ELMS Gets Additional Le Mans Auto Invite for 2021

The European Le Mans Series will receive an extra automatic invitation spot for next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans based on the event’s adjusted selection process.

In addition to the LMP2 championship-winning and second-placed team, the third-placed team in the standings will also secure a place on the Le Mans grid in 2021.

The new approach of handing out automatic invitations based on how many entries take part in each class was announced late last year.

According to page 140 of the Le Mans supplementary regulations, one LMP2 invite is given for every six cars entered into the ELMS full-time.

The capacity 18-car LMP2 grid for the upcoming season means that three guaranteed entries will be granted for the 2021 edition of the 24 Hours.

For GTE, one invite is given for every four entries meaning that the first and second-placed teams in the 2020 series will be awarded places because nine cars are listed for the season.

The LMP3 class carries one automatic invite to Le Mans in LMP2 for the champion, regardless of how many take part in the year-long campaign.

In recent previous editions of the French enduro, grid spots were given out to all ELMS class champions plus the runner-up in GTE.

For 2020, the list of automatic invites was increased to include the LMP2 runner-up.

The ‘sliding scale’ format will also be applied to the 2020-21 Asian Le Mans Series, with one automatic invite per six LMP2 cars and one per four GT3 entries.

At present, no invitations are set to be given to the LMP3 champion or the LMP2 Am Trophy champion, as is currently the case.