2006 24 Hours of LeMans entry list

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Mulsanne
Totally agree. The ACO makes some crazy decisions sometimes. Like you pointed out, last year it was the factory Zytek and the LNT TVRs that were the victims of those decisions. The French teams get such a break with the ACO. That's the only way to understand how the WRs end up at Le Mans year after year. They rarely compete in any other races, but still get on the list. I just don't understand. But it's the ACO's race, so they can say to hell with us and choose who they want. (Plus I hate the "recommended" lap time rules. You shouldn't tell someone exactly how fast they should go. It's a race. Let them get on with it!)

As for the Radical, the answer is YES! Van der Steur Racing, who currently use a 2000 Lola B2K/40, have announced they have purchased a Radical SR9. The debut was originally reported as the Lime Rock round, but I believe it has been pushed back to Petit Le Mans. So we should see it for at least the last two races. Hopefully, Rollcentre will come over for PLM and Laguna (depending on the scheduling of the Monza replacement), or Sebring '07. Plus, there's talk of a Zytek coming over after Le Mans. (fingers crossed)
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and BTW, there was also the Pescarolos that also favored upon over the penalized Champion R8s(in which IMO the ACO failed to slow them down.). however, they can't do anything now that the R10 is coming.
 
You're right. The ACO tried everything to give last year's race to Pescarolo. Remember the pit marshal doing his best bull-fighter routine trying to stop J.J. Lehto from coming out of the pits, because one headlight was out? (But came back on once he got back on track.) J.J. was having none of it. :)
 
Strange how in the years before they didn't seem to do much and all of a sudden, they have turned Biased. is there some type of grudge going on?
Does not seeing a french entry take victory since Henri Pescarolo really that important to them? we sure as hell don't complain about a Prototype or GT car from anywhere else around the world taking wins.
 
It's a shame TVR isn't in. Other than that, it seems to be a few interesting cars out there. The Audi diesels in particular. 👍
 
Encyclopedia
It's a shame TVR isn't in. Other than that, it seems to be a few interesting cars out there. The Audi diesels in particular. 👍
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Those are the most interesting to look out for along with Creation's new car and the new Courage LC70s


Off-topic, thats a cool avatar:tup: . isn't that from a Kraftwerk Album?
 
RACECAR
Those are the most interesting to look out for along with Creation's new car and the new Courage LC70s


Off-topic, thats a cool avatar:tup: . isn't that from a Kraftwerk Album?
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Indeed it is. Autobahn. :)
 
RACECAR
Strange how in the years before they didn't seem to do much and all of a sudden, they have turned Biased. is there some type of grudge going on?
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Oh, they've always been biased. There's been the little "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" given to the French teams, whereas teams from Britain, the U.S., or almost anywhere else have the book thrown at them for anything, especially during tech inspection.
It's only been in the past few years, with the demise of pre-qualifying and with the ACO just choosing their 50 starters, that it's really gotten insane.

As for the TVR, I wish they had been been selected, because it would have added one more car to an already stellar GT2 field. But the only one that entered was the Peninsular TVR, and they didn't exactly shine last year, did they?
 
I seem to notice that they really have been especially biased towards the US teams and the UK teams.(Pretty sure some americans and UK natives in these forums will watch closely)I recall during the 2005 Le Mans 24 someone saying that there is someone new in the ACO(I believe a new leader or something), so maybe the beast we are just now noticing is now rearing its ugly head in full view.

Update: they better not do anything to Multimatic. with Sb on-board, hopefully they are free from the "bull fighters" if you will.
 
I'm excited to see the Courage LC70 up close and personal for the first time. This year's may go down as one of the best yet.

m.piedgros
 
m.piedgros
I'm excited to see the Courage LC70 up close and personal for the first time. This year's may go down as one of the best yet.

m.piedgros
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It is a great-looking car, don't you think? 👍 👍 to Courage on the design. The Swiss Spirit car has to be one of the best-looking cars out there right now. With the 5.0 Judd in the Swiss car and the new 4.5 Mugen in the factory cars, I can't wait to see how the stack up at Le Mans. I don't think they will challenge the Audis or Pescarolo, but I think they will be there with the Zytek and the Creation, nipping at the heels of the leaders.

BTW, I wonder what Pescarolo will use next year. This is the last year he can enter his C60 hybrid, so what will 2007 bring? Perhaps another LC70 on the grid?
 
Hey guys, I know this doesn't pertain to this year's Vingt-Quatre Heures du Mans, but may bode well for future races. According to autoextremist.com, an American manufacturer is tiring of throwing their money into NASCAR and is looking to refocus its efforts.

This from the article:
This Detroit manufacturer has decided that if it competes in motorsports in the future, it will only compete in three basic areas: 1. In production-based racing series that by rule and specification retain more than a passing resemblance to the cars they sell and the competitors they compete against in showrooms. 2. "Technical" efforts, in other words, engine programs for open-wheel and prototype racing series, but stopping short of Formula 1. And 3. Developing an effort to compete for the overall victory at Le Mans. Any other efforts, grass-roots racing, drag racing, etc., would be covered as the need and budget allow.

Hmmm....I wonder which one it is.

Full story is here: http://www.autoextremist.com/page3.shtml#fumes
 
Chrysler perhaps? I would love to see the return of the Viper. Corvette vs. Aston Martin vs. Viper vs. Ferrari (599?) at Le Mans would be amazing.
 
Okay, I just read "overall victory at Le Mans" from Mulsanne's orginal post. This gets me thinking Ford... but we'll find out later.

If we do see a Viper comeback, I'm hoping for an Oreca flavored one. Let's bring back the Team Corvette-Oreca Viper rivalry from back in the day. But, I'm assuming Oreca will stick with their Saleen campaign for a while.
 
I too would love to see the return of the Viper. The 'Vette vs. Viper battles in 2000 were awesome. Finishing only 30 sec. apart after 24 hours at Daytona, the narrow Viper win at Mosport and the late pass for the win at Petit Le Mans that gave Corvette their first endurance victory.

As for the rumored LMP1 entrant, I honestly can't decide which of the "Big 3" it's supposed to be, since their support of road racing has been equally crappy. GM had a shot at an overall win with the Cadillac, but didn't want to spend the money to be competitive and pulled the plug. Ford won't give Aston Martin the necessary cash to do a full season, so how could they fund a competitive LMP1 effort? Chrysler also had a shot with the ORECA Dallara-Chryslers in 2001 that showed lots of promise (4th at Le Mans behind two Audis and a Bentley), but pulled the plug on that program as well. I really hope this story comes true, since anything that damages NASCAR is a good thing IMHO, plus it would hopefully be an all-American LMP1 effort I could support.
 
I wonder, after the announcement is made, how long it will take them to develop the car and enter it in the Le Mans 24 Hours. I would assume it will take them a while, unless the yet-to-be-named manufacturer has been working on a secret project for some time.
 
Unfortunately, nothing is certain right now. But if the announcement were made tomorrow, I'd look for a timetable along the lines of the recently-announced Acura project. Testing the engine in 2006, designing the new LMP1 in 2007 and making their debut at Sebring in 2008. Two to three years after the announcement. Of course, they could start working on it now and not announce anything until later.
 
Mulsanne
Hey guys, I know this doesn't pertain to this year's Vingt-Quatre Heures du Mans, but may bode well for future races. According to autoextremist.com, an American manufacturer is tiring of throwing their money into NASCAR and is looking to refocus its efforts.

This from the article:
This Detroit manufacturer has decided that if it competes in motorsports in the future, it will only compete in three basic areas: 1. In production-based racing series that by rule and specification retain more than a passing resemblance to the cars they sell and the competitors they compete against in showrooms. 2. "Technical" efforts, in other words, engine programs for open-wheel and prototype racing series, but stopping short of Formula 1. And 3. Developing an effort to compete for the overall victory at Le Mans. Any other efforts, grass-roots racing, drag racing, etc., would be covered as the need and budget allow.

Hmmm....I wonder which one it is.

Full story is here: http://www.autoextremist.com/page3.shtml#fumes
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I'm guessing it's Dodge.

And that Acura LMP2 in the second story from that link looks sweet! :drool:
They say that this new LMP2 factory program will be a stepping stone towards LMP1 competition in 2008 and the overall victory at Le Mans. But are they willing to make the financial commitment to be competitive? By that time, the Audi R10 will probably be as dominant as the R8 was. And it would take a lot of time and money to give the Audi even the slightest challenge at Le Mans.
 
here's my take on it...
Chevy:they are winning way too much to quit.
Ford:they are giving chevy a run for their money most of the time with Roush.
Dodge:Kasey Kahne is pretty much the only driver giving them wins.

So...its Dodge. they have not had any manufacterers championships or have had a driver as nextel champion so what would be the point of continuing an otherwise "dead end" effort?
 
Here's a question... for now let's say it is Dodge.... would you guys rather see the return of a Viper, or a Le Mans Prototype project?

I think I would much rather see them enter GT1 with a Viper. Even if Carsport America's Viper was never on pace with the big guys, I was still sad to see it race its final laps last year. Come on Dodge, bring them back!
 
dougiemeats
Here's a question... for now let's say it is Dodge.... would you guys rather see the return of a Viper, or a Le Mans Prototype project?

I think I would much rather see them enter GT1 with a Viper. Even if Carsport America's Viper was never on pace with the big guys, I was still sad to see it race its final laps last year. Come on Dodge, bring them back!
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I would much rather like to see the viper return. it would be Spectacular.
 
Awww...can't we have both? :)

I'm with you guys. I'd love to see a return of the Viper to GT1. Especially if they re-hired ORECA and concentrated on the ALMS.

Corvette vs. Aston Martin vs. Ferrari vs. Viper. Would be too much. :D
 
Alright Dodge, I think you've heard the people speak.... Viper it is!

As for this years Le Mans, is this the Ferrari 550's last year at the 24 hour classic? Seems like all the Ferrari GT1 teams are trading in their old 550s for brand new DBR9s.
 
It would be nice to see Jason Bright get the drive with Aston Martin. He was very impressed with the cars downforce and grip at Sebring. Unfortunatley he is racing here while the Le Mans practice day is on so he may not be permitted to drive. Sebastian Loeb chartered a helicopter from Rally Turkey to get to the practice day last year but it's not that easy from Australia.
 
Hmm.. I don't think I have heard of Jason Bright. Has he driven in any Le Mans or FIA races? I'm assuming he's a V8 Supercar driver (I always think V8 supercars when I think Australia). It's always good to see diversity at Le Mans. Didn't Michael Shumacher race at Le Mans?

On another note... anyone else excited to finally see ACEMCO back in action at Le Mans? It seems like they suddenly disappeared without a trace. No one really talks about them, no updates to their whereabouts that I know of, and their website seems abandoned. This is my favorite team and they're running one of my favorite cars, so you know I'm pretty damn excited.
 
Hmm.. I don't think I have heard of Jason Bright. Has he driven in any Le Mans or FIA races? I'm assuming he's a V8 Supercar driver (I always think V8 supercars when I think Australia).
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He is a V8 Supercar driver. He drives for Ford Performance Racing, the factory Ford team owned by Prodrive.
He raced at the recent Sebring 12 hour race with Pedro Lamy and Stéphane Sarrazin finishing second in class in the DBR9.
He drove a Panoz at the Race of 1000 Years, an ALMS round at Adelaide in 2000 finishing 3rd in class.
He raced in the Indy Lights series in 2000 finishing 6th in the series and winning round 4.
http://www.jasonbright.com.au/profile.html
 

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