• Categories
    • Car Racing
    • Featured Articles
    • Motor Shows & Car Events
    • History of Cars
    • Automotive Photography
    • Behind the Scenes
    • #MiniSeries
    • Travel
    • Review Books
    • Review Cars
    • Review Products
  • Porsche Only
    • Engine downsizing at Porsche racing
    • PORSCHE 911 RSR – MARCH OF PROGRESS
    • Porsche 919 Hybrid – Technological Advantage
    • Déjà Vu of Porsche 911 2.4 S – Part 2
  • Book Shop
    • AC-Shelby Cobra
    • Ferrari 250 GTO: Owners’ Workshop Manual
    • Ferrari Design: The Definitive Study
    • Jaguar E-type: Portrait of a Design Icon
    • Porsche 956 962: A Photographic History
    • Porsche 911 Carrera RS interactive eBook
    • Porsche 911 Scrapbook: The Air-Cooled Cars
    • Porsche 917: The Complete Photographic History
    • Porsche 924/928/944/968
    • Porsche at Le Mans
    • Porsche: The Carrera Dynasty
  • About
  • Contributors
    • Alisdair Cusick
    • Annie Proffit
    • Elke Smale
    • Glen Smale
    • John Mountney
    • Pim van der Veer
    • Roland Harrison
    • Zoltan Papp
  • Contact

Virtual Motorpix

Blog site for Virtual Motorpix with interesting articles on racing, motor sports and cars

Le Mans 24H GTE PRO

May 27, 2016 by: Virtual Motorpix | 2 Comments

#92 Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche Team Manthey, driven by Patrick Pilet, Frederic Makowiecki, Wolf Henzler, Q1, Le Mans 24hr 2015
The #92 Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet, Frédéric Makowiecki and Wolf Henzler during Q1 for the 2015 Le Mans 24-Hours

This week we are looking at the Le Mans 24H GTE PRO class, and who is likely to do what in the forthcoming duel at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Last week we stuck our neck out and predicted a Porsche win in the LMP1 class, so let us examine who stands out in the tightly contested manufacturer GT class.

#77, Porsche 911 RSR (2016),Dempsey Proton Racing,driven by Richard Lietz, Michael Christensen, 6 Hours of Silverstone 2016 (race day)
The #77 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR (2016) was driven by Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen in the 2016 Silverstone 6-Hours. The Porsche would finish sixth in class

Firstly, we have fourteen cars in the Le Mans 24H GTE PRO class this year, compared with just nine in 2015. The extra cars come in the form of four Ford GTs and an extra Porsche 911 RSR, this being the #77 Dempsey Proton car which is being supported by the factory for the whole season. Porsche have elected to compete with a pair of factory 911 RSRs of their own at Le Mans, but this is the only race they will be competing in officially as their new RSR-replacement will only be ready in 2017.

#77, Porsche 911 RSR (2016), Dempsey Proton Racing, driven by Richard Lietz, Michael Christensen, FIA WEC 6hrs of Spa 2016, 07/05/2016,
#77, Porsche 911 RSR (2016), Dempsey Proton Racing, driven by Richard Lietz, Michael Christensen, FIA WEC 6hrs of Spa 2016, 07/05/2016,

The rest of the competitors in the Le Mans 24H GTE PRO class will be made up of two Ferrari 488 GTE cars, two Aston Martin Vantages, and a pair of Corvette C7.Rs. So far this year, the #71 Ferrari of Davide Rigon/Sam Bird has won both of the first two rounds at Silverstone and Spa, so there are no prizes for guessing which team is highly motivated. The #51 Ferrari of Bruni/Calado was second at Silverstone and was leading at Spa when it blew its engine five laps from the end.

#71, Ferrari 488 GTE AF Corse Ferrari, driven by Davide Rigon, Sam Bird, FIA WEC 6hrs of Spa 2016, 07/05/2016,
The #71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE driven by Davide Rigon and Sam Bird was dealt a cruel blow while leading, when its engine failed just laps short of the flag in the 6-Hours of Spa on 7 May 2016
#51, Ferrari 488 GTE, AF Corse, driven by Gianmaria Bruni, James Calado, FIA WEC 6hrs of Spa 2016, 07/05/2016,
Gianmaria Bruni and James Calado picked up the baton in #51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE when their team mates retired from the Spa race, and went on to win the race

This brought the Ford GT into the picture, because the #67 car finished second at Spa when the Ferrari retired in the closing stages. But if one remembers, the two Fords were glued together for most of the Silverstone race finishing fourth and fifth, which tells you that their reliability is strong. Could we see a classic Ford/Ferrari clash once again at Le Mans, reminiscent of the 1960s? Alright, it isn’t with prototypes, but there will be four Fords at Le Mans. I hope it will result in a classic tussle, because it would be wonderful to watch.

#67, Ford GT, Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK, driven by Marino Franchitti, Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell, 6 Hours of Silverstone 2016 (race day)
The #67 Chip Ganassi Ford GT put in an impressive run finishing fourth in their WEC debut race in the 2016 Silverstone 6-Hour race. The car was driven by Marino Franchitti, Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell
Unfortunately, the #66 Ford GT of William Johnson, Stefan Mücke and Olivier Pla had a rather serious accident at Raidillon during the 6-Hours of Spa. Mücke, who was behind the wheel at the time, was battered and bruised but otherwise alright after his 200km/h accident
Unfortunately, the #66 Ford GT of William Johnson, Stefan Mücke and Olivier Pla had a rather serious accident at Raidillon during the 6-Hours of Spa. Mücke, who was behind the wheel at the time, was battered and bruised but otherwise alright after his 200km/h accident.

The #95 Aston Martin of Nicki Thiim/Marco Sørensen/Darren Turner finished third in class at Silverstone, with their team mates Richie Stanaway/Fernando Rees/Jonathan Adam in the #97 car finishing third at Spa. The #95 car was hit by another competitor at Spa during the second hour after the team had moved up from sixth to fourth place, so the car seemed to be going well at the time. One can therefore deduce that, mechanically, both of the Aston Martins are also looking strong and reliable in the season so far, and will snatch any chance they get to move into the top three.

#95, Aston Martin Vantage, Aston Martin Racing, driven by Darren Turner, Marco Sorensen, Nicki Thiim, 6 Hours of Silverstone 2016 (race day)
Darren Turner, Marco Sørensen and Nicki Thiim finished third in the #95 Aston Martin Vantage in the 6-Hours of Silverstone on 17 April 2016.
#97, Aston Martin Vantage, Aston Martin Racing, driven by, Richie Stanaway, Fernando Rees, Jonny Adam, FIA WEC 6hrs of Spa 2016, 07/05/2016,
Finishing third in the 2016 Spa race was Richie Stanaway, Fernando Rees and Jonny Adam in the #97 Aston Martin Vantage

This leaves just the two works Porsches which have not raced this year and the two factory Corvettes which also have not raced in Europe so far this season, which means that both manufacturers are unknown quantities at this stage. Neither of these two marques will lie down and roll over in a fight, and as Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser told the author at Silverstone, he has ‘unfinished business at Le Mans,’ after last year’s disappointing finish. The two factory RSRs have been prepared to 2016 spec which means they have slightly bigger air restrictors (2x 30.3mm compared with 2x 29.6mm last year), and they have a revised rear wing and a bigger rear diffuser. This translates into the word ‘danger’ for any competitor who thinks these Porsches will be a push-over. The #91 car will be driven by Patrick Pilet/Kevin Estre/Nick Tandy, while the #92 car is to be piloted by Earl Bamber/Frédéric Makowiecki/Joerg Bergmeister.

# 91, Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche Team Manthey, Jorg Bergmeister, Michael Christensen, Richard Lietz, Le Mans 24H 2015
Joerg Bergmeister, Michael Christensen and Richard Lietz braved several setbacks in the 2015 Le Mans 24-Hours, finishing fifth in class in the # 91 Team Manthey Porsche 911 RSR
#92 Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche Team Manthey GTE Pro, drivers: Wolf Henzler, Frederic Makowieki, Patrick Pilet at Le Mans 24H, 2015
Unfortunately, the #92 Porsche 911 RSR of Wolf Henzler, Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet retired from the 2015 Le Mans race after just 14 laps with a blown engine

Last but by no means least, the Corvette teams for Le Mans will be largely familiar to most. Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor will drive the #64 Corvette C7.R, while the #63 car will be in the hands of Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Ricky Taylor. The Taylor brothers race together in the USA in a Corvette DP team run by their father, Wayne Taylor, himself a veteran of many Le Mans races. The Corvettes opened their account State-side with a first and second finish in the GTLM class at Daytona, and this was followed up with a first and ninth place finish in class at the Sebring 12 Hours. Although the Corvettes are class points leaders in GTLM over in the US, Le Mans will be their first European race of the season.

#63 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, Corvette Racing, drivers: Ryan Briscoe, Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen, Le Mans 24H 2015
The #63 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R driven by Ryan Briscoe, Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen was involved in a serious accident during practice for the 2015 Le Mans 24-Hours. The throttle of the car stuck open in the second left curve of the Porsche Curves while Magnussen was driving, and Jan hit the wall at some 200km/h. The driver was ‘shaken but not stirred’ as the team spokesman put it, and although the car was repairable it could not be done on-site, and so the #63 car was withdrawn from the race.
#64 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, Corvette Racing, Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, Jordan Taylor, Le Mans 24H 2015
Following the exit of the team mates, Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor put in a determined effort in the #64 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, winning their class in the 2015 Le Mans race

Of the five manufacturers in the Le Mans 24H GTE PRO class, they all have a strong chance of winning their class at Le Mans in June. We stuck our neck out by predicting a winner in LMP1, but the GTE PRO class is a really difficult one to call, so much so that those lucky enough to work in VMP Towers were split on this possible outcome. As a result, the best that we do is to predict that the potential class winner will come from either the Ferrari camp or the Porsche camp.

#95, Aston Martin Vantage V8, Aston Martin Racing, Christoffer Nygaard, Marco Sorensen, Nicki Thiim, Le Mans 24H 2015
Finishing fourth in class at the 2015 Le Mans 24-Hours was the the #95 Aston Martin Vantage of Marco Sørensen, Nicki Thiim and Christoffer Nygaard

There it is, we have said our piece…next week we will look at the GTE AM class, and it is no easier there either!

Written by: Glen Smale

Save article as PDF
Share this:

Categories: Automotive Photography, Car Racing, Featured Articles Tags: Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari, Le Mans 24H, Porsche, Silverstone, Spa, WEC

Comments

  1. Woody... says

    May 27, 2016 at 4:33 pm

    Until I see something different, the Ferrari entries from AF CORSE and the single car entry of Risi Competizione and their Ferrari 488 will be favored teams to take the LeMans win. Risi and AF are both highly experienced winners at LeMans, both teams drivers have driven for each other at times and I’m sure will race each other hard. The pace shown by the Ferrari in the first two races by the AF Ferraris leads me to think that we may have a lockout of the podium of those teams. Many have speculated the Fords are sandbagging their true pace in hopes of getting a more favorable BoP, but their sole reason for entering 4 cars is to win LeMans on the 50th anniversary of their win in 1966. Other than the Ferrari teams, I just don’t see the pace from the others to challenge the prancing horse teams…

  2. Woody... says

    May 27, 2016 at 4:42 pm

    You forgot to mention the Risi Competizione team will be at this years LeMans, a US based Ferrari that has 3 LeMans wins on their resume’…they have Toni Vilander and Giancarlo Fisichella as drivers, they’ve had much LeMans experience with AF CORSE, both winning LeMans twice and also 2 WEC titles apiece….Risi Competizione will be a major player with their 488 out from under IMSA’s Ferrari restrictive BoP…

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Top quality commentary and photography on cars, motoring and motorsport across the ages.

Advertisement

Connect with us

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

E-mail Subscription

Please complete the form below if you would like to receive e-mail updates of new posts from Virtual Motorpix Blog.

Recent Articles

  • Toyota Gazoo Racing – 2017 WEC Plans
  • FCA (Fiat Chrysler Alfa) Driving Event Cardiff
  • Fiat 124 Sport Spider
  • Fiat 500
  • Jaguar E-type Restoration – Part 2
  • Cobra-Ferrari Wars 1963-1965
All Tags ››

Archives

Our other websites

Join us on Facebook

Please share our website

Follow us on Twitter

Tweets by Virtual Motorpix Blog

Contact us

We welcome your questions, comments and feedback. Please click here to contact us.

Connect with us

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 Virtual Motorpix. All Rights Reserved.

 

Loading Comments...