Le Mans lineup confirmed
Starting lineup confirmed for the 80th running of the Le Mans 24 Hour raceDriver lineups for each of the teams entered in this year's Le Mans 24 Hour race have finally been confirmed. Of the 56 cars entered, all have three drivers assigned except for the #8 Toyota Racing TS 030 hybrid.
Toyota had permission from the Automobile Club l'Ouest (ACO) til the end of last week to decide its third driver for the #8 car. The Japanese brand has decided Stephane Sarrazin -- former Peugeot Sport driver -- will join Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi. Sarrazin takes the place of Hiroaki Ishiura, who complained of back discomfort while driving the high g-force prototype cars.
Toyota has not had a great start to its endurance racing campaign. Its debut was meant to be at Spa for the six-hour round of the newly-formed World Endurance Championship but the team's only working car at the time was destroyed in an accident while testing at the Paul Ricard circuit. Because it only had one monocoque the team could not compete at Spa, meaning the arduous Le Mans race will be the first time the Toyota cars race.
The top-flight LMP1 category is missing Peugeot this year and it's likely Audi will continue its dominance with a strong finish from all or either of its four entries.
The Audi R18 cars will have added benefit by way of a digital rear-view mirror much like those in our road-going cars, but mounted on the roof and taking footage which is then transmitted as digitalised data.
The LMP cars and Audi's in particular are highly built-up over the mid section; the engine cover and aero kit obstructing any rearward view forcing drivers to rely on side mirrors which are prone to vibration. Audi claims vision is clear even at top speeds over 300km/h.
The LMP2 category will be interesting again this year, even though most of the field is powered by Nissan. A variety of chassis' and driver experience should provide plenty of action among the field of 20 cars.
Visit motoring.com.au again for our coverage from the 80th 24 Heures du Mans in June.
2012 Le Mans 24 Hour Entry List
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