2010 Season - Entry list - A fine year!

Cars and Men

The Cars…

In the queen category, after an inter season full of suspense, the list is complete, varied and of quality. 11 prototypes, of eight different models, are entered for the whole season. The Endurance racing stars are present and the level will be higher than ever.

The Lola Aston Martin, holder of the 2009 Le Mans Series title, will now be in the hands of Philippe Sinault of French team Signature Plus, and the drivers Pierre Ragues and Franck Mailleux. A 100% Frenchie team for a so British car!

The Peugeot 908 hdi-fap, identical to the one which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year, will be back on the European circuits during the whole season thanks to Hugues de Chaunac's team, which will also line up its own car, the Oreca 01-AIM. The French team finished third in the classifications in 2009.

The Zytek 09S of the Beechdean-Mansell Team. Even if the car raced last year, it will be totally unrecognisable for those who saw it with an orangey livery. Proudly dressed in the Union Jack colours, it awaits the whole Mansell family.

Audi R15 and R10 TDI. With the former and ultimate generation of the car which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans so often, Audi is doing a big comeback in Le Mans Series. The 4-Ring brand represented by the Kolles team for the R10s and by the official Audi Sport Team Joest for the R15s will be present during the whole season and has every intention of retaking its rank.

The Lola B10/60 Coupe – Rebellion of the Rebellion Racing team. Formerly Speedy Racing Team Sebbah, this year the Swiss team will line up two LMP1s: Lola B10/60 Coupés; one driven by Nicolas Prost and the very talented Swiss Neel Jani, the other by a Franco-Italian duo: Boullion/Belicchi. After very good results in 2009 (5th in LMP1 and 2nd in LMP2); the Helvetian's future in Endurance racing seems very promising.

The Lola B10/60 Coupé – Judd of French team Noel Del Bello Racing which is another novelty for this colourful category. Only one driver announced today: Jean-Marc Gounon, but the rest of the team should be confirmed very soon.

In LMP2, 16 cars will compete in the season's five races for the 2010 title. Among the OAK Racing Team Mazda France, Racing Box, WR/Salini and other Quifel-ASM Team cars, some interesting novelties which announce a season full of developments for this category, often the centre of attention:

The Honda Performance Development Engines: for the first time on the entry list: “HPD”, for Honda Performance Development. Two British teams, RML and Strakka Racing will indeed by equipped by the Japanese manufacturer. RML will have a Lola chassis and the car will be entrusted to inseparable experts Tommy Erdos and Mike Newton. Strakka Racing, will play spoilsports of the category with the HPD ARX-01 (the chassis which won the LMP2 category with Acura in 2009 ALMS) driven by Nick Leventis and Danny Watts.

The Bruichladdich TEAM: a nice initiative of two, in general and Le Mans Series in particular, Endurance racing enthusiasts. The association of Karim Ojjeh and Tim Greaves in this team announces competitively and generosity on and off the track, in pure respect of our sport's spirit. This team will be the first to welcome a Norwegian driver with Thor-Christian Ebbesvik joining as third team-mate.

In LMGT1, as of today, only two cars are entered for the season: two Saleen S7-Rs, entered by Larbre Competition and the Austrian team Atlas FX-Team Full Speed. We are sure that their comrades will join them race after race.

The LMGT2 category, is growing and will welcome new manufacturers and teams.

The big novelty is obviously the arrival of BMW in Endurance racing with the official team: BMW Team Schnitzer and its impressive BMW M3. The Germans will come and trouble the game of this category's long-lasting two-headed battle between Ferrari and Porsche.

Thus, this season BMW, Ferrari, Porsche, Spyker and Aston Martin will try to steal the show.

On the Ferrari side, AF Corse, well-known in the GT world, will line up no less than three F430 GTs. CRS Racing, the British team, has entered two.

Beware of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage of JMW Motorsport; the British team finished the 2009 season on the second step of the podium.

For Porsche, holder of the title, the team Felbermayr Proton, will be back with a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, extremely motivated by keeping the crown.

The Dutch manufacturer Spyker will do all they can with the Spyker Squadron team to put the C8 Laviolette GT2-R at the head of the top 3.

The Men…

Experienced Drivers 

For its seventh season, Le Mans Series will boast many renowned drivers. While the many Gentleman Drivers, each in their category, continue their Quest for the Holy Grail, they are joined by more and more well-known drivers come from Formula 1. Giancarlo Fisichella makes a noticeable entrance; the Scuderia's third man remains faithful to the manufacturer but for Le Mans Series in GT2 Endurance racing! Olivier Panis will be doing a third season and Nigel Mansell will form a 100% Mansell team with his two sons.

Giancarlo Fisichella. We will welcome a famous newcomer to Endurance racing. The 37 year old Italian, if we need to present him, has been a Formula 1 driver since 1996 and has just been confirmed as third driver for the Scuderia. His career has allowed him to race with many teams (from Minardi to Jordan, not forgetting Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and finally Ferrari in 2009 when he replaced Felipe Massa (after his accident in a Grand Prix) and won 3 victories! Today, Giancarlo is entering Endurance racing for the 2010 Le Mans Series season and will drive the AF Corse Ferrari F430 GT in the LMGT2 category.  With Toni Vilander his team-mate from the cold, the Latin will form one of the star duos of the season!

Jean Alesi. Do we need to present the Formula 1 driver from Avignon, who raced from 1990 to 2001 for Tyrell, Ferrari and Prost Grand Prix. The Frenchie already has an impressive career (201 races, 32 podiums…) and will be back on the circuits this year on one of the AF Corse's Ferrari F430 GT. First entry in Le Mans Series, « Jeannot », as he is affectionately called, will start the season with his colleagues on the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit, which will bring back memories as he drove in his first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1989 on the very same track; replacing Michele Alboreto with Tyrell. A return to roots that the public will certainly appreciate!

Toni Vilander. The barely thirty year old Finn, whose real name is Toni Markus Vilander, already has an impressive career behind him. Formula Renault, F3, Formula 3000, various GT championships…Nothing resists him. He already knows the Italian AF Corse team and the F430 GT he will share with Fisichella as he won the 2007 and 2008 FIA GT2 championships with this team. We hope that their collaboration will be as successful this season!

Nigel Mansell, who participated in the Autosport 1000 Km of Silverstone in 2009, made no secret of his enthusiasm for the series and announced his intention, during the Prize Giving Ceremony last December, to race with his sons for a whole season. This is now confirmed and the car Zytek 09S, bears both the colours of the Union Jack and the name of the ex-Formula 1 World Champion: the Beechdean Mansell.

Olivier Panis renews his participation in Le Mans Series with his talented team-mate Nicolas Lapierre and the Oreca team. A novelty this season: the two of them will be behind the wheel of the same car as the one which won the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans, the famous Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP! The ex-Formula 1 driver will certainly be more motivated than ever and will prove that his talent is intact.

Jean-Christophe Boullion. Faithful to Le Mans Series since 2005, Jean-Christophe has often stunned public and media alike with his talent. He will be present again in 2010; no longer with friend Henri Pescarolo but with the Swiss team Rebellion Racing on Lola B10/60 Coupé. Will he win the crown this year?

Official Drivers

When a manufacturer becomes involved in a motor sport discipline, trust is generally placed in their official drivers. No exception to the rule this season; the official teams are more present than ever following the example of the armada of Porsche drivers entered with two 997 GT3 RSRs (in LMGT2) : Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz (the two holders of the 2009 Le Mans Series title) and Patrick Pilet.

Another new official team: BMW. The German manufacturer is entering Endurance racing on a large scale! Behind the wheel of the BMW M3 of the official BMW Team Schnitzer, the Serie's fans will discover the German drivers Jörg Müller and Dirk Werner.

This year, AF Corse, will line up no less than three cars. Official drivers Gianmaria Bruni and Jaime Melo will defend the colours of Ferrari with a F430 GT. Remember that "Gimmi" Bruni has raced in 18 Formula 1 Grand Prix races, won the LMGT2 category in the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished second in the driver classification of this same category at the end of the last Le Mans Series season.  The Brazilian Jaime Melo was beside Gimmi for the class victory at Le Mans in 2008, after his third participation in the world famous race. Toni Vilander, on one of the other entered F430s, is also an official Ferrari driver.

The Promising Drivers

With more or less experience but already sensitive to the beauty and difficulty of Endurance racing, they are the upcoming race drivers of tomorrow and men to be followed…: Nicolas Lapierre, Franck Mailleux, Pierre Ragues, Leo & Greg Mansell, Nicolas Prost, Olivier Pla and many others. Don't let them out of your sight!

Click here to see the press release and here to see the complete Entry List.