COMPANC Matias RUSSO Mika SALO
97 BMS SCUDERIA ITALIA SPA  (ITA) LMGT2 PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997)  Marco HOLZER Richard WESTBROOK Timo SCHEIDER

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