Le Mans News

Team Bentley has confirmed the final details of its 2003 racing programme, registering two-car entries for both Le Mans and Sebring and tabbing ex-Formula One drivers Johnny Herbert, David Brabham and Mark Blundell to drive the second car.

Eddie Irvine has turned down an opportunity to join Bentley's 2003 Le Mans assault, preferring instead to keep his limited options open in Formula One.

The idea to run a 24-hour race at Le Mans was born in 1922 at the Salon de l?Automobile in Paris. At the same location, some eighty years later, the race organising Automobile Club de l?Ouest [ACO] handed over the historic Le Mans trophy to Audi.

Together with the chairman of the board of AUDI AG, Dr Martin Winterkorn, around 4000 Audi and motorsport fans celebrated Audi?s triple victory at the Le Mans 24 Hour race in the Audi Forum at Ingolstadt on Tuesday evening.

Shortly after returning from its momentous showing in the 2002 Le Mans 24-hour race, the DEWALT/RSS Morgan Aero 8 will take part in the Hillclimb competition at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, piloted by Le Mans drivers, Richard Stanton and Steve Hyde, who are joined for this special occasion by

London based Piper Design, a leading British design engineering company, is currently developing its PO1 LMP900 Sportscar with the aim of competing in next year's Le Mans 24 Hour race.

Canadian Corvette driver Ron Fellows has been rendered hors de combat after going down with a bout of food poisoning at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Two leading British entries in the 70th Le Mans 24 Hours hit problems in the 13th hour, as the GTS leading Prodrive Ferrari caught alight and the sole Bentley visited the gravel trap.

Ascari's Le Mans effort looks to have ended early with a dramatic accident for Werner Lupberger in the #27 car as the rear suspension failed going in to Indianapolis.

Rumours that have circulated at Le Mans about the N.5 Audi R8, the Audi Sport Japan Team Goh car of Ara/Dalmas/Katoh, having had a huge accident on Wednesday night appear to be firming up.

At 3.00am on Friday morning David Brabham, Jan Magnussen and Bryan Herta faced the realization that they could miss this year's Le Mans 24 Hour. A fire had broken out in the car after Bryan Herta had struck some debris which punched a hole in the floor and damaged the oil filter.

At 3.00am on Friday morning David Brabham, Jan Magnussen and Bryan Herta faced the realization that they could miss this year's Le Mans 24 Hour.

The Le Mans timetable means that Friday is a day with no track activity, giving the teams the opportunity to prepare their cars for tomorrow's race. Running the two MG Sport and Racing cars is the CMS team - led by the hugely experienced Hugh Chamberlain.

The aurally-exciting Morgan Aero 8 is rapidly turning into the car the Le Mans crowd are adopting this year. A superb lap from Le Mans rookie Richard Hay ensured the car easily qualified in the GT category, and Crash asked Richard how he was enjoying his Le Mans:

ORECA Group, leaders in endurance racing, and Dassault System's today announced that ORECA Motorsport uses CATIA V5 and SMARTEAM solutions for designing the prototypes for their new 24 hours of Le Mans cars.

MG Sport and Racing will start the 2002 Le Mans 24-Hours with their cars sixth and twelfth on the 50-car grid.

Klaus Zwart's Ascari marque enter this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans with only a single Judd powered KZR1 LMP900 prototype after being snubbed by the French race organisers but after going on a winter diet the car is much lighter and still hasn't lost her looks.

Nevada born TJ Bell will drive the British sportscar marque Ascari at this years 24 Hours of Le Mans, joining Briton Ben Collins and South African Werner Lupberger as the team looks to take on the might of the German and American manufacturers.

MG Sport and Racing will be out in force at Silverstone on Monday when - in a real treat for motorsport fans - the MG Lola EX257 Le Mans car will put in some demonstration laps of the circuit.

The Morgan Motor Company is celebrating its return to the race track at Le Mans with special commemorative editions of its classic Plus 8 and 4/4 sports cars.

Complete results from the May 5th test day at the 8.62-mile Le Mans circuit in France: Preliminaries [Sunday, May 5]:

Team Ascari's 'grand tour' of the sports car racing classics continues as the Banbury, Oxfordshire, team heads to Le Mans this weekend for the obligatory test day.

Team Ascari has today announced that Britain's Ben Collins will drive with South African Werner Lupberger at this years 24 Hours of Le Mans as the British sportscar marque makes its final preparations for the weekends preliminary practice sessions in France.

Briton Guy Smith begins his duties as official test driver for Team Bentley next week, when he joins three-day endurance test at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France.