The support races 2012
Group C Cars at Le Mans in 2012
On the Saturday of the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours (16th June 2012), the magnificent cars of the Group C era will be vying for race honors in the annual historic support race run by Motor Racing Legends.
The Group C cars last ran at Le Mans in 2010, when a front row of all Silk Cut Jaguars led a mind-boggling grid that included Spice, Sauber Mercedes, Nissan R88C and Porsche 962 among the front-runners. While the 2011 Le Mans Legend, last June, saw a star-studded field of 61 cars from the fabulously evocative 1949-65 era, such is the enthusiasm for Group C that they’ve been invited back for 2012.
The grid of Group C cars which will take to the track just a few hours before the start of this year’s modern 24 Hours is being put together by Group C/GTP Racing. Says Bob Berridge of Group C/GTP, “We are committed to ensuring that Group C attends some of the major historic festivals held throughout Europe, and we are thrilled to be adding to this a support race for what is arguably the greatest race in the world, the Le Mans 24 Hours. Given the level of interest from ‘new’ Group C car owners, it looks certain that we will enjoy another significant increase in grid numbers for 2012.”
The Schedule
- Thursday 14 June 16.00 – 17.00 Qualifying practice session
- Saturday 16 June 10.05 – 10.50 Race
The Aston Martin Racing Festival Le Mans 2012
At this years Le Mans, Aston Martin Racing customers will have the unique opportunity to race on the Le Mans circuit as part of the world’s most famous Sportscar racing event, the 24 hours of Le Mans. An Aston Martin exclusive race has been organised in conjunction with the ACO to take place before the start of the main endurance event with practice and qualifying sessions in the preceding days. The event is now open to all Aston Martin Racing built GT cars including DBR9 GT1, Vantage GT2, DBRS9 GT3, Vantage GT3 and Vantage N24/GT4.
In total, the drivers will have almost 3 hours of track time on this unique 13.6 km circuit, culminating in a 45-minute sprint race on the Saturday morning. This once in a lifetime opportunity is open to all owners and drivers of Aston Martin Racing built GT cars homologated in GT1, GT2, GT3 or GT4. The full list of eligible cars is as follows:
- GT1 – DBR9
- GT2 – Vantage GT2
- GT3 – DBRS9, Vantage GT3
- GT4 – Vantage N24, Vantage GT4
The Schedule
- Wednesday 13 June – 20.30 – 21.30 Free practice session
- Thursday 14 June – 17.30 – 18.30 Qualifying session
- Saturday 16 June – 11.15 – 12.00 Race
