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Le Mans Series Story

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Audi and Veloqx: the first winners

The Audi R8s that had scored several victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours dominated the first Le Mans Endurance Series. Veloqx and Goh went at it hammer and tongs with Zytek, Pescarolo and Creation crashing the Ingolstadt party from time to time!

On 9th May 2004, 38 cars started the Monza 1000Kms, the first of the Le Mans Endurance Series races. Veloqx kicked off its campaign with a double, victory going to the Herbert-Davies duo who became part of endurance history as the first winners in the new series. In Italy, the Goh R8 was on the third step of the rostrum. Creation managed to split the R8s on the Nürburgring, while Zytek bagged pole on the Silverstone circuit but could not prevent Audi from dominating the British round and scoring a triple. At Spa-Francorchamps, Veloqx ended the season on a high note with its fourth success in 4 races, and Herbert-Davies won the drivers’ title from their team-mates McNish-Kaffer.

In LM P2, victory went to the new Courage Competition C65 from the PR Competition Pilbeam. In GT1, it was an all-Ferrari battle with the Larbre Competition F550 Maranello up against the 2 Baron Connor Racing F575s. The French-entered car driven by Bouchut-Lamy-Zacchia emerged victorious. In GT2, Ferrari and Porsche shared the honours. Roman Rusinov in the JMB Racing Modena 360 won the drivers’ title and Sebah Racing carried off the teams’ laurels.

LMP1

Teams
  • 1. Audi UK Veloqx (n°88), 34pts
  • 2. Audi UK Veloqx (n°8), 28pts
  • 3. Team Goh, 27pts
Drivers
  • 1. J.Herbert/J.Davies, 34pts
  • 3. A.McNish/P.Kaffer, 28pts
  • 5. R.Capello/S.Ara, 27pts

LMP2

Teams
  • 1. Courage Competition, 30pts
  • 2. PIR CompĂ©tition, 26pts
  • 3. Tracsport, 15pts
Drivers
  • 1. A.Frei/S.Hancock, 30pts
  • 3. P.Bruneau/M.Rostan, 26pts
  • 5. JM.Gounon, 20pts

LMGT1

Teams
  • 1. Larbre CompĂ©tition, 35pts
  • 2. Barron Connor Racing (n°61), 20,5pts
  • 3. Barron Connor Racing (n°62), 14pts
Drivers
  • 1. P.Lamy/C.Bouchut/S.Zacchia, 35pts
  • 4. D.Sullivan/J.Bosch/T.Biagi, 20,5pts
  • 7. M.Hezemans/JD.Deletraz, 14pts

LM GT2

Teams
  • 1. Sebah Automotive, 26pts
  • 2. JMB Racing, 25pts
  • 3. Freisinger Motorsport, 24pts
Drivers
  • 1. R.Rusinov, 25pts
  • 2. S.Ortelli, 24pts
  • 3.X.Pompidou, 22pts

Download the results of the season

Pescarolo Sport triumphs!

The second Le Mans Endurance Series Championship was a hotly-disputed one among the wide variety of cars entered in 2005. Three winners shared the spoils in the 5 rounds with Pescarolo Sport emerging as the overall winner scoring the team’s first title in the process.

After a successful first season, the series moved up to another level with a fifth round on the calendar as the Istanbul circuit hosted the final event. The first race on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit set the trend for the year with a battle between Pescarolo Sport with an LM P1 hybrid, Zytek, Creation and the Rollcentre Racing Dallara. Victory on the Belgian circuit went to the Zytek, which also racked up another success at the Nürburgring thanks to an incredible comeback drive by Shimoda who started from the last row. Henri Pescarolo’s lads won the title. Emmanuel Collard and Jean-Christophe Boullion opened their score on the Monza circuit, and repeated this feat in Istanbul giving them the drivers’ title and Pescarolo the teams’ crown. At Silverstone, the ORECA Audi R8 scored a prestigious victory after a thrilling race-long battle with the Creation, a car that provided much of the season’s excitement.

In LM P2, Chamberlain Synergy Motorsport came out on top by a single point from RML with 1 win and 2 rostrum finishes, while the BMS Scuderia Ferrari dominated the GT1 category with 3 victories from the Convers team. Sebah won its second GT2 title on the trot as Pompidou-Lieb scored 3 victories in the 3 rounds in which they took part.

LMP1

Teams
  • 1. Pescarolo Sport : 34pts
  • 2. Zytek Motorsport : 32pts
  • 3. Audi Playstation Team Oreca : 26pts
Drivers
  • 1. JC.Boullion/E.Collard, 34pts
  • 2. H.Shimoda, 32pts
  • 3. S.Ortelli/A.McNish, 26pts

LMP2

Teams
  • 1. Chamberlain-Synergy Motorsport, 34pts
  • 2. RML, 33pts
  • 3. Paul Belmondo Racing, 27pts
Drivers
  • 1. G.Evans, 34pts
  • 2. T.Erdos/M.Newton, 33pts
  • 3. CY.Gosselin/V.Vosse, 27pts

LMGT1

Teams
  • 1. BMS Scuderia Italia (n°51), 35pts
  • 2. BMS Scuderia Italia (n°52), 35pts
  • 3. Convers Team, 31pts
Drivers
  • 1. M.Bartyan/C.Pescatori/T.Seiler, 35pts
  • 2. M.Cressoni, 35pts
  • 3. C.Bouchut/A.Vasiliev, 31pts

LM GT2

Teams
  • 1. Sebah Automotive, 30pts
  • 2. Scuderia Ecosse, 28pts
  • 3. Autorlando Sport, 20pts
Drivers
  • 1. X.Pompidou/M.Lieb, 30pts
  • 2. A.Kirkaldy/N/Kinch, 28pts
  • 3. F.Groppi/L.Moccia, 20pts

Download the results of the season

Pescarolo’s grand slam!

Pescarolo Sport, the previous year’s champion, kept its title by winning all 5 rounds of the newly-rechristened Le Mans Series. Collard and Boullion racked up their second drivers’ title in succession.

Pescarolo Sport kicked off the year in the same style as it had finished the previous one - with a victory on the Istanbul circuit. The French squad followed this up with 4 more wins for Collard-Boullion: Spa, the NĂĽrburgring, Donington and Jarama and the 2 drivers were crowned before the end of the championship. But their rivals never gave up trying: the Swiss Spirit Courage scored 2 rostrum finishes, and Creation was a season-long thorn in the side of Henri and his men. The British team ended 2006 in the runner-up spot helped by 3 rostrum finishes in the last 3 rounds.

In LM P2, ASM missed out on the title due to a name change during the season. Barazi-Epsilon (Barazi-Vergers) showed sterling consistency with 5 points-scoring finishes and a victory in its maiden season in the championship to take the title. Larbre Competition was back in the GT1 category, and Jack Leconte’s team won the title at the final round with their Aston Martin DBR9 driven by Gardel-Lamy-Vosse. Porsche held on to its first place in GT2 with the help of the Autorlando 996 GT3 RSR despite a couple of victories by the GPC Ferrari and two by the LNT Panoz.

LMP1

Teams
  • 1. Pescarolo Sport : 50pts
  • 2. Creation Autosportif : 20pts
  • 3. Chamberlain-Synergy : 20pts
Drivers
  • 1. JC.Boullion/E.Collard, 50pts
  • 2. N.Minassian, 22pts
  • 3. D.AndrĂ©, 20pts

LMP2

Teams
  • 1. Barazi-Epsilon, 28pts
  • 2. RML, 26pts
  • 3. Pierre Bruneau, 24pts
Drivers
  • 1. M. de Castro/A.Burgueño, 30pts
  • 2. M.Vergers/J.Barazi, 28pts
  • 3. T.Erdos/M.Newton, 26pts

LMGT1

Teams
  • 1. AMR Larbre, 32pts
  • 2. Convers Menx Team, 28pts
  • 3. Team ORECA, 25pts
Drivers
  • 1. P.Lamy/G.Gardel/V.Vosse, 32pts
  • 2. P.Kox/A.Vasiliev/R.Pergl, 28pts
  • 3. S.Ortelli/S.Ayari, 25pts

LM GT2

Teams
  • 1. Autorlando Sport, 34pts
  • 2. Team LNT (n°82), 21pts
  • 3. Team LNT (n°81), 20pts
Drivers
  • 1. J.Camathias/M.Lieb, 34pts
  • 2. L.Tomlinson/R.Dean, 21pts
  • 3. W.Hughes/R.Bell, 20pts

Download the results of the season

Peugeot’s grand slam in its debut year

Peugeot marked its return to endurance by setting all the poles and winning all the races! Pescarolo Sport never gave up trying and battled to retain its title right up to the bitter end only losing out in the final round on the Interlagos circuit in Brazil.

Le Mans Series was now in its fourth year and 2007 saw the return of one of the big names in endurance, Peugeot, with its two 908 HDi FAPs. The diesel-engined cars won first time out at Monza and filled the no.1 spot in the following events, but not until the Nürburgring did the Lion score its first double. Pescarolo Sport knew it could not beat the 908s in terms of sheer speed, and opted for consistency racking up rostrum finishes and points. Before the Interlagos round, the first time that the series raced outside Europe, the title was still up for grabs. Thanks to Gene-Minassian’s victory and Sarrazin-Lamy’s second place, Peugeot won the championship even if Pescarolo’s green, white and blue cars split the 908s.

In LM P2, RML with the help of Newton-Erdos finally achieved its objective, the title, after having just missed out on a couple of occasions. In GT1, the ORECA-entered Saleen S7Rs emerged victorious with 4 victories, and Ortelli-Ayari gave the American make its first international title in its battle with Larbre Competition, Luc Alphand Adventures and Team Modena’s Aston Martin. In GT2, the battle between the Virgo Motorsport Ferrari and the Felbermayr- Proton Porsche went down to the wire with victory going to the Italian car and Rob Bell.

LMP1

Teams
  • 1. Team Peugeot-Total (n°8) : 40pts
  • 2. Pescarolo Sport : 36,5pts
  • 3. Team Peugeot-Total (n°7) : 33pts
Drivers
  • 1. S.Sarrazin/P.Lamy : 40pts
  • 2. JC.Boullion : 36,5pts
  • 3. N.Minassian/M.GenĂ© : 33pts

LMP2

Teams
  • 1. RML, 36pts
  • 2. Quifel-ASM Team, 30pts
  • 3. Barazi-Epsilon, 25pts
Drivers
  • 1. T.Erdos/M.Newton, 36pts
  • 2. M.Amaral/A.Burgueño/M. de Castro, 30pts
  • 3. J.Barazi/M.Vergers/K.Ojjeh, 25pts

LMGT1

Teams
  • 1. Team ORECA, 40pts
  • 2. Luc Alphand Aventures, 37pts
  • 3. Larbre CompĂ©tition, 30pts
Drivers
  • 1. S.Ayari/S.Ortelli, 40pts
  • 2. P.Goueslard, 37pts
  • 3. J.Policand, 33pts

LM GT2

Teams
  • 1. Virgo Motorsport, 42pts
  • 2. Felbermayr-Proton, 39pts
  • 3. GPC Sport, 27pts
Drivers
  • 1. R.Bell, 50pts
  • 2. M.Lieb/X.Pompidou, 39pts
  • 3. A.Simonsen, 32pts

Download the results of the season

Audi on the line

The eagerly-awaited duel between Audi and Peugeot with Pescarolo and the Lola-Aston Martin waiting to pounce on any mistakes by the big two fulfilled all its promise. The Premat-Rockenfeller R10 scooped both titles for the German make in a thrilling last round on the Silverstone circuit.

The battle between the Peugeots and the Audis first turned in favour of the French make. Minassian-Gene and Lamy-Sarrazin won the first 4 rounds in Barcelona, Monza, Spa and the Nürburging. Just when it looked like the titles were promised to the French make, Audi upset Peugeot’s applecart on the Silverstone circuit with victory going to the McNish-Capello R10, while Premat-Rockenfeller’s fourth place was good enough to give them the drivers’ title and the manufacturers’ one to Audi. Pescarolo Sport racked up a couple of rostrum finishes at Monza and Silverstone and finished first of the petrol-powered brigade. Mücke-Charouz in their Lola-Aston Martin provided a lot of fireworks during the series and finished fifth in the drivers’ ratings behind the works teams.

In LM P2, the Porsche RS Spyders steamrolled the opposition. Victory went to the Van Merksteijn entry in which Jos Verstappen set 5 pole positions. They were followed by the Essex Racing and Horag Racing Spyders. In LM GT1, Luc Alphand Adventures won thanks to Moreau-Goueslard after a fierce battle with Team Modena’s Aston Martin, while in LM GT2 Rob Bell and Virgo Motorsport held on to their titles.

LMP1

Teams
  • 1. Audi Sport Team Joest (n°2) : 35pts
  • 2. Team Peugeot-Total : 32pts
  • 3. Audi Sport Team Joest (n°1) : 27pts
Drivers
  • 1. A.PrĂ©mat/M.Rockenfeller, 35pts
  • 2. M.GenĂ©/N.Minassian, 32pts
  • 3. R.Capello/A.McNish, 27pts

LMP2

Teams
  • 1. Van Merksteijn Motorsport, 48pts
  • 2. Team Essex, 32pts
  • 3. Horag Racing, 25pts
Drivers
  • 1. J.Verstappen, 48pts
  • 2. Peter van Merksteijn, 38pts
  • 3. C.Elgaard/J.Nielsen, 32pts

LMGT1

Teams
  • 1. Luc Alphand Aventures, 42pts
  • 2. Team Modena, 36pts
  • 3. IPB Spartak Racing, 27pts
Drivers
  • 1. P.Goueslard/G.Moreau, 42pts
  • 2. T.Enge/A.Garcia, 36pts
  • 3. L.Alphand, 28pts

LM GT2

Teams
  • 1. Virgo Motorsport, 40pts
  • 2. Felbermayr-Proton, 35pts
  • 3. Farnbacher Racing, 19pts
Drivers
  • 1. R.Bell, 40pts
  • 2. A.Davison/M.Lieb, 35pts
  • 3. G.Bruni, 30pts

Download the results of the season

The Aston Martin Racing triumph

By winning the Team, Manufacturer and Driver titles of the Le Mans Series 2009 season, Aston Martin Racing, the most mythical British manufacturer, has excelled for their return in the most prestigious category of Endurance Racing and has brilliantly celebrated the 50th anniversary of its victory at Le Mans.

To the very end, predictions were made on the teams who would win the season. In LMP1, the Team Oreca-Matmut AIM was back, after missing the German race and this comeback turned out to be very successful with the third podium of the year for the team and first victory for Nicolas Lapierre and Olivier Panis. These good results allowed the Team Oreca-Matmut AIM to be third in the classification of the year. Before a mechanical failure, Henri Pescarolo's team believed they would make it and Jean-Christophe Boullion's driving talent nearly brought the team the same remarkable achievement as in 2006. They finish second in the classification, an impressive feat of David against Goliath. Finally the British Aston Martin Team wins the 2009 title, a well deserved tribute to the history of the British brand. Aston Martin Racing started the season with a modest ambition: to do their best, but as time went by, the British squad revised their target upwards, as demonstrated by the entry of three cars. First race and first win for the brand-new # 007 Lola-Aston Martin at Barcelona. From then on, good results followed with a podium at each race. The only mechanical problem occurred at Spa during the qualifying session when the engine blew. An almost flawless season for the crew, which really deserved the title and couldn't dream of a better place than its home race to clinch it.

In LMP2, the Portuguese team Quifel ASM, in spite of a shortened race at Silverstone, wins the title in their category concluding a very successful season for Olivier Pla and Miguel Amaral. In LMGT1, the Luc Alphand Team with the Corvette C6.R n°72, after a difficult season, arrived in England with the GT1 title in the bag after the Nürburgring, while Larbre Competition was determined to gain second place and the invitation for next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours that went with it. In LMP2, just the once won't hurt: the battle raged until the last minute! The Felbermayr Proton Germans win this season by one small point in front of their opponents JMW Motorsport! After a tough race they gave Porsche a title that had gone to Ferrari in the previous 2 seasons.

LMP1

Teams
  • 1. Aston Martin Racing (n°7) : 39pts
  • 2. Pescarolo Sport (n°16) : 26pts
  • 3. Team Oreca Matmut-AIM (n°10) : 23pts
Drivers
  • 1. J.Charouz/T.Enge/S.MĂĽcke : 39pts
  • 2. JC.Boullion/C.Tinseau : 26pts
  • 3. O.Panis/N.Lapierre : 22pts

LMP2

Teams
  • 1. Quifel ASM Team (n°40) : 33pts
  • 2. Speedy Racing Team Sebah (n°33) : 24pts
  • 3. Racing Box (n°29) : 23pts
Drivers
  • 1. M.Amaral/O.Pla : 33pts
  • 2. J.Kane/X.Pompidou : 24pts
  • 3. A.Ceccato/F.Francioni/G.Piccini : 23pts

LMGT1

Teams
  • 1. Luc Alphand Aventures (n°72) : 44pts
  • 2. Larbre Competition (n°50) : 34pts
  • 3. IPB Spartak Racing (n°55) : 18pts
Drivers
  • 1. P.Goueslard/Y.Clairay : 44pts
  • 2. R.Berville : 34pts
  • 3. P.Kox : 28pts

LM GT2

Teams
  • 1. Team Felbermayr Proton (n°77) : 36pts
  • 2. JMW Motorsport (n°92) : 35pts
  • 3.Team Modena (n°84) : 24pts
Drivers
  • 1. M.Lieb/R.Lietz : 36pts
  • 2. R.Bell/G.Bruni : 35pts
  • 3 A.Garcia/L.Mansell : 24pts

Download the results of the season