24h Le Mans
The 60 cars on the 24 Hours of Le Mans grid come from all four corners of the world and represent the cream of international motorsport. In addition to full-season World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) entries, the final selection includes teams from ACO-badged series: the European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. The close collaboration between US-based IMSA and the ACO is also evident from the entry list.
Exactly half of the 60 cars set to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 17-18 June are World Endurance Championship competitors (28 full-season entries, plus the second Alpine A470 (#35) and the third Toyota TS050 Hybrid (#9) fielded in a few rounds only).
The European Le Mans Series is represented by 17 cars including the LM P3 champion, United Autosports, invited to race in LM P2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a reward for its 2016 title, and Beechdean AMR and JMW Motorsports, the top two LM GTE teams.
The Asian Le Mans Series attracts more and more competitors every year with automatic invitations to the 24 Hours of Le Mans up for grabs. Current champions Algarve Pro Racing (LM P2), Tockwith Motorsports (LM P3, entered in LM P2 at Le Mans) and DH Racing (GT, running in the LM GTE–Am class) will be fielding one car each. Clearwater Racing and Eurasia Motorsports are also based in Asia.
Finally, seven cars are making the trip from across the Atlantic where they compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: the two works Corvette C7.Rs, the two Ford GTs fielded by Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA, the Ferrari 488 GTE of Risi Competizione in LM GTE-Pro and the two Ferrari 488 GTEs of Scuderia Corsa (LM GTE-Am).
Up-and-coming teams obviously need a platform to get on to the endurance ladder, and the GT3 Le Mans Cup provides just that. The two-hour races are run on the same weekends as the ELMS rounds, with the field made up of LM P3 and GT3 contestants. The winner of each class receives an invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. TF Sport won the GT3 crown last year and is fielding an Aston Martin Vantage in LM GTE Am in 2017. The rest of the field gets the chance to run on the Circuit de la Sarthe too as the highlight of this championship is Road To Le Mans, a 24 Hours of Le Mans support race.
One thing is certain – there are only 60 spaces on the 24 Hours of Le Mans grid. That’s why teams battle so hard all year round to win a golden ticket to the world’s greatest endurance race!
Photo (VSA/Pascal Saivet): United Autosports’ #32 Ligier JS P217 will be in the LM P2 field at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The ELMS LM P3 title won in 2016 came with an automatic invitation.
