24 Hours of Le Mans

Drayson Racing Privileged with Second Invitation to Le Mans
News from Drayson Racing
Photos © Drayson Racing
LE MANS, FRANCE (4 February 2010) - Drayson Racing is privileged today to earn its second consecutive invitation to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Automobile Club De l'Ouest (ACO), official sanctioning body of the 24 Heures du Mans, has named Drayson Racing as one of 21 Le Mans Prototype One (LM P1) entries to its field. 84 total entries were received across the four classes to fill the 55 position starting grid for the 78th running of the classic sports car race. The 12-13 June event will also mark the second time for drivers Paul Drayson (London/Gloucestershire, UK) and Jonny Cocker (Guisborough, Yorks, UK) to campaign a car on the 13.629 Km/8.468 mile-long Circuit de la Sarthe for Drayson Racing. The duo will share a Lola B09-60 Coupé with Judd V10 power on Michelin tyres with a third driver to be announced at a later date. "The ACO announcement is great news,” said owner/driver Paul Drayson. “In my head I've imagined what it's going to be like racing down the Mulsanne at night - and probably in the wet - at top speed in an LM P1 and now I'm going to be doing it for real; totally, totally incredible. Brilliant news!"

The United Kingdom-based team premiered at the world's most famous endurance race competing in the LM GT2 class for production-based cars in 2009. The programme ran competitively within the top 10 of class during the race. Despite a mid-race alternator failure, they rallied to make it within two hours of the chequered flag when a second electrical malfunction brought the team's day to a close. For the final three race weekends of the season, the Dale White (Bozeman, MT, USA)-managed operation changed to the purpose-built prototype class with a Lola closed-cockpit chassis and 650 horsepower Judd engine. Drayson and Cocker culminated the change by earning one pole position and setting two fastest race laps on the way to winning the Michelin ® Green X Challenge ® in the inaugural Asian Le Mans Series championship.

While still a young effort, Drayson Racing is not without its Le Mans wins. Team Manager White is a two-time winner at La Sarthe having managed GT teams to victory in 2003 and 2004. The American brings that experience to the privately owned LM P1 programme for a second season. "It's a dream come true to receive an invitation to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LM P1 class,” said White. “We're a small team but we have assembled what we think is the best crew and car package for a privateer to challenge for the overall win at Le Mans against the top factory and privateer teams in the world. It will be a massive test but one we are approaching with a level head and high expectations. We are going to do everything we can to be the 'David' to their 'Goliath'."

Drayson Racing will open its 2010 season at the 12 Hours of Sebring on 20 March. It will campaign the full American Le Mans Series season with races in Long Beach, Calif. (17 April) and Monterey, Calif. (22 May) prior to the annual twice-around-the-clock event in France. Events in Utah (10 July), Connecticut (24 July), Ohio (7 August), Wisconsin (22 August) and Canada (29 August) will precede a homecoming for the first Intercontinental Cup race at the Silverstone Circuit in England on 12 September. A 2 October return to North America for the 10 hour/1000 mile Petit Le Mans in Atlanta marks the second Intercontinental Cup event. The season, and the Intercontinental Cup, will conclude for Drayson Racing with races in the Asian Le Mans Series in late October/early November in Japan and/or China. The Intercontinental Cup is the highly anticipated precursor to a full, ACO-sanctioned world championship in the coming years.
 

Heavy Series Flavor in First List of 2010 Le Mans Invitations
Photos © Dan Boyd
BRASELTON, Georgia (November 21, 2009) — Five teams and six entries from the American Le Mans Series are among the first 29 teams offered official invitations to next year’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As has been the case for the last 11 seasons, all championship-winning entrants in each American Le Mans Series class receive invitations to compete the following year in the world’s greatest auto race along with class winners at the annual Petit Le Mans.

Risi Competizione’s two entries and the first invitation for reigning LMP1 champion Patrón Highcroft Racing lead the Series’ contingent. Not only did the trio of Jaime Melo, Pierre Kaffer and Mika Salo give Risi its second straight GT2 crown at Le Mans this year, but the trio also drove the Risi Ferrari F430 GT to a second consecutive class win at Petit Le Mans in September.

Flying Lizard Motorsports appears on its way to a sixth straight appearance at Le Mans with its Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. The team won its second consecutive Series GT2 championship this year with six victories for Porsche works drivers Patrick Long and Jörg Bergmeister.

Both Patrón Highcroft and Lowe’s Fernandez Racing – LMP2 – also received entries for their championship performances. Patrón Highcroft owner Duncan Dayton has made no secret of his ambitions to take his team to Le Mans in the past.

Corvette Racing also received an invitation for winning the GT1 class in 2009. With the team’s move to GT2, however, it is likely that it will decline the automatic entry.

Since 1999, American Le Mans Series teams have been driving forces at Le Mans with eight overall championship and 25 class championships.

JOHNNY O - SAFETY FIRST: Corvette Racing’s Johnny O’Connell says the crew at Pratt & Miller have been hard at work restoring and rebuilding the Corvette C6.R that was heavily damaged in the epic last-lap duel between teammate Jan Magnussen and Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Jörg Bergmeister in the Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón.

The Corvette and Porsche banged side-to-side coming out of the final turn in a frantic GT2 battle. As they beat on each other toward the finish, Magnussen went around hard into the outside wall just before the start-finish line.

“Perhaps one of the greatest strengths of Corvette Racing is the close association we have with the production side, and the relationship between the two,” O’Connell wrote on his personal blog. “Included in that is the importance both place on safety. Jan’s wreck was huge. He’s still not back to 100 percent but is getting close. That said, many aspects of the crash have been analyzed and changes made to the car to better protect us in the future. Just like was done when Dale Jr. had his crash and fire (at Infineon in 2004); things have been changed and improved. So as we move to the future all of us drivers will be confident in the safety or our car and know that everything has been looked at many times by the best in the industry.”

24 Hours of Le Mans
Strakka Racing Aiming for Le Mans
News from Strakka Racing
Photos © Strakka Racing
February 4, 2010 -- Everyone at Strakka Racing is delighted to have received confirmation that the team’s application to participate in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours has been accepted by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest.

The news came through on Thursday 4th February that the Strakka Racing entry for a single ARX-01c in the LMP2 category had been listed by the ACO. The car will carry the number 42, and will be co-driven by Nick Leventis, Danny Watts and Jonny Kane. The announcement came just two days after Strakka was pleased to confirm the appointment of Ulsterman Jonny Kane as the team’s third driver for the 2010 season.

“We are naturally delighted to have been accepted to compete in the 2010 Vingt Quatre Heures du Mans, the world’s greatest and toughest motor race,” said Team Manager Piers Phillips. “The team is honoured to be representing the HPD brand alongside the world’s best teams and manufacturers. We are also proud that HPD, Michelin and the ACO have recognised the significant strides that Strakka Racing has made over the last three years in infrastructure, professionalism and technical capability.”

“We feel very privileged to be granted an entry for this prestigious race,” said Nick Leventis, team driver at Strakka. “It will be our third participation in the 24 Hours, although only the second under our own name, but I feel we’re in a much stronger position this year. We face the challenge from the foundation of having a better understanding of what it takes to compete at this level, and we also have the benefit of an even more experienced team of personnel. I hope we can demonstrate the strength of the HPD-Strakka partnership, and make the most of this opportunity at our third attempt.”

Eight other cars are listed in the LMP2 category, as well as twenty-one LMP1 prototypes, eight GT1 entries, seventeen in GT2, and ten reserves. “The LMP2 category is fiercely competitive this year, with several teams fielding some exceptionally strong driver line-ups,” added Piers. “Even so, we expect to take the fight to them, and to challenge for honours. We now have more experience, backed up by technical know-how, and our initial testing has shown the HPD ARX-01c to be both fast and reliable. Now we just can’t wait for June to arrive!”

The team will have the opportunity to judge exactly how tough that competition is during the first two rounds of the Le Mans Series, including an eight-hour race at the Paul Ricard circuit (April 9-11) and in the Spa 1000 Kilometres (May 7-9).