ELMS 2019 – 41 entries and new features

After confirming yesterday 42 of the 60 “guests” to the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 15-16), the ACO and its subsidiary LMEM unveiled this morning the list of entries for the 2019 season of the European Le Mans Series. If it had been announced that there would only be 40 registered for the year, there will ultimately be one more, the selection committee having struggled to decide. “ It is a great satisfaction to see how the European Le Mans Series is an attractive championship and perfectly fulfills its role in the pyramid of theEndurance to which we are attached, underlines the president of the ACO Pierre Fillon. The quality of the field perfectly sums up the quality of this championship. »

The LM P2 will see no less than 18 cars competing. Oreca is unsurprisingly the manufacturer best represented since there will be eleven 07s against six Ligier JS P217s and only one Dallara P217. The main novelty comes from the arrival in the discipline of Carlin, one of the most successful teams in the history of the sport. car on a global scale, which notably began last year in IndyCar Series. It is also she who will line up the only Italian chassis present.

Other changes: High Class Racing has swapped its Dallara for an Oreca, Panis Barthez Compétition has doubled its workforce unlike Graff who will only field an Oreca 07. Four teams that shone in LM P3 have made the big leap, namely Cool Racing (who will rely on Nicolas Lapierre), RLR MSport, Inter Europol Competition and BHK Motorsport.

DragonSpeed, United Autosports, Algarve Pro Racing (which now has two Oreca 07s), IDEC Sport and Duqueine Engineering are all leaving with a program similar or almost similar to last year, with the firm intention of tripping up G-Drive Racing and his boss-pilot Roman Rusinov. Racing Engineering, which shone so well last year for its first campaign in LM P2, will not be there.

No fewer than 14 cars and ten teams will attempt to succeed RLR MSport in LM P3, including ten Ligier JS P3s and four Norma M30s. Apart from the nine teams already present last year, note the return of Graff under the name Realteam Racing.

Finally, the best news perhaps comes from the GTE, a category which had difficulty filling its ranks in past years. Nine cars should be present, five Ferrari and four Porsche, including a pair of 911 RSRs for outgoing champion Proton Competition, one of which will be entered under the Dempesey-Proton Racing banner. Note the presence of two 488 GTEs for Kessel Racing, including one entrusted to a 100% female crew led by the Italian Manuela Gostner.

« The European Le Mans Series once again attracts the best European teams, underlining its position as a major continental championship in the world, welcomes the general director of the championship Gérard Neveu. This season, given the very high level in LM P2, not one but two invitations for the 24 2020 Hours of Le Mans will be offered to the champion and vice-champion. Thus, with the invitations given to the LM P3 champion and the two best GTE teams, the European Le Mans Series will have five guaranteed entries for the 24 2020 Hours of Le Mans. »

Two invitations to Le Mans to win in LM P2? This promises an even more intense fight. First round on April 14, at Le Castellet.