Le Mans
By Sam Tickell
Courtesy of the American Le Mans Series
With only a matter of weeks until the 2006 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FeedMeSportsCars is looking at the different categories to see the favorites and who may just pull a surprise.
This second installment will look at the LMP2 class and the drivers and teams competing for the second tier prototype class.
2005 was a rough year on many LMP2 competitors with most of them not seeing the checkered flag on the Sunday afternoon.
In fact there were only five classified finishers, the first of which was 66 laps behind the overall winner and in 21st place overall.
It was RML in their Lola MG who had the honour of winning the LMP2 class in the 2005, 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This year, the LMP2 runners are hoping to put in a much stronger challenge and also are looking to put on a good fight for line honours.
As reported by the ACO (organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans) the provisional entry list sees a wide variety of LMP2 runners but not the winners from 2005.
2006 will see five different manufacturers, five different engine suppliers and 12 crews searching for Le Mans glory.
Lola, the winners from 2005 will be back with a strong lineup of teams. They are supplying four teams with chassis for this year’s competition.
Chamberlin, Ray Mallock, Intersport Racing and Binnie Motorsport will all be running the Lola B05/40 chassis.
Ray Mallock will be using Zytek engines with the rest using AER powerplants.
This assault on the 24 hour race from Lola is a competitive one. After great showings in the early part of the ALMS and Le Mans Series championships, the Lola teams should be confident.
They also boast great driver lineups which include accomplished drivers like Andy Wallace, lady driver, Liz Halliday and Yojiro Terada.
Both Intersport Racing (Clint Field, Liz Halliday, Duncan Dayton) and Ray Mallock (Mike Newton, Thomas Erdos, Andy Wallace) look strong on paper with Intersport Racing having won the Mobil 1, Twelve Hour of Sebring this year.
But there are other challenges, the strongest of which will come from the French Courage manufacturer.
Courtesy of the American Le Mans Series
Courage will be lining up with five cars. Paul Belmondo Racing will be running two (with Ford engines), G-Force will run one car (with a Judd engine), with Barazi Epsilon and Miracle Motorsports each running one car (with AER engines).
Paul Belmondo Racing is probably the strongest of the Courage cars. Run by former F1 racer, Paul Belmondo, the team only just missed out on winning the class last year and has shown well in the Le Mans Series this year.
As of yet the Belmondo team have not confirmed their drivers yet. One team that has is G-Force.
With Ed Morris, Jean-François Leroch and Frank Hahn at the wheel, this team could pose a challenge as each driver has experienced success in various sports car championships.
The American squad, Miracle Motorsports are having a strong start to the year in the ALMS championship. Lead driver, Andy Lally should prove a great leader for James Gue and John Macalouso. While it is not expected for this team to win, they may just pull a surprise.
The final Courage squad, Barazi Epsilon are doing exceptionally well in the Le Mans Series this year. Their two regular drivers are leading the championship with Juan Barazi, Michael Vergers to be joined by a yet unnamed third driver for the race.
Of the other manufacturers, there will be one Pilbeam competing. Run by Bruneau Pierre and powered by Judd engines this team has had a solid start to the Le Mans Series this year but will need luck to make an impact at Le Mans.
Courtesy of the American Le Mans Series
British favorites, Rollcentre Racing are back at Le Mans this year with an all new car. The new Radical will be powered by a Judd engine. After a difficult start to the season, this team may struggle to make the distance at Le Mans.
Finally there is the WR team. Welter Racing are back yet again with their own car powered by Peugeot engines. While this car ages, they are not as competitive as they were a few years back and will need luck to even finish this year. WR epitomize the spirit of Le Mans as they continue to return to Le Mans to the delight of their fans.
Courtesy of the American Le Mans Series
So there it is, a quick rundown of the LMP2 grid for the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans.
So who will win the this title? I don’t have the answer but I do know one thing - everyone has a chance and everyone is passionate about winning. Come 5pm on June 18, we will know the answer.
But in the meantime look out for FeedMeSportsCars look at the other classes in the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans and keep checking back for more up to date news and views of all things of sportscar racing.