GENERAL MOTORS AND GM RACING FOCUS TWO-TIERED EFFORT FOR 70TH LE MANS 24 HOURS
LE MANS, May 5, 2002 – This year's 70th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours will see General Motors return to the famous Sarthe racetrack with two legendary brands, Cadillac and Corvette. The world's leading car manufacturer enters four cars in two competition classes: two Cadillac Northstar LMP 02s in the LMP900 prototype class and two Chevrolet Corvette C5-Rs in the GTS category. The cars and teams will compete against the leading names in the automotive world, including Audi, Bentley, Ferrari and Chrysler. In total, it will be the fourth time Cadillac enters the world's most grueling race; for Corvette it will be the 16th time the legendary sports car tackles the famed Sarthe track.
GM's two international endurance-racing teams will take time out from extensive North American testing programs to journey to Le Mans, France for the one-day test in preparation for the June 15-16 classic 24-hour road race. The May 5 date is the only opportunity for the 50-car field to utilize the actual race track and public roads that make up the 13.9-kilometer track for the world's toughest endurance race.
Cadillac's Le Mans program is part of the changing face of the division and its expanding role in the marketplace. Cadillac will bring the new Cadillac Northstar LMP 02 twin-turbo racecars to compete in the LMP900 class. The new cars were designed and fabricated in a cooperative effort between GM Racing engineers and racecar designer Nigel Stroud in England, and assembled by Team Cadillac in Atlanta, Georgia. Although this will be the third year of a three-year program focusing on Le Mans, it will be just the second race for the new design, having made its race debut at Sebring in March.
Following the Open Test, Team Cadillac will continue extensive testing on North American tracks with a target of completing 19,000 kilometers of testing prior to returning to Le Mans for the race in June. Several of these tests will be designed to simulate 24 hour of continuous competition.
Corvette Racing will return to Le Mans as defending GTS class winners from 2001 with the same, yet more refined C5-Rs. Corvette continues the Chevrolet tradition of racing production-based vehicles to improve the breed and enhance the image of GM performance globally. In addition to Corvette, the Chevrolet Camaro and Monza models have also raced in Le Mans.
The Le Mans race will be the last outing for the two C5-R chassis that have racked up numerous wins and 1-2-finishes including last year's Le Mans and Daytona 24 Hours, the 2001 America Le Mans Series (ALMS) GTS Manufacturers' and Teams' Championships and the 2002 12 Hours of Sebring.
General Motors has a tradition of racing in Le Mans dating back to 1950, when American entrepreneur Briggs Cunningham entered two Cadillac's for the first time, finishing 10th and 11th position overall. It wouldn't be until 2000 before Cadillac returned as a manufacturer, although the brand's engines had been used in Allard cars in 1950, '51 and '53.
That same Briggs Cunningham would be the first to enter a Chevrolet Corvette in Le Mans in 1960, netting an eighth place overall on this first attempt. Corvette had been coming regularly to Le Mans until 1982 and later returned in the mid-90s when regulations allowed GT cars back into the race. For three decades, Corvette's famous engine also powered cars from other brands such as Bizzarini, Callaway, Chaparral, Courage, Iso-Rivolta, Lola, Lotus, Marcos and March.
Other GM brands to have supplied engines for Le Mans include Buick (with March, Norma and Tiga), Oldsmobile (with Riley & Scott) and Pontiac (with Spice).
GM brands or components were entered in 955 race events in 54 major racing series in 2001. GM brands produced 701 wins on paved ovals, dirt tracks, road courses, drag strips and street circuits in stock cars, sports cars, sprint and off-road configurations. GM participates globally in motorsports to continually develop its people and products and leverage its marketing programs.
70th LE MANS 24 HOURS
RACE SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 4, 2002
| 09:00 – 18:00 | Scrutineering |
Sunday, May 5, 2002
| 09:00 – 13:00 | Practice LMP900, LMGTP, LMP675, GTS and GT | | 14:00 – 18:00 | Practice LMP900, LMGTP, LMP675, GTS and GT |
INTERNET
Additional information can be found on following websites:
media.gm.com
www.cadillac.com/news/motor_r.htm
www.chevrolet.com/motorsports/index.htm
www.cadillaceurope.com
www.chevroleteurope.com
www.autosport.com
www.speedvision.com
www.americanlemans.com
www.dailysportscar.com
www.spiritof.com.fr
www.racing1.de
www.lemans.org
70th LE MANS 24 HOURS
ENTRY LIST P900
| # | Team | Car | Drivers |
| 1 | Audi Sport Team Joest (1) | Audi R8 | Frank Biela (D), Emanuele Pirro (I), Tom Kristensen (DK) |
| 2 | Audi Sport North America (1) | Audi R8 | Rinaldo Capello (I), Christian Pescatori (I), Johnny Herbert (GB) |
| 3 | Audi Sport Team Joest | Audi R8 | Michael Krumm (D), Marco Werner (D), Philip Peter (A) |
| 4 | Riley & Scott Racing | R&S-Elan Mk.IIIC | Jim Matthews (USA), Guy Smith (GB), Marc Goossens (B) |
| 5 | Audi Sport Japan Team Goh | Audi R8 | Yannick Dalmas (F), Hiroki Katoh (J), Seiji Ara (J) |
| 6 | Team Cadillac | Cadillac Northstar LMP 02 | Eric Bernard (F), Emmanuel Collard (F), JJ Lehto (FIN) |
| 7 | Team Cadillac | Cadillac Northstar LMP 02 | Max Angelelli (I), Wayne Taylor (USA), Christophe Tinseau (F) |
| 9 | Kondo Racing | Dome-Judd S101 | Masahiko Kondo (J) |
| 11 | Panoz Motor Sports | Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S | Jan Magnussen (DK), David Brabham (AUS), Bryan Herta (USA) |
| 12 | Panoz Motor Sports | Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S | David Donohue (USA), Bill Auberlen (USA), Gunnar Jeannette (USA) |
| 13 | Courage Compétition | Courage-Judd C60JX | Didier Cottaz (F), Boris Derichebourg (F), Thed Björk (S) |
| 14 | Playstation Team Oreca< | Dallara-Judd | Franck Montagny (F), Olivier Beretta (MC), Sébastien Bourdais (F) |
| 15 | Playstation Team Oreca | Dallara-Judd | Nicolas Minassian (F) |
| 16 | Racing for Holland | Dome-Judd S101 | Jan Lammers (NL), Val Hillebrand (NL), Tom Coronel (NL) |
| 17 | Pescarolo Sport (1) | Courage-Peugeot C60 | Sébastien Bourdais (F), Franck Lagorce (F), Jean-Christophe Bouillion (F) |
| 18 | Pescarolo Sport | Courage-Peugeot C60 | Eric Hélary (F), Ukyo Katayama (J), Stéphane Ortelli (F) |
| 19 | MBD Sportscar | Panoz-Honda LMP-07 | Didier de Radigues (B), Milka Duno (VZ), John Graham (CDN) |
| 20 | MBD Sportscar (2) | Panoz-Honda LMP-07 | Withdrawn |
| 21 | Team Ascari | Ascari-Judd KZR-1 | Christian Vann (GB), Ben Collins (GB), Justin Wilson (GB) |
| 22 | DAMS | Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S | Perry McCarthy (GB), Marc Duez (B), Jerome Policand (F) |
| 23 | DAMS | Lola-Judd B98/10 | Philippe Gache (F), Sascha Maassen (D), Michel Neugarten (B) |
ENTRY LIST GTP
| # | Team | Car | Drivers |
| 8 | Team Bentley | Bentley EXP Speed 8 | Andy Wallace (GB), Butch Leitzinger (USA), Eric Van de Poele (B) |
ENTRY LIST P675
| # | Team | Car | Drivers |
| 24 | AutoExe Motorsports | AutoExe-Mazda LMP-02 | Yojiro Terada (J), Jim Downing (USA), John Fergus (USA) |
| 25 | Welter Racing | WR-Peugeot LM2001 | Jean-René de Fournoux (F), Stéphane Daoudi (F), Jean-Bernard Bouvet (F) |
| 26 | MG Sport | MG Lola EX257 Le Mans | Mark Blundell (GB), Anthony Redi (GB), Warren Hughes (GB) |
| 27 | MG Sport | MG Lola EX257 Le Mans | Johnny Kane (GB), Julian Bailey (GB), Kevin McGarrity (GB) |
| 28 | ROC Auto | Reynard-VW 01Q-LM | Jeff Jones (USA), Ryan Jones (USA), Jeffrey Jones (USA) |
| 29 | Noel Del Bello Racing | Reynard-VW 01Q-LM | Jean-Denis Deletraz (CH), Peter Owen (GB), Mark Smithson (GB) |
| 30 | Knighthawk Racing | MG Lola EX257 Le Mans | Mel Hawkins (USA), Steven Knight (USA) |
ENTRY LIST GTS
| # | Team | Car | Drivers |
| 50 | Larbre Compétition | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | Christophe Bouchut (F), Vincent Vosse (B), Jean-Luc Chereau (F) |
| 51 | Larbre Compétition | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | |
| 52 | Equipe de France | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | Jonathan Cochet (F), Benoit Treluyer (F), Jean-Philippe Belloc (F) |
| 53 | Team Carsport Holland | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | Mike Hezemans (NL), Anthony Kumpen (B), Luca Capellari (I) |
| 57 | Team Rafanelli | Ferrari 550 Maranello | Withdrawn |
| 58 | Prodrive Allstars | Ferrari 550 Maranello | Rickard Rydell (S), Alain Menu (CH), Tomas Enge (CZ) |
| 59 | Prodrive Allstars (2) | Ferrari 550 Maranello | |
| 63 | Corvette Racing (1) | Chevrolet Corvette C5-R | Ron Fellows (CDN), Johnny O'Connell (USA), Oliver Gavin (GB) |
| 64 | Corvette Racing (1) | Chevrolet Corvette C5-R | Andy Pilgrim (GB), Kelly Collins (USA), Franck Freon (F) |
| 66 | Konrad Motorsport | Saleen S7-R | Walter Brun (CH), Terry Borcheller (USA), Gavin Pickering (GB) |
| 67 | Konrad Motorsport | Saleen S7-R | Franz Konrad (A), Charlie Slater (USA), Toni Seiler (CH) |
| 68 | RML (1) | Saleen S7-R | Ian McKellar (GB), Tomas Erdos (BR), Ron Johnson (USA) |
ENTRY LIST GT
| # | Team | Car | Drivers |
| 70 | JMB Compétition | Ferrari 360 Modena | André Garbagnati (F), Andrea Montermini (I) |
| 71 | JMB Compétition | Ferrari 360 Modena | Jon Vannini (USA) |
| 72 | Luc Alphand Aventures | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | Luc Alphand (F), Christian Lavieille (F), Olivier Thévenin (F) |
| 73 | DeWalt Racesports Salisbury | Morgan Aero 8 | |
| 74 | Auto Palace | Ferrari 360 Modena | |
| 75 | Orbit | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | Gary Schultheis (USA), Tony Kester (USA) |
| 76 | Orbit (2) | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | Leo Hindery (USA), Peter Baron (USA), Mike Borkowski (USA) |
| 77 | Team Taisan Advan | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | |
| 78 | PK Sport | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | Robin Liddell (GB), Fabio Babini (I), Giovanni Anapoli (I) |
| 79 | PK Sport (2) | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | Piers Masarati (GB), Basil Demeroutis (CDN), Keith Alexander (USA) |
| 79 | J3 Racing | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | Justin Jackson (USA), Mike Fitzgerald (USA), David Murry (USA) |
| 80 | Freisinger Motorsport (1) | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | Romain Dumas (F), Ni Amorim (P), Chad McQueen (USA) |
| 81 | The Racer's Group | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | Kevin Buckler (USA), Timo Bernhard (D), Lucas Luhr (D) |
| 82 | Seikel Motorsport (1) | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | Philip Collin (USA), Hugh Plumb (USA), Andrew Bagnall (NZ) |
| 83 | Seikel Motorsport (2) | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | Gabrio Rosa (I), Alex Caffi (I), Luca Riccitelli (I) |
| 85 | Spyker Automobielen | Spyker C8 Double 12 | Peter Kox (NL), Derek Hill (USA), John Hugenholtz (NL) |
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