Highlights (last update 2011-Jun-8):

• Audi / Peugeot: The never ending battle between Audi and Peugeot continues: Audi enters with the brand new R18 to fight for overall victory against Peugeot with their modified 908. If Audi wins, it would their 10th overall win at Le Mans!! But can they succeed after the shocking double victory of Peugeot at Spa 2011 ?
• Aston Martin returns to the LMP1 prototype class with their built-from-scratch racer AMR-One, all in the famous Gulf-Livery of course!
• Porsche celebrates 60 Years at Le Mans
• Chevrolet celebrates its centennial (100th) anniversary! 100 Years Chevrolet, founded by Swiss-born race driver Louis Chevrolet.
• Ferrari starts a new chapter in the GT racing history: One of my favorite cars, the F430 GT, gets replaced by the official successor, the F458 GT!
• Pescarolo returns to Le Mans: after the absence in 2010, he returns with a reformed team “Pescarolo Team” and a new Judd petrol based LMP1 prototype.
• GT1 has gone! 2010 was the last year with the two GT classes GT1 and GT2. Now they are called “GTE Pro” and “GTE Am“. The GT regulations for the cars are the same but the regulations for the team and drivers are a bit different: While there is no rule for the drivers and the car in “Pro“, only 1 professional driver is allowed in an “Am” team and the car must be at least 1 year old. GTE stands for “Grand Touring Endurance”.
• Lotus is back! After their heyday in the 50s and 60s, Lotus officially returns to Le Mans with a Lotus Evora GT in the GTE Pro class. Can they take up the speed and endurance of Porsche, Ferrari, Corvette and BMW? We’ll see! At least in Spa 2011, Ferrari was by far the fastest in the GTE Pro class…
• Art Car #1: Flying Lizard goes funkadelic!
  Flying Lizard is honoring Porsche’s celebration… California graphic artist Troye Lee: “Utilising both the drivers’ national flags and names in the overall design, heroes like Richard Attwood, Derek Bell, Jacky Ickx and Allan McNish have been immortalised in a funkadelic splashing of candy and metallic paint.”
  Link: http://www.lizardms.com/index.htm
• Art Car #2: Pro Speed underlines creativity in motorsports!
  Artist Loïc Poncelet: “Being and matter, harmony and discipline, aesthetic and function, warm and cold colours, the contrasts are an inexhaustible source of inspiration. A halo of light, to come into being on the front bumpers, will give an additional interpretation to iBird’s design during the night. I really value this. After all Le Mans is also night-time magic!” –> For all photographers out there: get this bird at night with a good flash!! It must be Matmut Porsche 2010 on steroids! ;-)
  Link: http://www.prospeed.be/ibird/
• Art Car #3: JMW comes with an art car designed by the winner of the Dunlop Design Contest earlier this year.
• Regulations: Major revision for 2011 since 2005! New prototypes must have a shark’s fin. A bit less power in all classes. New GTE regulations are 95% compliant to GT2 regulations. LMP2 regulations focus on cost savings: Most teams use modified street car engines as a consequence.
• Classic Historic Race Cars: see list below
• iPhone Application: The A.C.O. has released an app for this year: LINK.
• Audi UK Le Mans App: iPhone, Android
• LIVE TICKER: Great Web Page displaying live Chronos and all the texts and images by drivers, teams, etc.: LE MANS 2011 LIVE TRACKER

Le Mans Legends / List of Classic Cars (10:05am Sat)

• A total of 61 historic race cars!
• The topic is “1949-1965″
• Mazda 787B (1991):
  The overall winner of 1991, the Mazda 787B returns to Le Mans for its 20th anniversary after being exhibited at the museum in Hiroshima, Japan since 1991. It will officially open the track on Saturday at 12.30pm. I’m not sure whether it will also drive in the “Le Mans Legends” race.
• Porsche 718 RS 61 Spyder (1961): Stirling Moss himself will drive in this Porsche!
• The full list is avaiable as PDF. If the link does not work, visit the web site and look for it.

Schedule on Saturday

• 09.00 – 09.45 : Warm Up
• 10.05 – 10:50 : Le Mans Legends (Classic Historic Race Cars): Entry List: PDF
• 11:15 – 12:00 : Ferrari Challenge: 60 F430 and F458 will race a 45 min battle
• 12.10 – 12:25 : “Le Mans vers le futur” (future cars will race! e.g. Nissan LEAF Nismo)
• 12.30: Official opening of track with Mazda 787B
• 15:00 : START !!

Motorsounds of historic race cars: Le Mans Legend 2011