Besides the great races that have made its history, the enduring popularity of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is also due to fact that there are several "races within the race." Beyond the overall standings there are other battles for class honours. Here is an overview.

LM P1 class (Le Mans Prototype 1) - These are the cars competing for overall victory. Only professional drivers are to be seen in these prototypes designed exclusively for racing. Among the cars in this class you will find Audi R18 TDI, Toyota, Honda, Pescarolo, and Lola coupes.

LM P2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) - Less powerful than the LM P1 prototypes also designed and built exclusively for racing. But regulations limit them to be powered by engines derived from road cars. They are driven by both professionals and "gentlemen drivers", often the team owners . French manufacturers such as OAK Pescarolo (renamed Morgan for this class) and Oreca face the Japanese Honda and Nissan (the latter as an engine supplier) and the British Lola and Zytek.

LM GTE Pro and LM GTE Am (Grand Touring Endurance) - Some of the world's most prestigious sportscar manufacturers compete in these two classes: Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Corvette, Lotus ... They are mostly factory supported teams. Reserved for GT (Grand Touring) cars adapted for competition, these two classes are distinguished by the status of their drivers: Professional for LM GTE Pro, and in LM GTE Am, "gentlemen drivers" plus a maximum of one professional driver per team.

A cross-classification category: Michelin Green X Challenge - In both prototype and GT, this Challenge rewards the cars with the best compromise between performance and fuel consumption. This challenge is at the heart of the future of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, that intends to remain a pioneer for the development of alternative energy in motorsport.

The 80th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours will be held on 16th and 17th June 2012. Click HERE for ticket information.
Find HERE the list of entrants for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 2012 and the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Jean-Philippe Doret

Photo: 24 HOURS CIRCUIT (Le Mans), LE MANS 24 HOURS, RACE, June 12, 2012. The presence of GT cars on the track with prototypes (here a Ferrari 458 Italia in LM GTE Pro and an LM P1 prototype Peugeot 908 HDi FAP) is one of many features of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.