The provisional entry list for the European Le Mans Series’s 4 Hours of Le Castellet, to be held on August 28, has been revealed.
The LMP2 category will feature 12 cars at Le Castellet, one car more than at the Red Bull Ring. IDEC Sport Racing will be returning with its Ligier-Judd, the only prototype currently not powered by Nissan racing in the ELMS.
Race Performance’s Oreca 03R is again absent from the entry list.
A few driver line-ups will change.
In the championship-contending #46 Thiriet By TDS Racing Oreca, Mike Conway will replace Ryo Hirakawa, who’s racing in Super GT. The Brit tested the car extensively a few weeks ago at Magny-Cours. Michael Munemann will be replaced by Andrea Roda in Algarve Pro Racing’s #25 Ligier Nissan. Until recently, Roda was driving in the LMP3 category for Eurointernational, but both parties separated bitterly on the eve of the Red Bull Ring race. The driver line-up of the #48 Murphy Prototypes car remains unknown for the time being.
In the LMP3 category, as previously announced on DSC, Tockwith Motorsport will enter one Ligier-Nissan, with Nigel Moore and Philip Hanson at the wheel.
All 20 other cars seen at the Red Bull Ring will be at Le Castellet. It will therefore be a 100% Ligier-Nissan grid in LMP3 once again. But this could be the last time, as the Riley Motorsport LMP3 is due for homologation on 24 August and the Norma M30 should be revealed to the public at Magny-Cours (France) on 9 October.
Very few driver line-up changes will occur. Enzo Guibbert is back with Graff Racing after recovering from an injury and John Hartshorne will replace Jesus Fuster in the #5 By Speed Factory Ligier JSP3. The #11 Eurointernational Ligier could also have a two-driver line-up, as WEC Champion Roman Rusinov will be absent this time out after racing for the team at Imola and Red Bull Ring, while young Rik Breukers is added to the #12.
In LM GTE, the same eight cars seen at the Red Bull Ring will drive at Le Castellet. The championship-leading car #56 AT Racing Ferrari F458 will welcome platinum driver Davide Rigon in place of Alessandro Pier Guidi, the #60 Formula Racing Ferrari sees IMSA cup-tied Christina Nielsen replaced by fellow Dane Mikkel Jensen, while ADAC GT Master driver David Jahn will replace Matteo Cairoli in the #88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR 991.
