The LMES Presentation
Having spoken to a number of those present in Paris yesterday, the general conclusion was “a bit disappointing”.

The attendance at the event was certainly very good, and the support the LMES is going to receive from entrants is going to be considerable, but having made the effort to be in Paris for a 9am start, “we didn’t learn anything new,” said one entrant

The expectation was that a TV package was going to be announced (there was no basis for that, it was more a hope than a prediction), but “that seems a long way off,” observed another.

Teams, Drivers and Partners have immediately understood the impact of this series, says the LMES media statement. As evidence, the success of the presentation by the ACO of the 2004 ‘24 Hours of Le Mans’ and the official launch of the LMES on January 15 at the Automobile Club de France in Paris.

That seems to be saying that the meeting was well attended, so it was a success.

On the whole, the presentation restated much of what was already known. The ACO regulations were published last month, so we know of the changes there, the calendar was announced last year too, and we knew that the Classic Endurance Series and Formula X would support the four events: the third support category is Formula Palmer Audi.

The ACO’s view of the ‘position’ of each prototype class is now a little clearer. LMP2 is specifically aimed at privateer teams. The wording of the ACO’s description of the two types of prototype is as follows:

The LMP1s including:
1) The new cars complying with the 2004 regulations.
2) Those known up to now as LMP 900s and LM GTPs.
3) The present LMP 675s with carbon chassis like the MG Lolas or the Courage C65. These cars will be eligible for the LMP2 category provided their bodywork complies with the new 2004 aerodynamic regulations drawn up by the ACO and the FIA.

Good luck John Hindhaugh, explaining this to spectators at Le Mans this year.

The LMP2s will consist of the new cars complying with the 2004 regulations, the present LMP 675s with aluminium or tubular chassis, and finally “hybrid” cars with 2003 chassis and 2004 bodywork. Such cars will be eligible to race in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The LMP2s will be slightly slower than the LMP1s and belong to a category aimed in particular at private teams.

The official wording continues as follows (our italics)….

The motive behind the ACO’s decisions is to favour the construction of even safer cars and to equalize the performance of the present models plus those which will be built on the basis of the 2004 ACO/FIA regulations. This cohabitation will have to be administered for two years and the ACO has in reserve a whole raft of measures of adjustment. After evaluating the early results measures may be taken in 2005 so that newcomers are not penalised (including over a single lap).

Regarding the (long-standing and yet to be resolved) issue of different ACO and FIA regulations, the ACO is in favour of a harmonization between (our) technical regulations and those of the FIA in this category (GTS) provided that the performance levels in each category are not called into question.

The ACO also states no regulation changes in the GT category but a new cubic capacity scale: 3.2 litres, 3.4 litres, 3.6 litres, 3.8 litres and 4 litres.

And finally on the regulations, the point was very firmly made that gearboxes cannot be changed during ACO events: as in the good old days the gearbox will have to be rebuilt.

Speeches were made by M. Jean-Clause Plassart (full translation below) and Stephane Ratel, the latter “very happy to be back in front of you, with the satisfaction of having fulfilled all my undertakings (made last June)”.

That is, Ratel has arranged for the LMES races to take place on four major European circuits, he has created “a complete and stable programme of support races” and has ensured that the new series has “the agreement of the FIA” and is “working towards an indispensable rapprochement between the ACO and the FIA, an essential element for the future of Endurance racing.”

The transcript of Monsieur Plassart’s speech is as follows:
Endurance is Le Mans! This formula was coined by Michel Cosson, the “Automobile Club de l’Ouest” President from 1992 to the end of 2003. I would like to take this opportunity to pay homage to my illustrious predecessor at the very moment when the worldwide renown of the Le Mans 24 Hours has never been so great.

Under his leadership our club got back in the driving seat and gave a new lease of life to the Le Mans 24 Hours so I would like to extend a warm welcome to Mr Cosson who is with us today. He is also the man behind the agreement signed with Don Panoz which, as you know, led to the creation of the American Le Mans Series whose success over the last five years in terms of popularity, media impact and economic benefits is ample proof of how well our regulations work on American soil. He too, was the initiator of the European Le Mans Series whose organisation has been set up in the space of a few short months thanks to efficient teamwork.

Endurance is Le Mans is true first of all for cars with the 24 Hour race. Then there is the 24 Hour race for Motorbikes, one of the major events on the endurance calendar, the 24 Hours for Trucks counting for the FIA Cup plus the 24 Hours for Karts on the Alain Prost circuit, a must in the discipline. And of course, there is Le Mans Classic meeting through which we relive the history of the Le Mans 24 Hour race.

Thanks to the renown of our events Le Mans is now a brand name with a world-wide reputation in a wide variety of forms such as the video game designed by Infogrames, over a million copies of which have been sold. It is a label for limited series made by prestigious manufacturers like Bentley, Audi and General Motors. It also lends itself to a range of clothes, oil and scale model cars. It should be remembered too that the economic fallout at national level from the combined activities of the 24 Hour circuit was calculated at almost 223 million euros by the Maine University professors last year!
Endurance is Le Mans and here are some additional figures to prove it. Each year the Le Mans 24 Hours attracts over 200.000 spectators and some 2500 journalists. The event is shown on 133 TV channels broadcasting in 141 countries and is followed by 230 million TV viewers worldwide. Last year 23 million pages were consulted on our official site “lemans.org.”

The Le Mans 24 Hour race has withstood the test of time and 80 years after its creation in 1923 it has attained the status of a unique event in the world.

During the last 24 Hours - and here I am speaking to the journalists - many of you published articles with titles that really gave us great pleasure and for which we offer you our heartfelt thanks. I would like to quote a few extracts from the international press: “A myth without equal,” “The greatest race in the world,” “Pure magic,” “An economic powerhouse.”

Here too I would like to invoke one of the great names in the world of films. In a recent interview Paul Newman, the famous actor, director and producer who, as you know, has been an ardent motoring racing fan for many years declared: “The Le Mans 24 Hours is legendary! For me it is the greatest endurance race in the world, and perhaps the greatest race of all.”

Paul, thank you for this homage, which is a perfect illustration of the point of view of the major manufacturers concerning the Le Mans 24 Hour event and its media fallout on every continent. Le Mans is the ultimate challenge, the ultimate goal they all strive to attain.

Le Mans is also a special ambience, which cannot be found in any other branch of motor sport. There is a kind of alchemical fusion between the race itself and the warm, festive atmosphere surrounding it. The fidelity of its public is not found anywhere else.

Winners of the race on one or more occasions like Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell, Henri Pescarolo, Tom Kristensen, Yannick Dalmas and Emanuele Pirro always enjoy meeting up again in the theatre of their achievements.

This atmosphere is the Le Mans magic potion, which we must continue to improve.

The Le Mans 24 Hour race hasn’t aged at all and has always been considered as truly modern thanks to its originality as it includes several types of different chassis and engines in the same event. The charm of Le Mans is that it is anything but a monotype formula and this acts as a magnet attracting spectators who can follow 4 races in one. This applies to the manufacturers as well who can choose their category according to their marketing targets. From the magic of the prototypes to series production GTs as well as lighter prototypes and the more highly-tuned grand touring cars our regulations – modified when necessary - enable each one to find his place at the start while allowing small teams to cohabit with the most prestigious makes.

Endurance is Le Mans. This is because over the years the Automobile Club de l’Ouest has been able to call on highly competent individuals – I’m thinking of Alain Bertaut in particular - and we are now fortunate in possessing a set of regulations that has become a yardstick. These have been refined over time and our expertise has received the homage of the FIA, which has adopted a large part of them after our various meetings. Today we have a common set of rules for the prototypes and soon it will be the same for the GTs. These are also common to all the races run under the Le Mans’ banner including, of course, the coming Le Mans Endurance Series events. And now I would now like to hand over to Daniel Poissenot, the Sports Manager of the “Automobile Club de l’Ouest,” to speak to you about them.

All the enthusiasts like me remember that the last 1000 km race was held sixteen years ago in 1988 on the Nürburgring circuit, and today the Automobile Club de l’Ouest is relaunching this mythic formula redolent of Porsche 917s, Ferrari 512s, Alfa Romeo 33s, Ford GT 40s and other great names.

The great eras of Endurance racing were highlighted by duels between Ford-Ferrari, Ferrari-Matra and Porsche-Ford. For them the supreme achievement was victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The expression “1000 Kms” evokes mythic circuits like the Nürburgring, Spa Francorchamps, Monza and Silverstone, which we will revisit with pleasure thanks to the Le Mans Endurance Series.

Michel Cosson officially unveiled the Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s major project in March 2003 during the Sebring 12 Hours in the United States, and just eight months later the inaugural Le Mans Endurance Series race was held on the Bugatti circuit.

I think the best way to describe it would be a prototype event as the aim was to attract a field that was as good in quality as in quantity in November at the end of the season.

Judging by the warm and enthusiastic welcome that you as team managers, drivers and international journalists gave the “Le Mans 1000 Km” it looks like we’re on the right track!

Furthermore, it is above all to meet the needs of manufacturers and entrants as well as lovers of sports car racing that we wish to revive these 1000 km races combining prototypes and GTs as at Le Mans. On the one hand it is time to give endurance racing the place that it deserves, and on the other, we are well aware that for a team to survive it must be able to make a profit on its investment over several races, not just one.

In the course of the numerous consultations that we’ve had with the various car manufacturers, I’ve realised the importance that they attach to the notion of the label ‘Series’ and we already know that a certain number of them have decided to invest in this field.

The other attraction of the 2004 Le Mans Endurance Series and the 4 races on the Monza, Nürburgring, Spa and Silverstone circuits is, as you know, that it provides eight automatic qualifying spots for the 2005 Le Mans 24 Hours. The others will be allocated according to the results in the American Le Mans Series in the USA (8) and of course, the 2004 Le Mans 24 Hours (8).

Our aim is to allow teams to know where they stand as early as possible concerning their participation in the Le Mans 24 Hours thus giving them more time to negotiate contracts and prepare their cars. On a longer term basis the idea is to create a group of regulars who will be at the start of all our events.
I would now like to lift the veil on how we have decided to organise this series by creating the L M E S O Company – an abbreviation of the Le Mans Endurance Series Organisation.

Two groups have joined forces to create the Le Mans Endurance Series:
The first consists of Donald Panoz, Scott Atherton, Patrick Peter and the A.C.O, and the second of Stéphane Ratel, Martin Birrane and David Kennedy.

These two groups will share the responsibilities of the LMES. As you can see we have a team of professionals whose expertise is known and appreciated in the world of the motor car.

We will work as a team and have divided up the tasks as follows:
- The A.C.O is responsible for the technical and sporting regulations and their control
- Stéphane RATEL is the link man with the circuits and entrusted with finding supporting events
- Patrick PETER is the kingpin whose job is to ensure the smooth running of the company.

As you can see the Automobile Club de l’Ouest is not alone in concretising the relaunch of Endurance in Europe with the approval of the FIA.

Our club wanted to harvest the best people and I’m very happy with the work we’ve accomplished together.