24h Le Mans
It has been a fantastic season for drivers and teams from the Americas. The highlight was, of course, Ford’s winning comeback at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Here's a look at some of the American drivers and teams who stood out this year.
In addition to the Chip Ganassi team which led the Ford GT to victory in the LM GTE Pro class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in two other rounds of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), other competitors from the U.S. fared very well in all the top 2016 "Le Mans" competitions.
Gustavo Menezes, the champion - The young Californian (22 years old) will undoubtedly remember for a long time to come his first season in endurance: four victories (including the 24 Hours of Le Mans!) in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with Signatech Alpine, and the FIA Endurance LM P2 Drivers Trophy, shared with teammates Nicolas Lapierre and Stéphane Richelmi! Getting selected at the end-of-season Rookie Test allowed him to take the wheel of the world endurance champion Porsche 919 Hybrid which he described as a "an LM P2 prototype on steroids." And the progress continues this winter: Gustavo Menezes won at Zhuhai (China) the first round of the 2016/2017 Asian Le Mans Series season.
Scuderia Corsa, victory at Le Mans - In 2015, at its first participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the American team reached the top step on the podium in the LM GTE Am class. This year, Scuderia Corsa returned with the same driver line-up (Townsend Bell, Jeff Segal and Bill Sweedler)...and won, after a stunning battle with the Porsche 911 RSR, particularly efficient in the beginning of the race on the wet track. Founded by Giacomo Mattioli, an Italian expat in the U.S. and the top Ferrari dealer in the world, Scuderia Corsa benefitted from advice garnered from former driver Stefan Johansson, winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997 with Tom Kristensen and the late Michele Alboreto.
DragonSpeed, from the U.S. to Europe - For its foray into the European Le Mans Series (ELMS), the American team quickly found its stride. Its Oreca 05-Nissan won at the WEC Spa-Francorchamps round - which proved to be the best ELMS race of the season - and also claimed three other podium finishes and as many pole positions. DragonSpeed has since decided to double down for the 2017 ELMS season with two cars...is the team's first 24 Hours of Le Mans on the horizon?
Click below for the first installment:
2016 Review - The American Dream (1): Ford
Photo: A year to learn, a year to win...in two participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the American team Scuderia Corse has already racked up a podium finish and a victory!
