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European Le Mans Series

42 Full Season Entries for ELMS

Large grid increase set for 2014 European Le Mans Series season…

Photo: DPPI/ELMS

Photo: DPPI/ELMS

The European Le Mans Series will see a massive boost in participation this year, with a grand total of 42 cars announced at the annual ACO Press Conference in Paris on Thursday.

READ: Le Mans Entry List Revealed

The elite LMP2 class will feature 13 cars this year, led by a hard-charging Signatech Alpine team and Thiriet by TDS Racing.

Reigning champions Signatech Alpine will field an additional Nissan-powered Alpine A450 this year. Nelson Panciatici, who helped Pierre Ragues take the series championship last year, will be behind the wheel of the No. 30 car, while Paul-Loup Chatin will be driving the No. 36 sister car.

Thiriet by TDS Racing will be back with a vengeance after narrowly missing out on last year’s championship. They have chosen Nissan power and OnRoak Automotive’s Ligier JS P2 Nissan chassis.

Larbre Competition will make the switch from GTE Am in the FIA World Endurance Championship to the top class in the ELMS, fielding one Morgan Judd in partnership with OAK Racing.

Many new teams and drivers join the promising GTE class this season. Even though reigning series champs RAM Racing and Porsche’s Proton Competition will migrate to the FIA WEC this year, interest in this class is stronger than ever before.

AT Racing, Team Sofrev-ASP, SMP Racing, Kessel Racing, and Gulf Racing UK, which will field both an Aston Martin and a Porsche, are among the GTE newcomers.

With 16 total cars entered, GTC looks to be the most popular class this season, in part because it is open to the massive GT3 class that has gained momentum in the FIA GT and Blancpain Endurance Series.

This “Am” class actually features some of the most distinguished drivers in sports car racing.

Danish GT ace Jan Magnussen will join the No. 60 Formula Racing crew, fielding a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3, and AF Corse will up the ante to four cars. Estonian GP3 standout Kevin Korjus is set to drive a McLaren MP4-12C GT3 for ART Grand Prix, another series debutante.

LMPC, a spec class down on participants last year, will not continue in 2014.

The series will consist of five rounds, each four hours in length. The season will kick off at Silverstone Circuit on April 13, and finish at Estoril on October 19.

LMP2 (13 Entries)

4 – Boutsen Ginion Racing – Oreca 03 Nissan – Vincent Capillaire
24 – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Oreca 03 Nissan – Andreas Zuber
29 – Pegasus Racing – Morgan Nissan – Julien Schell
30 – Signatech Alpine – Alpine A450 Nissan – Nelson Panciatici
34 – Race Performance – Oreca 03 Judd – Michel Frey
36 – Signatech Alpine – Alpine A450 Nissan – Paul-Loup Chatin
38 – Jota Sport – Zytek Z11SN Nissan – Simon Dolan
41 – Greaves Motorsport – Zytek Z11SN Nissan – Tom Kimber-Smith
42 – Caterham Racing – Zytek Z11SN Nissan – Chris Dyson
43 – Newblood by Morand Racing – Morgan Judd – Christian Klien
46 – Thiriet by TDS Racing – Ligier JS P2 Nissan – Pierre Thiriet
48 – Murphy Prototypes – Oreca 03 Nissan – TBA
50 – Larbre Competition – Morgan Judd – Jacques Nicolet

LM GTE (13 Entries)

54 – AF Corse – Ferrari F458 Italia – Pierguiseppe Perazzini
55 – AF Corse – Ferrari F458 Italia – Duncan Cameron
56 – AT Racing – Ferrari F458 Italia – Alexander Talkanitsa Jr.
58 – Team Sofrev-ASP – Ferrari F458 Italia – Fabien Barthez
66 – JMW Motorsport – Ferrari F458 Italia – TBA
67 – IMSA Performance Matmut – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Erik Maris
72 – SMP Racing – Ferrari F458 Italia – Andrea Bertolini
76 – IMSA Performance Matmut – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Raymond Narac
80 – Kessel Racing – Ferrari F458 Italia – Michael Broniszewski
81 – Kessel Racing – Ferrari F458 Italia – Kola Aluko
82 – Crubile Sport – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Francois Perrodo
85 – Gulf Racing UK – Aston Martin Vantage V8 – Roald Goethe
86 – Gulf Racing UK – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Michael Wainwright

GTC (16 Entries)

51 – Sebastien Loeb Racing – Audi R8 LMS ultra – Henri Hassid
57 – SMP Racing – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 – Boris Rotenberg
59 – Team Sofrev-ASP – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 – Christophe Bourret
60 – Formula Racing – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 – Jan Magnussen
62 – AF Corse – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 – Yannick Mallegol
63 – AF Corse – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 – Mads Radsmussen
64 – AF Corse – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 – Per Nielsen
71 – SMP Racing – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 – Fabio Babini
73 – SMP Racing – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 – Stephane Ortelli
78 – Team Russia by Barwell – BMW Z4 GT3 – Leo Machitski
93 – Pro GT by Almeras – Porsche 997 GT3 RSR – Franck Perera
95 – AF Corse – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 – Adrien de Leener
96 – Team Ukraine – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 – Andriy Kruglyk
97 – Team Ukraine – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 – Ruslan Tsyplakov
98 – ART Grand Prix – McLaren MP4-12C GT3 – Ricardo Gonzalez
99 – ART Grand Prix – McLaren MP4-12C GT3 – Kevin Korjus

Beck Duggleby (@BDuggleby) is a contributor to Sportscar365, focusing on coverage of the European Le Mans Series for 2015.

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