Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and Le Mans Series contenders unite for final warm-up to next month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans...
Audi's R18 TDI will make its race debut in this weekend's 1000km of Spa. (Photo: Drew Gibson/LAT)
With 56 cars set to take the green on Saturday, nearly all of the leading contenders are here to do battle in what will likely turn out to be one of the strongest fields seen all year in the world of sportscar racing.
LMP1 arch rivals Audi and Peugeot have each brought three of their new diesel-powered contenders, featuring the same driver lineups that will be at the wheel of their respective prototypes in next month’s twice-around-the-clock classic.
Audi Sport Team Joest heads to Spa on the heels of a successful rollout of its Audi R18 TDIs at last month’s Le Mans Test Day, where the German machines topped the time charts. And with this weekend marking the much-anticipated first race for the new coupe, the question on everyone’s mind is if the R18 can pull off a debut win?
If history is any indicator, then it would appear they have a good shot, as Audi’s R8, R10 and R15 all won in their race debuts. The No. 3 entry of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Dindo Capello could be the strongest of the three cars at Spa, but last year’s Le Mans winning trio of Mike Rockenfeller, Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas shouldn’t be counted out either.
Peugeot, on the other hand, already has one race with its all-new 908 under its belt, but has also yet to visit victory lane. Instead, top honors in the ILMC opener at Sebring went to the factory supported Team ORECA Matmut squad with its year-old Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP. The Hugues de Chaunac-led squad currently enjoy a three-point lead in the ILMC teams’ championship over the works Team Peugeot Total organization.
While it’s unclear where ORECA’s grandfathered 908 will stack up this weekend, Peugeot has been undefeated at Spa since its debut in 2007. Sebastien Bourdais, Simon Pagenaud and Pedro Lamy, who scored top honors here last year, head in as one of the favorites from the French camp aboard the No. 9 car.
With seven diesels entered, it could be tough for a gasoline-powered machine to fight for a podium position, let alone the win. The Paul Ricard-winning Pescarolo Team Pescarolo-Judd, the quickest of the gasoline contingent last month at Le Mans, was some nine seconds slower than the pace-setting Audi at that test. If no change is made before June, it could leave LMP1 as another diesel runaway.
Adding to the disparity has been the struggles of Aston Martin Racing’s new AMR-One, which has battled engine-related issues since its debut at Paul Ricard in March. It left the Prodrive team no other choice but to withdraw from Spa, dropping the LMP1 starting field to 14 cars. Another late withdrawal has been the Hope Racing Oreca 01 Swiss HyTech Hybrid.
In addition to Pescarolo Team, which holds an early lead in the Le Mans Series championship, the pair of Rebellion Racing Lola B10/60 Toyotas as well as the lone OAK Racing Oak-Pescarolo Judd will be likely contenders vying for the best of the non-diesels this weekend.
While the diesel/gasoline equivalency has left some unanswered questions in LMP1, the story in LMP2 could again deal with the regulations. Greaves Motorsport took top honors with its Nissan-powered Zytek at Paul Ricard, in what turned into a dominating weekend for the Japanese power plant.
That trend continued last month at Le Mans, where Nissan-engined prototypes swept the top three positions in class, despite a larger air restrictor having been given to Honda-powered cars to help close the gap in the new cost-capped category. However, the quickest of the Honda contingent, the No. 33 Level 5 Motorsports Lola B11/80, was still some six seconds off the pace at la Sarthe.
How the two rival brands, along with the BMW-based Judd units, stack up this weekend could tell a tale for the 24-hour classic in June, especially with all of the leading contenders present at Spa.
The three season-long ILMC entrants - Level 5 Motorsports, Signtech Nissan and OAK Racing - join the already healthy group of LMS runners, resulting in a dozen entries set to do battle. And depending on the balance in the engine department, it could be anybody’s game.
While Level 5 took top honors in the ILMC opener at Sebring, it was with the team’s season-long ALMS Lola B11/40 Honda and not its Lola B11/80 Honda Coupe, which finished fourth. As a result, it’s put the Signatech Nissan Oreca 03 Nissan at the head of the championship race, three markers ahead of the OAK Racing Oak-Pescarolo Judd.
All three could be contenders, along with the LMS regulars of Greaves Motorsport (Zytek-Nissan), TDS Racing (Oreca 03 Nissan), Boutsen Energy Racing (Oreca 03 Nissan) and Pecom Racing (Lola B11/40 Judd).
Defending class champions RML and 2010 Le Mans winners Strakka Racing will also likely play into the mix, despite their Honda powerplant still apparently having a speed deficit to the normally aspirated engines.
Last time out at Paul Ricard, the shape of the GTE-class race was turned upside down just as the lights went green on the start-finish straight. An officiating error which left the safety car on track resulted in a half-dozen wrecked race cars, virtually eliminating the Porsche contingent from the GTE-Pro and GTE-Am races.
The chaotic start gave Ferrari a 1-2-3 finish in the Le Mans Series season-opener, but not without some fine print. Officials have since instated a rule which allows GTE teams to drop their worst result of the LMS season to help level the playing field from the Paul Ricard chaos. As a result, Spa has effectively now become a fresh start for many competitors.
While the rules change won’t have a huge effect on the ILMC title fight, contested between BMW Motorsport, AF Corse (Ferrari), Luxury Racing (Ferrari) and newcomers Lotus Jetalliance in GTE-Pro, it could have serious implications for season-long LMS teams such as JMW Motorsport and Hankook Team Farnbacher, which were on the podium at Paul Ricard.
Fourteen cars make up the GTE-Pro ranks this weekend, with six Ferrari F458 Italias going head-to-head with three Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs, two BMW M3 GTs and Lotus Evoras plus a single Aston Martin Vantage. It’s no doubt a diverse grid, but with a numbers advantage going in favor of the new Prancing Horses.
BMW no doubt has been on a roll as of late in Le Mans competition, having won the two season-opening ALMS rounds and taking an early lead in the ILMC championship race. But with strong challenges likely to come from AF Corse, Team Felbermayr-Proton (Porsche), IMSA Performance Matmut (Porsche) and others this weekend, the battle for GTE-class honors will likely be the closest-fought of the five categories.
A similar story is brewing in GTE-Am, a new class introduced this season for one year-old GTE cars with gentlemen drivers. Sebring class winners Krohn Racing unite with Paul Ricard victors Team Felbermayr-Proton and a brace of other contenders in the highly fought category, including Larbre Competition (Corvette) and CRS Racing (Ferrari).
Along with five Formula Le Mans cars, which run alongside the full Le Mans Series championship, and Saturday’s race serves as the perfect warm-up to the big show itself in June.
Two one-hour practice sessions kick off activities on Thursday, followed by final practice and qualifying on Friday. The 1000km of Spa takes the green at 2:05 p.m. local (8:05 a.m. ET) for six hours of racing. Follow the action all weekend on SPEED.com.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at askdagys@gmail.com
The chaotic start gave Ferrari a 1-2-3 finish in the Le Mans Series season-opener, but not without some fine print. Officials have since instated a rule which allows GTE teams to drop their worst result of the LMS season to help level the playing field from the Paul Ricard chaos. As a result, Spa has effectively now become a fresh start for many competitors.
While the rules change won’t have a huge effect on the ILMC title fight, contested between BMW Motorsport, AF Corse (Ferrari), Luxury Racing (Ferrari) and newcomers Lotus Jetalliance in GTE-Pro, it could have serious implications for season-long LMS teams such as JMW Motorsport and Hankook Team Farnbacher, which were on the podium at Paul Ricard.
Fourteen cars make up the GTE-Pro ranks this weekend, with six Ferrari F458 Italias going head-to-head with three Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs, two BMW M3 GTs and Lotus Evoras plus a single Aston Martin Vantage. It’s no doubt a diverse grid, but with a numbers advantage going in favor of the new Prancing Horses.
BMW no doubt has been on a roll as of late in Le Mans competition, having won the two season-opening ALMS rounds and taking an early lead in the ILMC championship race. But with strong challenges likely to come from AF Corse, Team Felbermayr-Proton (Porsche), IMSA Performance Matmut (Porsche) and others this weekend, the battle for GTE-class honors will likely be the closest-fought of the five categories.
A similar story is brewing in GTE-Am, a new class introduced this season for one year-old GTE cars with gentlemen drivers. Sebring class winners Krohn Racing unite with Paul Ricard victors Team Felbermayr-Proton and a brace of other contenders in the highly fought category, including Larbre Competition (Corvette) and CRS Racing (Ferrari).
Along with five Formula Le Mans cars, which run alongside the full Le Mans Series championship, and Saturday’s race serves as the perfect warm-up to the big show itself in June.
Two one-hour practice sessions kick off activities on Thursday, followed by final practice and qualifying on Friday. The 1000km of Spa takes the green at 2:05 p.m. local (8:05 a.m. ET) for six hours of racing. Follow the action all weekend on SPEED.com.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at askdagys@gmail.com
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