2007 24 Hours of Le Mans

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2007 24 Hours of Le Mans
Previous: 2006	Next: 2008
Index: Races | Winners

The 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans will be the 75th Grand Prix of Endurance, and will take place on June 16 and June 17, 2007.

Contents 1 Track Changes 2 Rule Changes 3 Automatic Invitations 3.1 Official Automatic Entries 4 Official entry list 4.1 Reserves 5 External links

[edit] Track Changes

2007 will see more upgrades to the Circuit de la Sarthe, the most obvious being the reprofiling of the Tetre Rouge corner. The new corner will be moved inward, creating a long flowing curve instead of the single point apex that it is now. These changes were planned for 2006, but budgetary concerns delayed it to 2007. A public tunnel below the Mulsannes Straight immediately ater Tetre Rouge will also be part of the project.

New garages will also be built, replacing the temporary garages that had been built a few years prior. These are being built at the end of the pit straight, expanding the total number of entries that the ACO can grant to 55 instead of the usual 50.[1]

[edit] Rule Changes

The ACO announced the following rule changes for all Le Mans-based series (American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series) for 2007 involving all four classes:[2]

• LMP1 diesels will have their fuel tank changed from 100 litres to 81 litres. Gasoline LMP1s will maintain a 90 litre tank.
• LMP2 cars will have a 5% smaller restrictor in order to slow the class down in comparison to LMP1.
• GT1 and GT2 will have a 5% smaller restrictor and will allow for ethanol fuel with an equivalent sized tank.

The ACO has also announced rule changes specific to Le Mans only:

• 55 automatic entries will be invited instead of 50, with this number increasing in the upcoming years.
• All entries will be required to run standardized Shell fuel.
• All closed cockpit cars will be required to run air conditioning, with open cockpit cars being required to carry an equalized ballast weight instead of an AC unit. The ACO plans to monitor cockpit temperatures, and will stop any car which exceeds 32°C inside the cockpit.
• Older LMP900 and LMP675-based prototypes, including hybrids, will not be allowed to run.

[edit] Automatic Invitations

Teams earn automatic invitations from the ACO for winning certain events and championships in their respective classes. Teams are limited to no more than two entries. If a team has already earned two entries, any more entries are skipped and given to the next highest competitor.

Cars running in the ALMS that are running in the former LMP675 or LMP900 specs are not allowed to be granted entries into the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Cars running outside of ACO-spec are skipped and the automatic entry is given to the next highest placed competitor.

On December 13, 2006, the ACO released their official listPDF (67.9 KiB) of automatic entries from the multiple Le Mans backed series and races. Later, on December 22, the ACO announced that they would add four more automatic entries, this time chosen from the 2006 FIA GT Championship season's team champions and runners up in each class, as part of an agreement between the ACO and FIA GT's SRO organisation.[3]

Automatic entries had until January 8 to confirm their participation. An automatic entry failing to confirm their participation will be dropped, and no replacement for their spot will be nominated. Other team will have until January 24th to apply for an invitation to the race. The ACO will select the other 27 entries (or more if an automatic entry does not participate) as they see fit.

[edit] Official Automatic Entries

Team	Reason Entered	Note
LMP1
Audi Sport Team Joest	1st in 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans
Pescarolo Sport	2nd in 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans
Pescarolo Sport	1st in 2006 Le Mans Series championship
Creation Autosportif	2nd in 2006 Le Mans Series championship
Audi Sport North America	1st in 2006 American Le Mans Series championship
Audi Sport North America	1st in 2006 Petit Le Mans
LMP2
Ray Mallock, Ltd. (RML)	1st in 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans
Binnie Motorsports	2nd in 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans
Barazi-Epsilon	1st in 2006 Le Mans Series championship
Ray Mallock, Ltd. (RML)	2nd in 2006 Le Mans Series championship	Entry Not Taken
Penske Racing	1st in 2006 American Le Mans Series championship	Entry Not Taken
Penske Racing	1st in 2006 Petit Le Mans	Entry Not Taken
GT1
Corvette Racing	1st in 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans
Aston Martin Racing	2nd in 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans
Aston Martin Racing Larbre	1st in 2006 Le Mans Series championship
Convers MenX Team	2nd in 2006 Le Mans Series championship
Aston Martin Racing	2nd in 2006 American Le Mans Series championship[1]
Corvette Racing	3rd in 2006 Petit Le Mans[2]
Vitaphone Racing Team	1st in 2006 FIA GT Championship	Entry Not Taken
Aston Martin Racing BMS	2nd in 2006 FIA GT Championship
GT2
Team LNT	1st in 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans
Seikel Motorsport	2nd in 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans
Autorlando Sport	1st in 2006 Le Mans Series championship
Team LNT	2nd in 2006 Le Mans Series championship
Risi Competizione	1st in 2006 American Le Mans Series championship
Risi Competizione	2nd in 2006 Petit Le Mans[3]
AF Corse	1st in 2006 FIA GT Championship
Scuderia Ecosse	2nd in 2006 FIA GT Championship

On January 19, 2007, the ACO announced that 24 of the 28 teams had accepted their automatic entry before the deadline.[4] Penske Racing has turned down both of their invitations, while Ray Mallock, Ltd. rejected its second entry (due to a lack of funding). Vitaphone Racing Team rejected their entry due to their Maserati MC12 being illegal to GT1 rules, although they later attempted to gain entry in another class.

[edit] Official entry list

On February 27, 2007, the ACO published their official entry list, nearly three weeks ahead of schedule. Initially planned to be released following the 2007 12 Hours of Sebring, the list was instead published two weeks before the event. The list has the full 55 entries and 8 reserves.

No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Tyre
			Engine
LMP1
1	Audi Sport North America	Tom Kristensen Allan McNish Rinaldo Capello	Audi R10	M
			Audi 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
2	Audi Sport North America	Marco Werner Emanuele Pirro Frank Biela	Audi R10	M
			Audi 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
3	Audi Sport Team Joest	TBA TBA TBA	Audi R10	M
			Audi 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
5	Swiss Spirit	Marcel Fässler Jean-Denis Délétraz TBA	Lola B07/10	M
			Audi 3.6L Turbo V8
7	Team Peugeot Total	Nicolas Minassian Sébastien Bourdais Marc Gené	Peugeot 908	M
			Peugeot 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
8	Team Peugeot Total	Stéphane Sarrazin Pedro Lamy Jacques Villeneuve	Peugeot 908	M
			Peugeot 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
9	Creation Autosportif Ltd.	Jamie Campbell-Walter TBA TBA	Creation CA07	M
			Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5L V10
10	Arena Motorsports International	Stefan Johansson Tom Chilton TBA	Zytek 07S	M
			Zytek 2ZG408 4.0L V8
12	Courage Compétition	Alexander Frei Jonathan Cochet TBA	Courage LC70	M
			AER P32T 3.6L Turbo V8
13	Courage Compétition	Guillaume Moreau TBA TBA	Courage LC70	M
			AER P32T 3.6L Turbo V8
14	Racing for Holland b.v.	Jan Lammers Jeroen Bleekemolen TBA	Dome S101.5	M
			Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5L V10
15	Charouz Racing System	Jan Charouz Stefan Mücke Alex Yoong	Lola B07/17	M
			Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5L V10
16	Pescarolo Sport	Harold Primat Christoher Tinseau Benoit Treluyer	Pescarolo P01	M
			Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5L V10
17	Pescarolo Sport	Emmanuel Collard Jean-Christophe Boullion Romain Dumas	Pescarolo P01	M
			Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5L V10
18	Rollcentre Racing	Martin Short Phil Keen João Barbosa	Pescarolo P01	D
			Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5L V10
19	Chamberlain-Synergy Motorsport	Gareth Evans Bob Berridge Peter Owen	Lola B06/10	M
			AER P32T 3.6L Turbo V8
LMP2
20	Pierre Bruneau	Marc Rostan Pierre Bruneau TBA	Pilbeam MP93	M
			Judd XV675 3.4L V8
22	Rollcentre Racing	TBA TBA TBA	Radical SR9	?
			Judd XV675 3.4L V8
24	Binnie Motorsports	William Binnie Allen Timpany Chris Buncombe	Lola B05/40	M
			Zytek ZG348 3.4L V8
25	Ray Mallock, Ltd. (RML)	Mike Newton Andy Wallace Tommy Erdos	MG-Lola EX264	M
			AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4
28	Team Bruichladdich Radical	Tim Greaves Stuart Moseley Robin Liddell	Radical SR9	D
			AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4
29	T2M Motorsport	TBA TBA TBA	Dome S101.5	M
			Mader 3.4L V8
31	Noël del Bello	Christophe Tinseau TBA TBA	Courage LC75	M
			AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4
32	Barazi-Epsilon	Juan Barazi Michel Vergers Karim Ojjeh	Zytek 07S/2	M
			Zytek ZG348 3.4L V8
33	Barazi-Epsilon	TBA TBA TBA	Zytek 07S/2	M
			Zytek ZG348 3.4L V8
35	Saulnier Racing	Jacques Nicolet Alain Filhol Bruce Jouanny	Courage LC75	M
			AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4
40	Quifel ASM Team Racing for Portugal	Miguel Amaral TBA TBA	Lola B05/40	D
			AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4
44	Kruse Motorsport	Tony Burgess Jean De Pourtales Norbert Siegler	Pescarolo P01	K
			Judd XV675 3.4L V8
GT1
006	Aston Martin Racing Larbre	Christophe Bouchut Fabrizio Gollin Gabriele Gardel	Aston Martin DBR9	M
			Aston Martin 6.0L V12
007	Aston Martin Racing	Johnny Herbert Peter Kox Tomas Enge	Aston Martin DBR9	M
			Aston Martin 6.0L V12
008	Aston Martin Racing Larbre	Grégory Franchi Steve Zacchia Gregor Fisken	Aston Martin DBR9	M
			Aston Martin 6.0L V12
009	Aston Martin Racing	David Brabham Darren Turner Rickard Rydell	Aston Martin DBR9	M
			Aston Martin 6.0L V12
53	JLOC Isao Noritake	TBA TBA TBA	Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT	?
			Lamborghini L535 6.0L V12
54	Team Oreca	Stéphane Ortelli Soheil Ayari TBA	Saleen S7-R	M
			Ford 7.0L V8
55	Team Oreca	Laurent Groppi Nicolas Prost TBA	Saleen S7-R	M
			Ford 7.0L V8
59	Team Modena	Antonio Garcia Liz Halliday TBA	Aston Martin DBR9	M
			Aston Martin 6.0L V12
63	Corvette Racing	Johnny O'Connell Jan Magnussen Ron Fellows	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	M
			Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0L V8
64	Corvette Racing	Oliver Gavin Olivier Beretta Max Papis	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	M
			Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0L V8
67	Convers MenX Racing	Alexei Vasiliev TBA TBA	Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello	?
			Ferrari F133 5.9L V12
72	Luc Alphand Aventures	Luc Alphand Jérôme Pelicand Patrice Goueslard	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	M
			Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0L V8
73	Luc Alphand Aventures	Jean-Luc Blanchemain Sébastien Dumez Vincent Vosse	Chevrolet Corvette C5-R	M
			Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0L V8
100	Aston Martin Racing BMS	Fabio Babini Jamie Davies TBA	Aston Martin DBR9	P
			Aston Martin 6.0L V12
GT2
76	IMSA Performance Matmut	Raymond Narac Richard Lietz TBA	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	M
			Porsche 3.8L Flat-6
78	AF Corse	TBA TBA TBA	Ferrari F430GT	M
			Ferrari F136 4.0L V8
80	Flying Lizard Motorsports	TBA TBA TBA	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	M
			Porsche 3.8L Flat-6
81	Team LNT	Tom Kimber-Smith Danny Watts Tom Milner Jr.	Panoz Esperante GT-LM	P
			Ford (Élan) 5.0L V8
82	Team LNT	Lawrence Tomlinson Richard Dean TBA	Panoz Esperante GT-LM	P
			Ford (Élan) 5.0L V8
83	Seikel Motorsport	TBA TBA TBA	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	?
			Porsche 3.8L Flat-6
85	Spyker Squadron b.v.	TBA TBA TBA	Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R	D
			Audi 3.8L V8
86	Spyker Squadron b.v.	TBA TBA TBA	Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R	D
			Audi 3.8L V8
87	Scuderie Ecosse	TBA TBA TBA	Ferrari F430GT	P
			Ferrari F136 4.0L V8
90	White Lightning Racing	Tim Bergmeister TBA TBA	Ferrari F430GT	M
			Ferrari F136 4.0L V8
93	Autorlando Sport	TBA TBA TBA	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	P
			Porsche 3.8L Flat-6
97	Risi Competizione	Mika Salo Johnny Mowlem Jaime Melo	Ferrari F430GT	M
			Ferrari F136 4.0L V8
98	Risi Competizione Krohn Racing	Tracy Krohn Niclas Jönsson Colin Braun	Ferrari F430GT	M
			Ferrari F136 4.0L V8

[edit] Reserves

The following cars are on the reserve entry list for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For every entry on the official list that withdraws, a car from the reserve list will be added in the order shown here.

No	Class	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Tyre
				Engine
70	GT1	PSI Experience	TBA TBA TBA	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	M
				Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0L V8
83	GT2	G.P.C. Sport	Sergio Hernandez Philipp Peter TBA	Ferrari F430GT	P
				Ferrari F136 4.0L V8
98	GT2	Ice Pol Racing Team	Yves Lambert Christian Lefort TBA	Ferrari F430GT	P
				Ferrari F136 4.0L V8
77	GT2	Team Felbermayr-Proton	Christian Reid Horst Felbermayr Jr. TBA	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	M
				Porsche 3.8L Flat-6
92	GT2	Thierry Perrier Perspective Racing	Philippe Hesnault Anthony Beltoise Nigel Smith	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	?
				Porsche 3.8L Flat-6
99	GT2	JMB Racing	Joe Macari Ben Aucott TBA	Ferrari F430GT	M
				Ferrari F136 4.0L V8
84	GT2	Chad Peninsula Panoz	TBA TBA TBA	Panoz Esperante GT-LM	P
				Ford (Elan) 5.0L V8
86	GT2	IMSA Performance Matmut	TBA TBA TBA	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	M
				Porsche 3.8L Flat-6

[edit] External links

• Official website of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
• Mariantic SportsCar Racing - Le Mans 2007 speculation