LE Mans GT1 & GT2 & GTE?

[A10ARF]

Is the 'GTE' le Mans class currently used on the race series , going to replace the GT1 & GT2 classes at the 24 hour event ?

I watched the spa lm series race on Motors tv recently and was just wondering why there is a different GT class from the 24 Hour race

[webby74]

If i recall correctly,gte is replacing the old gt2, and gt1 is no more in the ilmc,lms etc. gte pro is, as the name sounds for professional drivers and gte am is for amature drivers. gte battles should be the pick of the racing this year due to the size of the field

[A10ARF]

Ah, cheers for info

[Chris71]

As far as the cars go, there only is one GT class of any description this year - GTE (short for GT Endurance and basically the old GT2 rules). The drivers are split into pro and amateur (gentleman driver) classes, however.

[Great Dane]

Yeah I am looking forward to cars #51, #66, #73, #74, #77 and #89 going at it 100% for 24h.... there have been some epic races in the past...

Edited by Great Dane on Wednesday 18th May 21:41

[The Leaper]

You're not a fan of The Lizards then! I'll be supporting nos. 80 & 81 as usual.

R.

[timbo48]

"You're not a fan of The Lizards then! I'll be supporting nos. 80 & 81 as usual."

+1


Don't seem to have much luck at LM though. Maybe better luck this year with two cars.

[FredericRobinson]

Not quite as simple as the cars being the same in both classes, the AM class teams aren't allowed cars less than a year old, hence 430's in AM and 458's in PRO

[fordyx]

The Leaper said:

You're not a fan of The Lizards then! I'll be supporting nos. 80 & 81 as usual.

R.

Am i right in thinking the Lizards weren't at the test or am i going mad finally? (its all the preparation excitment you see) They weren't on the list of attendee's
Assume they are still 'on' for the big one?
Am not a close follower of them, just love the whole class battle's each race / season. Lot more exciting than the prototype's :-)

[fordyx]

fordyx said:

Am i right in thinking the Lizards weren't at the test or am i going mad finally? (its all the preparation excitment you see) They weren't on the list of attendee's
Assume they are still 'on' for the big one?
Am not a close follower of them, just love the whole class battle's each race / season. Lot more exciting than the prototype's :-)

right, ignore the above question, just seen the scrutineering schedule and see they are set for 13.50 on Monday

[Great Dane]

Haven't seen them that much.... will be rooting for the Danish drivers....

[The Leaper]

The Lizards were not at the testing/practice session. Probably too expensive for a USA based private entry, particularly as they are coming with two cars this year. They had auto entry for 2011.

They are a major force in the GT class of ALMS.

Must be 5-6 years in a row now that the've been to Le Mans, one car only, and they have finished in the past.

I'm not a Porsche fan at all but there's just something about their privateering spirit that appeals to me, and lots of others too it seems.

I've got their T shirts for 2011 and ready to go! All that remains now is for The Lizards to see off all those frisky Ferraris!

R.

[Great Dane]

As a new thing I will be rooting for the JA Lotus.... A former student of mine is their team manager. We got a tour and food at Spa. Saw the Lizards quite a lot last year from the pit lodge of Aston Martin - they were neighbours. Seemed to run a slick show....

Edited by Great Dane on Wednesday 18th May 23:32

[Man-At-Arms]

timbo48 said:

"You're not a fan of The Lizards then! I'll be supporting nos. 80 & 81 as usual."

+1


Don't seem to have much luck at LM though. Maybe better luck this year with two cars.

but nobody can have less luck than the JLOC team !

[timbo48]

"but nobody can have less luck than the JLOC team !"

......except perhaps the ALMS GT2 Jaguar that appeared, very briefly, last year. Or was it 2009, saw so little of it that I can't even remember which year it was.

[FredericRobinson]

I'm not sure luck was a particularly large factor in the performances of JLOC or the Jag tbh!

[Great Dane]

A lot of JLOC "bad luck" was self inflicted.... welding subchassis together.... not wanting to listen to the engineer sent to help them etc

[GD47]

The Leaper said:

The Lizards were not at the testing/practice session. Probably too expensive for a USA based private entry, particularly as they are coming with two cars this year. They had auto entry for 2011.

They are a major force in the GT class of ALMS.

Must be 5-6 years in a row now that the've been to Le Mans, one car only, and they have finished in the past.

I'm not a Porsche fan at all but there's just something about their privateering spirit that appeals to me, and lots of others too it seems.

I've got their T shirts for 2011 and ready to go! All that remains now is for The Lizards to see off all those frisky Ferraris!

R.

Seen those frisky Ferraris (458s) race a few times already this year. They look great, sound quite unusual for a V8 and will take some beating at Le Mans me thinks.

[The Leaper]

A lot more Ferraris than Porsches and they are more modern technology too so I think The Lizards are up against it for 2011. I'll still root for them though, and I've no real nor logical idea why!

R.

[Tyre Smoke]

Lizards should do better this year having 'dumped' Seth Nieman into the 81 Amateur car. They qualified pole last year but as in 2009, failed to finish.

Best result they have ever had was 3rd in 2007, I think.

I know Seth is the boss, but he was like a boat anchor compared to the other drivers in the car and severely hampered their effort at La Sarthe. He rarely drives in the ALMS which why they appear to have bad results at the 24hr relative to what they do in ALMS.

Risi Competizione not there this year, which is a shame.