By Sam Tickell
Need a quick introduction to the world of the Le Mans Series??? The basics are here including a quick description of the cars, the calender, the rules and the series history.
The Le Mans Series is the series that most of the competitors of the 24 Hours of Le Mans compete in when they are not at Le Mans. Consequently, the rules surrounding the cars, driver/team conduct and otherwise are the same. Like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, there are four different categories.
The Classes
There are four classes – Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP-1), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP-2), GT1 and GT2
LMP-1
The LMP-1 class is the most powerful, biggest downforce, biggest costing class in the Le Mans Series. These cars are therefore the fastest. Although these cars are single seaters, they appear as though they can carry two people. This is because the rules state that in new cars the body work must be symmetrical from the center line of the car. The cars to watch out for in 2006 are the 2005 champions, Pescarolo, the runners up, Zytek and the new Audi R10 factory team. Teams still running the all conquering Audi R8 will still be a force in 2006.
LMP-2
The LMP-2 class is similar to the LMP-1 class, in that they are open vehicles specially designed for endurance racing. This is a budget class with the cost of competing being considerably less than the LMP-1 class. This class is usually closely contested with winners being hard to pick. Cars designed by Lola and Courage have been dominate in the past. The 2006 championship will be wide open, however with the 2005 champion and runner-up entries not being confirmed for the new season.
GT1
The GT1 class is for cars that can be purchased at your local supercar dealer but have had some modifications for race use. This class is the second most expensive/powerful class in the Le Mans Series behind the LMP-1 class. This class is being used by many of the supercar manufacturers to display a race version of their latest dream cars. The cars to watch out for are the Aston Martin DBR9s, the Ferrari 550 and 575 and the Saleen S7-R.
GT2
This class is the LMP-1’s version of LMP-2. As in GT1, the GT2 cars are derived from showroom cars and then modified to suit race conditions. These cars are not as powerful or as expensive as their GT1 counterparts and are often the slowest cars on the track. That being said, they do provide plenty of brilliant racing with some of motorsports biggest names. Cars to look out for in 2006 are the all conquering Porsche 911 GT3, the Ferrari 360 Modena with dark horse entries for Panoz, TVR and the Dutch Spyker entries.
The Races
The Le Mans Series is made up five championship events in five different countries. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a separate race and does not count for the championship. Each race is run over 1000 kilometers or six hours, whichever occurs first. Races are held at Turkey’s Istanbul track, the legendary Spa in Belgium, the Nurburgring in Germany, Donington Park in the UK and Monza in Italy. Entrants into these races will be favored to gain entry into the 24 Hours of Le Mans but the teams who finish first and second in each category in the championship are guaranteed entry into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Other Rules
As the series is an endurance series, there are multiple drivers to each car. Each driver must complete a certain amount of time in the car to be eligible for points at that round. Alternatively a driver must not complete more that three hours continuously in the car as this will result in penalties. Driver combinations can change from race to race, so even though the driver lineup from each car will score equal points at the race, there maybe a single driver’s champion.
Each race of the five race series counts equally towards the championship, meaning that to win each driver must drive carefully and reliably for the whole year. Driver combinations are also important as driver parings of equal ability, similar set-ups and similar height can perform better than drivers who are different to each other. As mentioned before the 24 Hours of Le Mans is not counted as a championship race in the Le Mans Series, it is considered too prestigious to be diluted into a championship event.
The Series
The series was founded in 2004 under the title of the Le Mans Endurance Series. This was changed for the 2006 series to read simply, the Le Mans Series. This series was established to reinvigorate the endurance racing scene in Europe which had been ravaged in the previous years by the failures of the European Le Mans Series, International Sports Racing Series and other endurance series. Learning from the mistakes of others, this series is strong and produces large grids for each event. It is sanctioned by the ACO, the body that runs the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This series gives the competitors of the 24 Hours of Le Mans a chance to race their machines and promote their sponsors year round in a world class series. For more information on the Le Mans Series visit, www.lmes.net.
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