Le Mans Series

Planetlemans Nürburgring LMGT2 preview

© Planetlemans - Marcel ten Caat

The smallest cars on the Le Mans Series grid form the largest category. The GT2 class currently has a stunning 19 cars on the entry list. Seven Porsches 997, six Ferraris 430, three Panoz Esperantes, two Spyker C8 Spyders and one Corvette will line up on the Nürburgring Grand Prix track for the third round of the Le Mans Series.

© Planetlemans - Marcel ten Caat

Even though Team Felbermayr-Proton gave Porsche its first 997 GT3 RSR victory and the IMSA Performance Matmut team winning the Le Mans 24 Hours GT2 class two weeks ago the series is still being lead by the mighty Ferrari 430 GTs. Last year GPC Sport F430 won here in its first year of competition and it would be no surprise to see yet another Ferrari victory.

Currently sharing the lead the Le Mans Series GT2 class are the Virgo Motorsport and Villorba Corse Ferrari’s. Both cars did not participate at Le Mans, even though 3 out of 4 drivers did with either Porsche or Spyker, and should be ready for the 1000 kilometres. Both teams have scored a second and third place at the first two races of the season and are now aiming for a class victory. Whether that is going to happen on the Nürburgring remains to be seen.

Several other teams should be able to go for the race win in Germany. GPC Sport that won the race in 2006 has already won this year and despite a less successful race in Valencia, they only scored 2 points, the Italian squad hopes to get the nr 97 car on the top spot again to keep it in the title race. The second GPC car retired in Valencia and hopes to bounce back here.

© Planetlemans - Marcel ten Caat

Scoring the maximum result for Felbermayr-Proton at Valencia Marc Lieb and Xavier Pompidou are looking forward to the race. The team knows the car is a winner and with this driver pairing the German squad is willing to give Porsche a victory on its home soil. Felbermayr-Proton has spared neither pains nor expense to do well in Germany, the team has entered two 997 GT3 RSRs and one older 996 GT3 RSR.

Another candidate for the GT2 victory is the IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche. It came close to becoming the first team to win a race with the 997, but a crazy move by the Saulnier Courage meant the Valencia race ended with a heavy shunt for the French squad. Their revenge was sweet as the team won the GT2 class at Le Mans. At the Nürburgring the team hopes to stay out of trouble and extend their winning mood.

The remaining full season Ferrari and Porsche entries, Farnbacher Racing, Thierry Perrier, Ice Pol Racing Team and JMB Racing as well as part-time entry James Watt Automotive (Porsche) will more than likely be racing for a points finish only. All of these teams have not been able to match the performance of the top Ferraris and Porsches so far, but never write off anyone in these six hour races, especially with the current weather prediction of rain.
Behind the Porsches the less wealthy Panoz and Spyker teams are struggling to score points for the championship. LNT’s nr 81 Panoz finished fourth in Monza, but has since then failed to score a point, the team’s second car has not scored a point yet. The third Panoz in the field, entered by Chad Peninsula Panoz had an extremely tough weekend at Valencia in which they suffered a fire and finished 11th in the race, 23 laps down. Spyker had even more bad luck in Valencia. Both the Spyker Squadron and Speedy Racing Team car retired at almost the same time towards the end of the race, leaving Spyker with only two points, scored by Speedy at Monza. There is positive note for Spyker however as the team finished on the podium in Germany for the last two years.

Finally the Team Markland Racing Corvette C6 Z06. This car retired after 29 laps in Monza and did not race at Valencia. The Nürburgring 1000 kilometres marks the return of the car to the Le Mans Series, but unless a miracle would happen for the Danish team this car is not going to score any points.