[LM24] Le Mans 2016 Entry List (and Driver Updates)

[Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Do you then call the Oreca-Courage of Signatech as "Alpine A450" or whatever fabricated 'factual name' it's been handed?

Anyway, I like honest names, just like I know Sam Collins does too.

For example, the Gibsons are (Reynard-)Zyteks

I don't think I've ever had cause to talk about Signatech specifically, so it's never come up.
Who actually makes that particular chassis?
And what does that person call it?
Because that's what I'll call it.

Also, all names are fabricated, you're simply choosing to call things by there old names.

'Honest' name?
Former name.

[Hawkwood]

Anyway, in some actual Le Mans news, Hulkenberg has officially ruled himself out of a 2016 defence - unless there's a calendar change of course!

http://planetf1.com/news/hulkenberg-...-mans-defence/

Obviously, as F1 is his main source of income, it makes sense to choose an F1 race over your Le Mans 24 Hour defence.
But... if only he didn't have to make that choice.
I can honestly say, if I was Vijay Mallya, I'd give Hulk the weekend off and flog the seat for that F1 weekend.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by Hawkwood

I don't think I've ever had cause to talk about Signatech specifically, so it's never come up.
Who actually makes that particular chassis?
And what does that person call it?
Because that's what I'll call it.

Also, all names are fabricated, you're simply choosing to call things by there old names.

'Honest' name?
Former name.

All names are not fabricated, if company titled as HPD makes a chassis called HPD ARX 04, it's not artificial such as titling it Alfa Romeo 01 would be. It is logical.

The Alpine is the same identical (Courage) Oreca 03 as the Oreca 03 of say Murphy Prototypes. It even received the same EVO package as the other 03Rs did long after rebranding-rehomologation.

So if I had money to buy off the 03, and had influential politics power, I could rebrand the car as Chi Chi Bon Bon 69, yes? Imagine three clone cars sitting next to another, you know the Oreca, Alpine and Chi Chi Bon Bon. Recognizable from each other only by livery. Of cf course if I was running automotive company, I might call it Subaru or TVR as well.

I would say, that I am more okay with chassis made by independent manufacturer and then rebranded as something else by another independent (involved with the project), ie sth like the Oreca 04 actually being referred as Rebellion R-One. I see no conflict of interest or money grabbing opportunity there. Same as when when Onroak modded the old Pesca chassis and decided to refer to them as 'Oak Pescarolo' (before remarketed as Morgan in 2012), that was nice.

Even the Zytek thing, while the Gibson name is still bit annoying as it is the same Reynard-Zytek as before, it does make more sense than with many of the others considering the actual title of the company has changed to same. So it's not too bad I guess.

But when you have something like old Lola collecting dust in warehouse and Mazda comes along to dub the car as "Mazda Prototype" despite having zero Mazda in it other than the engine, it's different. It's OEM manufacturer exploiting it so that the people who don't know any better think it's actual Mazda they've forged out with sweat. It's a dangerous path as it rewards cashing in and not building your own thing

Well at least with more obscure fake rebrand car manufacturer titles such as Ligier, Morgan, Alpine, Lotus, Caterhamr etc, they are minor players, not huge OEM s like Chevrolet or whatever

[Aysedasi]

It's nothing new though really. A Jaguar becomes a Mazda then has it's roof cut off and becomes a Porsche.....

[kpkorsager]

last time i remember F1 and LeMans was the same weekend only 7 F1 cars raced.
The rest watched LeMans from America, or at least thats what i think they did.

[GT6]

i always remember in the early days the canadian GP being on le mans weekend, we would listen to it as we drove back

[J Jay]

It's not been that long since the Canadian GP and Le Mans fell on the same weekend. As recently as 2011 both were on on the 24th weekend of that year, which provided me with perhaps the most memorable weekend of motorsport I will ever see.

[Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by J Jay

It's not been that long since the Canadian GP and Le Mans fell on the same weekend. As recently as 2011 both were on on the 24th weekend of that year, which provided me with perhaps the most memorable weekend of motorsport I will ever see.

That was a great weekend, I remember watching the F1 race at the Tertre Rouge Bar.
The whole place erupted when Vettel spun and Button went by him.

[Coach Ep]

auto invites after ELMS season has finished:

P1
Porsche (LM24)

P2
KCMG (LM24)
Greaves (ELMS P2)
Team LNT (ELMS P3)
??? (AsLMS P2)
??? (AsLMS P3)
John Pew? (IMSA, Jim Trueman award?) see below

GTE
Corvette Racing (LM24, Pro) -> Pro
SMP Racing (LM24, Am) -> Am
Formula Racing (ELMS)
Marc VDS (ELMS)
TDS (ELMS) -> Am
??? (AsLMS, GT)
??? (IMSA, Bob Akin award ?) see below

Garage 56
Frederic Sausset - Morgan LMP2

10 of the in total 58 entries* are nominated at this point + up to 5 more will be determined at a later stage. Leaving 43 spots for full season WEC entries (35 in 2015) + the rest (8?).

(60 garages will be in place but only 58 will be taken up by race competitors)

As always the IMSA 'invites' are a mystery. Officially 2 auto invites are being given by IMSA to winners of the Jim Trueman and Bob Akin awards for the winningest non Pro driver in respectively the Prototype class and GTLM. This is how the point system for those awards is/was set up:

Jim Trueman Award & Bob Akin Award Program

Named in honor of legendary amateur sports car drivers Jim Trueman and Bob Akin, the Trueman/Akin Driver Award programs recognize drivers in the TUDOR Championship PC (Trueman) and GTD (Akin) classes who, while not professional drivers, have established themselves and their driving credentials in the racing community through their talent, effort and determination.

Unlike driver, team and manufacturer championships, the Trueman/Akin Award Program uses its own unique points format.

First Place - 350 Points
Second Place - 320 Points
Third Place - 300 Points
Fourth Place - 280 Points
Fifth Place - 260 Points
Sixth Place - 250 Points
Seventh Place - 240 Points
Eighth Place - 230 Points
Ninth Place - 220 Points
10th Place - 210 Points

Each subsequent finishing position follows the same 10-point increment with 11th-place receiving 200 points, 12th-place receiving 190 points and so on.

In addition, lap counts are also scored in the point total with one point awarded for each lap completed.

(For Example: Driver finishes in fifth place at an event and completes 23 laps. Driver earns 260 points + 23 laps run = 283 points).

source

Not a clue who won the Akin award in GTLM, perhaps Paul Della Lana? I'm gonna guess John Pew won the Jim Trueman award in Prototype. Has anyone seen an announcement on this?

[Mike E]

OK, it's not the entry list for the big race, but it will be great to see a large and varied GT3 field in the support race.
http://michelinalley.com/michelin-gt...-cup-launched/

[Paige]

Originally Posted by Coach Ep

auto invites after ELMS season has finished:

P1
Porsche (LM24)

P2
KCMG (LM24)
Greaves (ELMS P2)
Team LNT (ELMS P3)
??? (AsLMS P2)
??? (AsLMS P3)
John Pew? (IMSA, Jim Trueman award?) see below

GTE
Corvette Racing (LM24, Pro) -> Pro
SMP Racing (LM24, Am) -> Am
Formula Racing (ELMS)
Marc VDS (ELMS)
TDS (ELMS) -> Am
??? (AsLMS, GT)
??? (IMSA, Bob Akin award ?) see below

Garage 56
Frederic Sausset - Morgan LMP2

10 of the in total 58 entries* are nominated at this point + up to 5 more will be determined at a later stage. Leaving 43 spots for full season WEC entries (35 in 2015) + the rest (8?).

(60 garages will be in place but only 58 will be taken up by race competitors)

As always the IMSA 'invites' are a mystery. Officially 2 auto invites are being given by IMSA to winners of the Jim Trueman and Bob Akin awards for the winningest non Pro driver in respectively the Prototype class and GTLM. This is how the point system for those awards is/was set up:



source

Not a clue who won the Akin award in GTLM, perhaps Paul Della Lana? I'm gonna guess John Pew won the Jim Trueman award in Prototype. Has anyone seen an announcement on this?

I think I can answer the question about the Akin/Trueman winners from what I've read and heard stateside. I think it was supposed to be announced who won both awards at the IMSA banquet but I never heard one.

The Akin winner was supposed to come from GTLM but I don't think there was an eligible driver who competed in the class this year. Don't know what they were going to do if that happened.

As for Trueman, John Pew was the only eligible driver that competed the entire season and met the criteria I'd heard needed to be met to even be considered for the Le Mans invite (enter all four endurance races).


(personal note: I'm a very longtime lurker who forgot she had an account here; maybe I'll start posting more)

[Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by Paige

As for Trueman, John Pew was the only eligible driver that competed the entire season and met the criteria I'd heard needed to be met to even be considered for the Le Mans invite (enter all four endurance races).


(personal note: I'm a very longtime lurker who forgot she had an account here; maybe I'll start posting more)

First off, and even though you've officially been here a while, welcome!

Secondly, I hope Pew does get a Le Mans invite for 2016.
Him wanting to go to Le Mans was the whole point of Shank getting the LMP2 car wasn't it?
Or, at least, the reason for him switching to P2 when they did.

[Coach Ep]

Jan Lammers, Frits van Eerd and Jos Verstappen delay their planned LM [and partial (?) WEC] entry because of clash with F1 GP Baku as Verstappen is committed to going there with his son Max.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/1...-paddocks.html

and (in Dutch only, sorry) https://www.rtlgp-magazine.nl/artike...lname-uit.html

[Deleted]

Jos really needs to be everywhere with his son, not moments rest?

Anyway obviously VDS isn't actually gonna get that entry so we can scratcj that too

[Graham Goodwin]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Jos really needs to be everywhere with his son, not moments rest?

Anyway obviously VDS isn't actually gonna get that entry so we can scratcj that too

Definitely scratch VDS - Auto entry still requires commitment to a full season in ACO sanctioned Championship in the year of the race

[Deleted]

Yeah this isn't like 2010 when they only appeared for one 1000km race besides LM

Though I'm sure they wish it was, in the team closing comments there was desire to run Spa 24 (so prob LM too) only and nothing else, but they wouldn't be allowed to. Personally I think it's a silly rule considering you already have earned entry (not bought like with some others) but it is as it is

Of course if you're planning on quitting in any case they could enter ELMS as full season "shock return" entry, appear at first two rounds with zero effort B-team (or not at all with bag of finance/whatever excuses), then jump into LM and afterwards pull out immediately from all series. Has happened countless times...

Anyway in this case it should be quite dead team and that's the end of that

[rich07]

Originally Posted by Graham Goodwin

Definitely scratch VDS - Auto entry still requires commitment to a full season in ACO sanctioned Championship in the year of the race

Was holding onto a very thin hope of them returning for Le Mans next year to exercise their auto entry with the Z4-I know they're shutting down the team now but well theres no harm in dreaming is there?

[Paige]

Originally Posted by Hawkwood

First off, and even though you've officially been here a while, welcome!

Secondly, I hope Pew does get a Le Mans invite for 2016.
Him wanting to go to Le Mans was the whole point of Shank getting the LMP2 car wasn't it?
Or, at least, the reason for him switching to P2 when they did.

Thank you.

I'm keep my fingers crossed for them. I'm a huge Shank fan and love both Pew and Negri. Really great people.

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by Graham Goodwin

Definitely scratch VDS - Auto entry still requires commitment to a full season in ACO sanctioned Championship in the year of the race

Can they 'lease' out their entry - still filed under Marc VDS but run by another team (with most likely another car)?

Unofficially that'll bring the number of auto invites down to 14, leaving 44 spots on the grid to be filled by the full season WEC runners + the rest.

Does the WEC P1 privateer winning team get an auto invite as well? (if not, they should for 2017!)

[Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by Coach Ep

Does the WEC P1 privateer winning team get an auto invite as well? (if not, they should for 2017!)

Don't P1 teams automatically get invited?
As WEC/Le Mans is the only place to run these cars it'd be harsh not to invite them all.

[Coach Ep]

oopsies!

[Mike E]

All WEC entrants get a Le Mans entry because its a round of the championship.

[gert]

Originally Posted by Coach Ep

Jan Lammers, Frits van Eerd and Jos Verstappen delay their planned LM [and partial (?) WEC] entry because of clash with F1 GP Baku as Verstappen is committed to going there with his son Max.

Max can't drive the car without his father being around?

I understand the entry is delayed or binned but the reason given is bullsh**

[Coach Ep]

No, not really it is. Van Eerd (who is the financial force behind the project) has clearly stated Verstappen Sr. is an integral part of the project, they will not run without him. Competing at LM (in a proto) is a lifetime dream for Van Eerd who is taking his time to do it right (he's in his early 40's) and isn't in it for the long run anyway (although I'm sure once he has done the race, he wants to keep doing it! ).

The only 'time limiting' factor is Lammers' age (59) but I doubt he'll perform any less at 61. Verstappen Sr. has proved to be a (more than) capable driver after being out of the cockpit for a couple of years when he won the LMP2 class with Van Merksteijn in '08 (now granted it has been quite a while since but these former pro drivers are still able to hold their own, even at a relatively 'mature' age! Look at Stefan Johansson and David Brabham for instance). So they have a few years to make it happen.

I'm sure Van Eerd & Lammers have the project pretty much lined up - money is not an issue this time around (Lammers' RFH projects always ran on a shoestring budget remember?) and will be able to reverse their decision even if Baku gets moved (or cancelled) late (April for instance). If not, they'll try again in 2017.

The big IF is the ACO but I have the feeling Lammers has stayed in touched with them over the years and, as a former overall winner with a high 'historic pedigree' might have an advantage over other P2 entry applicants as long as they are willing to commit to a (partial?) WEC or ELMS season!

And I believe Verstappen Sr. feels his son benefits from his continuous full support at this stage in his F1 career to prevent it from going down the same path as his own - hence his presence at all the GP next year as well (but this is just a guess).

[Deleted]

Regarding this list
http://tentenths.com/forum/showpost....&postcount=358

We can probably kill off not only MDVS but also Ibanez.

The second Signatech tends to always end up on reserves, that's how I recall it. Throw in second KCMG to reserves as well

Add in Dragonspeed in LMP2

I'm not sure of Riley will bother with it again, but Risi could maybe be there who knows (based on Guiseppe's PLM interview)

AAI will highly likely get at least one entry even if they don't win automatic invite, what with supplying third of the grid in Asia... If not I would show finger to the ACO and bugger off in their shoes

JMW will get in because Dunlop wants at least one team there not switching to Mics from spec-Dunlops in ELMS LMGTE

Guess one team not mentioned could be Mazdola, with their ancient petrol Lola, but if ACO even considers this theoretical request they"ve implied on issuing, I suspect they'd demand to rename the team as Speedsource (as they are in reality) not Mazda car brand. Though still retaining the fake chassis rebranding title of "Mazda Prototype" on the Lola chassis which has no market value anymore