Without a doubt the better of the two GT classes at Le Mans this year, with several Porsche and Ferrari teams battling for victory. Ferrari outnumbers Porsche with no fewer than ten F430 GT2s entered compared to five 997 GT3 RSRs. A Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R and a Aston Martin Vantage GT2 complete the field.
In 2008 Porsches challenge for victory was soon over when the Flying Lizard and IMSA Performance Matmut car collided early on in the race. As a result the Ferrari teams dominated the entire 24 hours and the Italian marque secured the first four places, with the first Porsche in fifth place. The Porsche squads are waiting to take on the Ferrari teams this year. Let’s see who is racing where.
© Planetlemans
70-IMSA Performance Matmut: The first Porsche 997 GT3 RSR on the GT2 list is the second IMSA Performance Matmut entry. After several withdrawals this car was invited to join and as a result Michel Lecourt will make his Le Mans debut this year. He will be joined by Horst Felbermayr Jr and Sr who have ’stepped down’ from their own entry. Not really candidate for a top three finish under normal circumstances.
© Endurance Asia Team
75-Endurance Asia Team: The first Chinese team to race at Le Mans, though effectively run by Thierry Perrier’s Perspective Racing squad. Canadian born Chinese driver Darryl O’Young, who races for ProSpeed Competition in FIA GT this year, is the only Asian driver in the car though as he is joined by French driver Philippe Hesnault, who raced for Perspective Racing in the LMS in ‘06 and ‘07 and Plamen Kralev, a Bulgarian FIA GT3 driver. None of the drivers has ever driven at Le Mans before so everything will be new for them. For Kralev things could be even more difficult as it is also the first time for him in a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR. The car could have one of the best liveries of Le Mans 2009 though.
© Planetlemans
76-IMSA Performance Matmut: The lead IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche will again see Raymond Narac being joined by American Pat Long. The team hopes to put their 2008 bad luck behind them when the race ended pretty soon after the incident with the Lizards car. New for 2009 is the addition of Patrick Pilet instead of Richard Lietz. Pilet and Narac also race together in the LMS and GT Open and as Long knows the team this car could be in for a top position, as long as they stay out of trouble.
© Planetlemans
77-Team Felbermayr Proton: Without a doubt the number one Porsche in the GT2 class at Le Mans this year. A full works line up means Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz and Wolf Henzler will be teaming up in an attempt to beat the sixteen other GT2 cars and take victory. Other than saying this is a top line up and a real contender for class victory there isn’t much to say about this entry.
© Planetlemans
78-AF Corse: The first Ferrari on our preview is a decent one. AF Corse’s entry is basically the Advanced Engineering Pecom Racing Team entry that finished second in the Sebring 12 Hours this year. Even though no other major European teams were there they beat all the factory teams in the ALMS opener. Gianmaria Bruni, Luis Perez Companc and Matias Russo are ready for it and hope for a repeat of their Sebring success…or even better. If things go well, they might just do that.
© Planetlemans
80-Flying Lizard Motorsports: Despite being together in one team for several years Le Mans is the first time Jörg Bergmeister, Darren Law and Seth Neiman will be together in one car. In fact Law will make his debut at Le Mans. Even though Bergmeister is onboard as a Porsche factory and both he and Law won their classes at the Daytona 24 Hours it remains to be seen if this car will be able to keep up with the top in class.
© Planetlemans
81-Team Seattle Advanced Engineering: Three Americans (Joe Foster, Don Kitch and actor/race driver Patrick Dempsey) will share this Ferrari F430 GT2. The main aim of Team Seattle is to raise money for the Seattle Children’s Hospital…but Le Mans is also a place for racing and back at the Le Mans Series test in April the drivers weren’t particularly fast to say the least. Everything for charity…let’s hope they will do as many laps as possible.
© Planetlemans
82-Risi Competizione: The first of two Risi Ferrari F430 GT2s. “Never change a winning team” is a phrase that Giuseppe Risi had enough of as he signed Pierre Kaffer to partner Jaime Melo for the full season. Like it was the case at Sebring Mika Salo will join the two drivers making it the best possible Ferrari line up. In the Sebring 12 Hours this exact same crew won the race, something Risi hopes to do again at Le Mans. Another candidate for the class victory if they stay away from problems.
© Planetlemans
83-Risi Competizione: Tracy Krohn, Nic Jonsson and Eric van de Poele will give it another try in the second Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT2. In 2008 the team retired from the race after hitting the barriers at Arnage in the first hour, for 2009 anything better than that is a result, but with 17 GT2 cars one cannot expect this car to finish high up in the ranks under normal circumstances. A repeat of their 2007 podium seems very unlikely.
© Planetlemans
84-Team Modena: Newcomers in GT2, but familiar with Le Mans. Team Modena moved from GT1 to GT2 for the 2009 season and will enter a Ferrari F430 GT2. Mansell will be joined by two new team mates, Pierre Ehret and Roman Rusinov. Rusinov looked set to race a Lamborghini in GT1, but was without a seat just before Spa. He brings GT experience, but has little Le Mans experience. Ehret however has raced at Le Mans several times and knows his way around in a GT2 car. Team could do well, all depends on how the drivers cooperate.
© Planetlemans
85-Snoras Spyker Squadron: The Snoras Spyker Squadron is in a good mood after scoring its first points of the LMS season last month at Spa-Francorchamps. With Tom Coronel and Jarek Janis joined by last year’s LMP2 winner Jeroen Bleekemolen the Dutch team has a strong lineup for Le Mans. Unfortunately the track record of Spyker at Le Mans is not that good and it remains to be seen what the sole Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R can do against the armada of Porsches and Ferraris. Finishing the race and being classified would be a first.
© Planetlemans
87-Drayson Racing: Paul Drayson is set to race where he wanted to race. Not only is it his first time it’s also the first time an Aston Martin Vantage GT2 will be racing in France. As usual Jonny Cocker will be racing for Drayson as well, with the third seat taken up by Marino Franchitti. Unfortunately the Vantage has not been a top car so far so a top spot could be out of their reach. Finishing Le Mans would probably be a victory for Drayson already.
© Planetlemans
89-Hankook-Team Farnbacher: Another top line up in a Ferrari F430 GT2. Dominik Farnbacher, Allan Simonsen and Christian Montanari will race together in the sole Farnbacher entry. Despite a strong start of the season, with a podium at Barcelona, the car scored a DNF at Spa and it remains to be seen what the Hankook tyres can do (or not do) at the long straights of Le Mans. Car and drivers are no problem in this case; the tyres could well become the deciding factor for this squad.
© Planetlemans
92-JMW Motorsport: Basically the old Virgo team under a different banner, but again very successful. In the Le Mans Series the team scored two second place finishes and as a result they lead the championship. Rob Bell will not be racing with LMS team mate Bruni at Le Mans, but will be joined by none other than Tim Sugden and Andrew Kirkaldy. Both are very experienced drivers, capable of bringing a car home when possible, but also very quick. Even though some other cars have similar or perhaps better driver combinations this team is an absolute outsider for the race win. And it will feature one-off livery at Le Mans!
© Planetlemans
96-Virgo Motorsport: Familiar name, same type of car, new faces. That is a way to describe Virgo Motorsport. Most of last year’s crew has gone to JMW but nevertheless the Virgo team has continued and made it to Le Mans. Michael and Sean McInerney will be joined by quick Dutchman Michael Vergers. It’s one of those teams that need a really good day to get a great result. If not, this could be ‘one that also ran’.
© Planetlemans
97-BMS Scuderia Italia: Second in class in 2008 BMS Scuderia Italia has decided to bring the same crew to Le Mans for 2009 in an attempt to go one better. The drivers of the Ferrari F430 GT2 (Paolo Ruberti, Matteo Malucelli and Fabio Babini) will all be very happy to do just that, but the competition is strong. In FIA GT BMS Scuderia Italia has had a poor start so far with only a points finish in the opening round. Let’s hope for the Italians that starting in Le Mans will be a turning point in their season as otherwise their hopes of a second place could disappear very quickly.
© Planetlemans
99-JMB Racing: The final Ferrari in the field of 17 cars. JMB Racing will bring a full French lineup to Le Mans. Lead driver is Christophe Bouchut, a man with tons of experience in GT racing and at Le Mans. The question remains if he is able to stay cool in a GT2 car with all the faster traffic and two inexperienced co-drivers with whom he shares the car. Bouchut’s team mates for Le Mans are FIA GT3 driver Manuel Rodrigues as well as FFSA GT driver Yvan Lebon. Even though French drivers can score incredible results on home soil it is unlikely that this car will finish in the top 6, unless others hit trouble of course.
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