Club Arnage

Unless I've missed it discussed elsewhere, the 55 cars invited to the test day & scrutineering has been published  HERE  (http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/ressources/pdf/liste_invites_journee_test.pdf)

No you didn't miss anything - it wasn't there before lunch! 
No big surprises really, are there?

Looking forward to seeing the Porsche spyders and the GT1 Lambo, ( we'll probably hear it first :)), especially as the GT2 versions participation was rather brief last year.

Shame there's only one Lambo and Saleen in GT1, two of each would have made this less of an Aston/Corvette show, although there's a good chance the 2nd Lambo might make it in, very little chance for the Saleen though.

GT2 will look a bit dull with all those 430GTs......at least the Spyker will add some glam.

The GTs are all-around a bit uninspiring and it's a small entry compared with last year.  The balance seems to have swung back towards P1s, doesn't it?  I guess they have fewer places to compete so it's fair enough, I suppose.  3 997s has to be the smallest Porker GT entry for years.

Agree. But LMP1 and LMP2 are looking so good this year. Some interesting cars and teams have been given entry, and also the chance that the heat of battle could throw up some surprises for Audi and Pug.

Can't wait. Wish I could make the test day this year to get an early fix.

No Panozes :(

Am i blind or is Team Scuderia Ecosse missing this year???

Im only asking because im Scottish

Pretty much as most people predicted I think.

A couple of the cars entered have yet to turn wheel, I don't think either the Embassy or the Epsilon have run yet, so they could be a doubt against both those.

Once again the Kruse car is entered as a Mazda, the same as the LMES entry. Have they in fact got a rotary engine?

Never heard of Terramos either.

Only 1 Joest Audi! are they on a budget diet?

No team can enter more than two cars, Audi Sport North America is Joest in all but name. 

 

look again, three total.

Audi Sport North America and Audi Team Joest are for all intents and purposes the same organization
(you don't really think the ASNA guys aren't german do you?)  ;D

-Lee

(damn, Andy beat me by seconds...)

One of the biggest surprises to me was that the WR didn't get in.

Suprised to see that the WR is not on the list either.

btw. Just read that the Mazda is the 4 cly turbo and sadly not a rotary.

"Yojiro Terada, one of the 24 Hours’ outstanding characters and figurehead of the Japanese drivers, will start his 30th Le Mans 24 Hours at the age of 61 with the Terramos team that he has set up specially to race a Courage-Mugen in LM P1."

Yojiro Terada, heard of him!

Terada has been in a WR a few times over the years, wonder if they are involved in his entry and did not seek one of their own.

Scuderia Ecosse have relaunched / rebranded as Cr Scuderia

Great to see the RS Spyder from van Merksteijn there on the list. Hope they will put down a good result.
Anyone know why the second Spyker squadron car is on the reserve list? They did race 2 cars last year if i remember correctly. So why did they let team Speedy in over the official team? Or is the ACO looking for as much diversity as possible? So 2 teams racing the same car...

@ NelisB, maybe Spyker can repeat their Silverstone-trick ;)

Confused is the word Peter. It doesn't take much.

Thanks for straightening things out - I was planning to check that what I's posted in haste was correct, but you've beaten me to it.

Haha, doubt they'll do such a trick at Le Mans though :P. Still love the look of that car. Blue looks just so damn weird on that car...

Interesting to see that Vitaphone have sort of taken up their automatic entry, but with a DBR9.  I wonder if thats the Prodrive 008 as used by Larbre last year?  And I wonder if it'll be painted in the same colours as their MC12's?

Still, all in all a good mix of entries.  Shame Embassy didn't get their 2nd car on the reserves list cos their will be the usual 3 or 4 dropouts I bet.

I presume the acceptance of the 3 Japanese entries is to try and drum up some support for the Asian LM Series?

Hopefully next year we'll see some Aston GT2's reducing the 430 hordes!

Is the Dome S102 their new closed coupe LMP1 car or the open (a la RfH) car?

Closed. :)

Way hey.  Roll on the day when all LMP1 cars have a roof on again.

I'll drink to that.  But then again, I'll drink to most things...

EDIT : I also see that, according to the LMS List, the Speedy Racing Lola P2 is also a Coupe, but I don't know much about this - hopefully we see it in 10 days' time at Ricard.  ;D

Dome S102 Windtunnel model
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc170/ajwCA/DomeS102WindtunnelModel.jpg)

Epsilon Euskadi LMP1
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc170/ajwCA/EpsilonEuskadi.jpg)

Ade

I just hope that more cars make it to the finish this year!

When I arrived at the grandstands last year at 2am to watch, every other pit garage door was shut, very depressing!

Do we know if any rule has been bought in to stop the Peugeot stopping for a rest on the track before the end??

There already is, and has been for years.  If it had been any other car (apart from a French one), it would not have been classified.  The ACO probably invoked their 'Force Majeure' option.

Del

And Martin Short would have got a podium finish, which he throughly deserved ;D