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Virtual Motorpix

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

Le Mans 24H GTE AM

June 3, 2016 by: Virtual Motorpix | Leave a Comment

#83, Ferrari F458 Italia, AF Corse, driven by Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard, Rui Aguas, FIA WEC 6hrs of Silverstone 2016, 17/04/2016,
Its a driver change for the #83 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia driven by Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Aguas during the WEC 6hrs of Silverstone on 17 April 2016

Over the last couple of weeks we have looked at the prospects of the 24H GTE PRO and LMP1 classes at the Le Mans 24-Hour race, which takes place in about two weeks time. So, this week it is the turn of the Le Mans 24H GTE AM, guys. While this class caters for one-year old cars driven by Gold, Silver and Bronze drivers, there are also some Platinum drivers here too. Last year for instance, the GTE AM #72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia would have qualified in fifth place (out of eight cars) in the GTE PRO class. Looked at another way, the top five GTE AM cars at the 2015 Le Mans race would have qualified inside the time of the slowest of the GTE PRO cars. That’s food for thought…!

#88, Porsche 911 RSR, Abu Dhabi Proton Racing, driven by Khaled Al Qubaisi,Pat Long, David Heinemeier Hansson, Silverstone 6h, 2016 (afternoon of scrutineering 14.4.16)
This shot of the #88 Abu Dhabi Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR driven by Khaled Al Qubaisi, Pat Long and David Heinemeier Hansson, was taken on 14 April, the afternoon of scrutineering at the 2016 Silverstone 6-Hours
#78, Porsche 911 RSR, KCMG, driven by Christian Ried, Joel Camathias, Wolf Henzler, FIA WEC 6hrs of Spa 2016, 05/05/2016,
At the 2016 Spa 6-Hours, the #78 KCMG Porsche 911 RSR of Christian Ried, Joel Camathias and Wolf Henzler finished in fourth place

So clearly, there is no shortage of competition and rivalry in the Le Mans 24H GTE AM class, so without any further waffle, let’s take a look at what the contenders in this class have done so far this year. In the first two races of 2016, this being Silverstone and Spa, we have seen six cars competing in both races, but for Le Mans this class has been expanded to thirteen cars, more than double what we have had so far this year.

#50, Chevrolet Corvette C7.Z06, Larbre Competition, driven by Yutaka Yamagishi, Paolo Ruberti, Pierre Ragues, FIA WEC 6hrs of Silverstone 2016, 15/04/2016, (FP2)
Yutaka Yamagishi, Paolo Ruberti and Pierre Ragues drove a steady race in the #50 Larbre Competition Chevrolet Corvette C7.Z06, finishing third in the WEC 6hrs of Silverstone 2016
#50, Chevrolet Corvette C7.Z06, Larbre Competition, driven by Yutaka Yamagishi, Paolo Ruberti, Pierre Ragues, FIA WEC 6hrs of Spa 2016, 05/05/2016,
At the WEC 6hrs of Spa, Yutaka Yamagishi, Paolo Ruberti and Pierre Ragues again finished third in the #50 Larbre Competition Chevrolet Corvette C7.Z06 on the 7th May 2016

Keeping things conveniently simple for us, the same three cars have finished in the top three places on both occasions, with just the final order being shuffled to keep things honest. At Silverstone it was the #83 Ferrari F458 Italia of Perrodo/Collard/Aguas in first place, with the #98 Aston Martin Vantage V8 of Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda in second, and the #50 Corvette C7-Z06 driven by Yamagishi/Ragues/Ruberti in third place. At Spa it was #98 Aston Martin Vantage V8 first, the #83 Ferrari F458 Italia in second place, with the #50 Corvette C7-Z06 in third place.

#98, Aston Martin Vantage, Aston Martin Racing, driven by Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda, FIA WEC 6hrs of Silverstone 2016, 15/04/2016, (FP2)
At the 6-Hours of Silverstone, Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda finished a fine second in the #98 Aston Martin Vantage
#86, Porsche 911 RSR, Gulf Racing, driven by Michael Wainwright, Adam Carroll, Ben Barker, FIA WEC, 6h of Silverstone 2016
The #86 Gulf Racing Porsche 911 RSR driven by Michael Wainwright, Adam Carroll and Ben Barker, was the victim of a race-ending accident at the WEC 6-Hours of Silverstone 2016

At Silverstone, the two Porsches (#78 KCMG and #88 Abu Dhabi-Proton) finished in fourth and fifth places, with the #86 Gulf Racing being involved in the race-ending accident with the #1 works Porsche of Brendon Hartley. At Spa, all three Porsches finished with the #78 car fourth, the #86 RSR in fifth and the #88 in sixth.

#78, Porsche 911 RSR, KCMG, driven by Christian Ried ,Joel Camathias, Wolf Henzler, 6 Hours of Silverstone 2016 (race day)
The #78 KCMG Porsche 911 RSR driven by Christian Ried, Joel Camathias and Wolf Henzler came home in fourth spot in the 2016 WEC 6-Hours of Silverstone
#86, Porsche 911 RSR, Gulf Racing, driven by Michael Wainwright, Adam Carroll, Ben Barker, FIA WEC 6hrs of Spa 2016, 06/05/2016,
Following the unfortunate incident at Silverstone, the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche 911 RSR of driven by Michael Wainwright, Adam Carroll and Ben Barker came home in fifth place in the 2016 WEC 6-Hours of Spa

For Le Mans, the Le Mans 24H GTE AM class will be made up of two Corvettes (#50 and #57), five Ferrari 458 Italias (#55, #60, #61, #62 and #83), four Porsche 911 RSRs (#78, #86, #88 and #89), and a pair of Aston Martin Vantage V8s (#98 and #99). Looking at the Silverstone and Spa results, you have to assume that the top three finishers in those two races will again feature at Le Mans, but the strength and depth of the rest of the class is quite formidable. Ferrari are clearly present in numbers, fielding four additional cars, Porsche has one additional car along with the Corvette and Aston Martin teams, making an extra seven contenders.

#98, Aston Martin Vantage, Aston Martin Racing, driven by Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda, FIA WEC 6hrs of Spa 2016, 07/05/2016,
Having finished second at Silverstone, the #98 Aston Martin Vantage of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda won its class at the WEC 6-Hours of Spa on 7th May 2016
#83, Ferrari F458 Italia, AF Corse, driven by Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard, Rui Aguas, FIA WEC 6hrs of Spa 2016, 05/05/2016,
Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Aguas finished second in the WEC 6-Hours of Spa in their #83 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia

After much discussion amongst the members of the VMP staff, we have come up with the following (potential) result in Le Mans 24H GTE AM: 1st place – #83 (Ferrari); 2nd place – #98 (Aston Martin); and 3rd place – #86 (Porsche). Now that we have stuck our collective necks out, it remains to say that this year’s Le Mans race will see a field of 60 cars in total, instead of the traditional 55 starters, all of which translates into more action on the track…just what the spectators want!! Next week it is the turn of the LMP2 cars to come under the spotlight, this class being the biggest by far, with 23 teams fighting for the honours…

Hope to see you there!

Written by: Glen Smale

Photographs by: Glen Smale and John Mountney

(For more images, check out our website: Virtualmotorpix.com

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Categories: Automotive Photography, Car Racing, Featured Articles Tags: Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari, Le Mans 24H, Porsche, Silverstone, Spa 6H

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