2023 Le Mans Cup

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The 2023 Le Mans Cup, known as the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup under sponsorship, was the eighth season of the Le Mans Cup. The six-event season began at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 22 April and finished at Algarve International Circuit on 22 October.[1] The series is open to Le Mans Prototypes in the LMP3 class, and grand tourer sports cars in the GT3 class.

Racing Spirit of Léman are the reigning champions in LMP3 whilst GMB Motorsport are the defending teams' champion in GT3.

Calendar[edit]

The provisional calendar for the 2023 season was announced on 22 September 2022.[1] On the 11th of April it was announced the 4 Hours of Imola would be postponed due to ongoing works on the pit lane and paddock areas.[2][3] On the 14th of April it was announced that Imola round would be cancelled and Aragón round would be added.[4]

Rnd Circuit Location Race Length Date
1 Spain Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Montmeló, Spain 1 hour, 50 mins 22 April
2 France Circuit de la Sarthe Le Mans, France 55 minutes 8 June
55 minutes 9 June
3 France Circuit Paul Ricard Le Castellet, France 1 hour, 50 mins 15 July
4 Spain MotorLand Aragón Alcañiz, Spain 1 hour, 50 mins 25 August
5 Belgium Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Stavelot, Belgium 1 hour, 50 mins 23 September
6 Portugal Algarve International Circuit Portimão, Portugal 1 hour, 50 mins 22 October
Cancelled
Circuit Location Race Length Original date
Italy Imola Circuit Imola, Italy 1 hour, 50 mins 6 May

Entries[edit]

LMP3[edit]

All cars in the LMP3 class used the 2020 spec Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 engine and Michelin tyres. The new-for-2022 race length of 1h 50m removes the need for the additional mandatory stop that was introduced in 2020 to mitigate unexpected higher fuel consumption.

Entrant/Team Chassis No. Drivers Rounds
Spain CD Sport Ligier JS P320 2 France Fabian Michal All
Main Page Kirill Smal[5][N 1] All
11 France Franck Chappard All
Lebanon Shahan Sarkissian All
Luxembourg DKR Engineering Duqueine M30 - D08 3 United Arab Emirates Alexander Bukhanstov[N 1] All
United Kingdom James Winslow All
5 Sweden Sebastian Arenram 2
Poland Robin Rogalski 2
United Kingdom Nielsen Racing Duqueine M30 - D08 4 United Kingdom Matt Bell All
United States John Melsom All
Ligier JS P320 7 United Kingdom Josh Skelton All
United Kingdom Anthony Wells All
France ANS Motorsport Ligier JS P320 6 Switzerland Jonathan Brossard All
France Nicolas Schatz All
France Graff Racing Ligier JS P320 8 Australia George Nakas[6] All
Australia Fraser Ross[6] All
38 China Haowen Luo 2
Switzerland Sébastien Page 2
39 United Kingdom James Sweetnam[6] All
Republic of Ireland Lucca Allen[6] 1–2
France Paul Trojani 3
Spain Xavier Lloveras 4
Switzerland Samir Ben 5–6
Switzerland Racing Spirit of Léman Ligier JS P320 9 Germany Christian Gisy 1–3, 5–6
Germany Ralf Kelleners 1–3, 5–6
France Antoine Doquin 4
France Jean-Ludovic Foubert 4
12 France Antoine Doquin 2
France Jacques Wolff 2
Poland Inter Europol Competition[7] Ligier JS P320 13 Spain Santiago Concepción Serrano All
United Kingdom Ben Stone All
14 Canada Daniel Ali[7] All
Australia Andres Latorre Canon All
15 United States Bryson Morris[7] All
United Kingdom Chris Short[7] All
Poland Team Virage[8] Ligier JS P320 16 Spain Julien Gerbi All
France Gillian Henrion All
58 Portugal Manuel Espírito Santo 2
United Kingdom Martin Rich 2
59 Paraguay Oscar Bittar All
Italy Alessandro Bracalente All
France IDEC Sport[9] Ligier JS P320 17 France Patrice Lafargue[9] 1–4, 6
France Dino Lunardi[9] 1–4, 6
United Kingdom United Autosports Ligier JS P320 20 United Kingdom Andy Meyrick 2
Brazil Daniel Schneider 2
21 United States Jim McGuire 2
United Kingdom Guy Smith 2
22 Australia Scott Andrews 1–3, 5–6
United States Gerald Kraut 1–3, 5–6
United Kingdom Josh Caygill 4
Australia Garnet Patterson 4
23 United Kingdom Wayne Boyd All
United States John Schauerman All
United Kingdom 360 Racing Ligier JS P320 25 Spain Belén García[10] All
United Kingdom Mark Richards 1–2, 4–6
Canada James Dayson 3
26 United Kingdom Tommy Foster All
United Kingdom Terrence Woodward All
United Kingdom 24-7 Motorsport Ligier JS P320 27 United Kingdom Andrew Ferguson All
United Kingdom Louis Hamilton-Smith All
France MV2S Racing Ligier JS P320 28 France Christophe Cresp[6] All
Switzerland Jérôme de Sadeleer[6] All
29 Germany Matthias Lüthen[6] 1–4
France Emilien Carde[6] 1, 3–6
France Mathis Poulet 2
France Philippe Cimadomo 5–6
Germany Frikadelli Racing Team Ligier JS P320 30 Germany Klaus Abbelen 1–4
Germany Felipe Fernández Laser 1–4
Germany WTM by Rinaldi Racing[N 2]
Rinaldi Racing[N 2]
Duqueine M30 - D08 33 Germany Torsten Kratz 2
Germany Leonard Weiss 2
Ligier JS P320 66 Germany Daniel Keilwitz All
Germany Steve Parrow All
Republic of Ireland Murphy Prototypes Duqueine M30 - D08 48 United Kingdom Adrian Watt 1–3
Czech Republic Dan Skočdopole 1–2
United Kingdom Will Powell[11] 3
United Kingdom Will Bratt 4–5
Germany Torsten Kratz 4, 6
United Kingdom Josh Caygill 5
Brazil Enzo Elias 6
Switzerland Haegeli by T2 Racing Duqueine M30 - D08 67 Switzerland Pieder Decurtins 1–3, 5–6
Belgium Brent Verheyen 1–3, 5–6
France M Racing Ligier JS P320 68 France Hugo Delacour 1–2
Portugal Guilherme Oliveira 1–2
France Sacha Lehmann 3–5
Portugal Miguel Cristóvão 3
France Erwin Creed 4–5
69 Portugal Miguel Cristóvão 2
France Sacha Lehmann 2
Iceland Team Thor Ligier JS P320 77 Iceland Auðunn Guðmundsson All
United Kingdom Colin Noble All
Switzerland Cool Racing[12] Ligier JS P320 87 France Adrien Chila[12] All
Switzerland Cédric Oltramare[12] All
97 Switzerland David Droux[12] All
Switzerland Luis Sanjuan[12] All
Source:[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

GT3[edit]

Entrant/Team Chassis Engine No. Drivers Rounds
Switzerland Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 10 France Valentin Hasse-Clot All
France Arnold Robin All
United Kingdom Team Parker Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 18 United Kingdom Nick Jones All
United Kingdom Scott Malvern All
Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2) Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 64 United Kingdom Charles Bateman All
United Kingdom Alex Martin All
Germany Leipert Motorsport[14] Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 19 Finland Patrick Kujala All
Luxembourg Gabriel Rindone All
70 New Zealand Brendon Leitch 1–4
United States Gerhard Watzinger 1–4
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 24 New Zealand Brendon Leitch 6
United States Gregg Gorski 6
Belgium Team WRT[20] BMW M4 GT3[20] BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I6 31 Germany Max Hesse[20] 2
United Kingdom Tim Whale[20] 2
46 France Jérôme Policand[21] 2
Italy Valentino Rossi[20] 2
United Kingdom Steller Motorsport[22] Audi R8 LMS Evo II Audi 5.2 L V10 42 United Kingdom Sennan Fielding[22] All
United Kingdom James Wood[22] 1–3
United Kingdom Mark Cole 4–5
France Sylvain Guintoli 6
Italy AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari 3.0 L Turbo V6 51 Japan Kei Cozzolino All
Japan Hiroshi Koizumi All
83 France Emmanuel Collard All
France Charles-Henri Samani All
Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 52 Belgium Laurent de Meeus 2
United Kingdom Jamie Stanley 2
53 Italy Gino Forgione 2
Italy Andrea Montermini 2
Denmark GMB Motorsport[23] Honda NSX GT3 Evo22 Honda 3.5 L Turbo V6 55 Denmark Thomas Andersen All
Denmark Simon Birch[23] All
88 Denmark Jan Magnussen All
Denmark Lars Engelbreckt Pedersen All
BMW M4 GT3 BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I6 95 Denmark Kristian Poulsen 2
Denmark Roland Poulsen 2
United States Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 57 United States George Kurtz 2
United States Russell Ward 2
Italy Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 63 Japan Hiroshi Hamaguchi 1–3, 5
Monaco Vincent Abril[24] 1–3, 5
Switzerland Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 74 Turkey Murat Çuhadaroğlu 2
Italy David Fumanelli 2
France IMSA LS Group Performance Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 76 United States Charlie Luck 2
Germany Marco Seefried 2
Denmark HCR with CaffeineSix Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2) Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 86 United Kingdom Tim Creswick All
Denmark Anders Fjordbach All
Source:[13][14][15][16][17][18]

Race results[edit]

Bold indicates the overall winner.

Round Circuit LMP3 Winners GT3 Winners
1 Spain Catalunya Poland No. 16 Team Virage Switzerland No. 10 Racing Spirit of Léman
Spain Julien Gerbi
France Gillian Henrion
France Valentin Hasse-Clot
France Arnold Robin
2 R1 France Le Mans United Kingdom No. 4 Nielsen Racing Belgium No. 31 Team WRT
United Kingdom Matt Bell
United States John Melsom
Germany Max Hesse
United Kingdom Tim Whale
R2 Switzerland No. 97 Cool Racing Belgium No. 46 Team WRT
Switzerland David Droux
Switzerland Luis Sanjuan
France Jérôme Policand
Italy Valentino Rossi
3 France Le Castellet Poland No. 16 Team Virage Germany No. 19 Leipert Motorsport
Spain Julien Gerbi
France Gillian Henrion
Finland Patrick Kujala
Luxembourg Gabriel Rindone
4 Spain Aragón United Kingdom No. 4 Nielsen Racing Italy No. 51 AF Corse
United Kingdom Matt Bell
United States John Melsom
Japan Kei Cozzolino
Japan Hiroshi Koizumi
5 Belgium Spa-Francorchamps United Kingdom No. 23 United Autosports United Kingdom No. 42 Steller Motorsport
United Kingdom Wayne Boyd
United States John Schauerman
United Kingdom Mark Cole
United Kingdom Sennan Fielding
6 Portugal Portimão United Kingdom No. 7 Nielsen Racing Italy No. 63 Iron Lynx
United Kingdom Josh Skelton
United Kingdom Anthony Wells
Monaco Vincent Abril
Japan Hiroshi Hamaguchi

Championship standings[edit]

Points are awarded according to the following structure:

Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Pole
Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 1
Le Mans 15 9 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1

LMP3 Teams Championship[edit]

Pos. Team Chassis BAR
Spain
LMS
France
LEC
France
ARA
Spain
SPA
Belgium
POR
Portugal
Points
1 Poland #16 Team Virage Ligier JS P320 1 8 Ret 1 2 18 21 73
2 Spain #2 CD Sport Ligier JS P320 3 Ret 3 19 6 2 2 69
3 Iceland #77 Team Thor Ligier JS P320 4 2 15 3 3 14 6 59
4 United Kingdom #4 Nielsen Racing Duqueine M30 - D08 Ret 1 7 11 1 Ret Ret 45
5 Switzerland #87 Cool Racing Ligier JS P320 6 10 32 2 4 Ret 10 42
6 United Kingdom #26 360 Racing Ligier JS P320 5 9 6 6 17 15 6 39
7 Switzerland #97 Cool Racing Ligier JS P320 20 3 1 8 7 7 20 38
8 United Kingdom #23 United Autosports Ligier JS P320 16 13 19 5 Ret 1 22 35
9 United Kingdom #7 Nielsen Racing Ligier JS P320 Ret 18 8 32 Ret Ret 1 30
10 United Kingdom #25 360 Racing Ligier JS P320 15 17 13 13 5 5 5 30
11 Spain #11 CD Sport Ligier JS P320 14 25 28 7 14 Ret 3 21
12 France #68 M Racing Ligier JS P320 2 16 20 Ret Ret Ret 18
13 Luxembourg #3 DKR Engineering Duqueine M30 - D08 9 Ret 29 4 NC 8 26 18
14 France #28 MV2S Racing Ligier JS P320 23 22 11 17 21 3 Ret 16
15 Germany #66 Rinaldi Racing Ligier JS P320 Ret 19 24 10 10 4 15 14
16 France #6 ANS Motorsport Ligier JS P320 Ret 6 10 9 8 Ret 11 14
17 France #29 MV2S Racing Ligier JS P320 7 7 Ret 16 9 19 17 13
18 United Kingdom #22 United Autosports Ligier JS P320 24 11 5 20 11 Ret 24 9
19 Switzerland #67 Haegeli by T2 Racing Duqueine M30 - D08 13 23 23 15 6 14 8
20 Poland #15 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P320 Ret 30 12 36 13 17 7 6
21 Germany #30 Frikadelli Racing Team Ligier JS P320 8 12 26 Ret 16 4
22 Poland #59 Team Virage Ligier JS P320 12 Ret 21 Ret 18 Ret 8 4
23 France #39 Graff Racing Ligier JS P320 10 15 Ret 18 20 9 13 4
24 France #17 IDEC Sport Ligier JS P320 17 21 9 Ret 12 25 3
25 Poland #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P320 Ret 20 Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 2
26 Republic of Ireland #48 Murphy Prototypes Duqueine M30 - D08 21 29 31 31 NC 10 12 1
27 France #8 Graff Racing Ligier JS P320 11 28 30 21 15 11 16 0
28 Switzerland #9 Racing Spirit of Léman Ligier JS P320 19 Ret 16 14 Ret 12 19 0
29 Poland #14 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P320 22 DNS 25 12 Ret 16 18 0
30 United Kingdom #27 24-7 Motorsport Ligier JS P320 18 27 22 NC 19 13 23 0
Teams ineligible to score points
Germany #33 WTM by Rinaldi Racing Duqueine M30 - D08 Ret 2
France #69 M Racing Ligier JS P320 14 4
Poland #58 Team Virage Ligier JS P320 4 17
Switzerland #12 Racing Spirit of Léman Ligier JS P320 5 Ret
Luxembourg #5 DKR Engineering Duqueine M30 - D08 Ret 14
United Kingdom #21 United Autosports Ligier JS P320 24 18
France #38 Graff Racing Ligier JS P320 26 27
United Kingdom #20 United Autosports Ligier JS P320 Ret DNS
Pos. Team Chassis BAR
Spain
LMS
France
LEC
France
ARA
Spain
SPA
Belgium
POR
Portugal
Points
Key
Colour Result
Gold Race winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
Excluded (EX)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Withdrew (WD)
Blank Did not participate

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

GT3 Teams Championship[edit]

Pos. Team Car BAR
Spain
LMS
France
LEC
France
ARA
Spain
SPA
Belgium
POR
Portugal
Points
1 Switzerland #10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 1 3 13 2 3 5 2 97
2 Italy #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 3 4 16 4 1 6 5 77
3 Denmark #86 HCR with CaffeineSix Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2) 4 2 4 9 2 9 6 73
4 Germany #19 Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 Ret 11 7 1 6 2 4 72
5 United Kingdom #18 Team Parker Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 2 5 11 8 9 3 3 63
6 Italy #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 7 Ret Ret 3 Ret 1 48
7 Denmark #88 GMB Motorsport Honda NSX GT3 Evo22 5 6 6 7 Ret 4 9 44
8 United Kingdom #42 Steller Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Evo II 10 15 10 11 8 1 7 41
9 Denmark #55 GMB Motorsport Honda NSX GT3 Evo22 6 16 8 12 4 8 11 30
10 Italy #83 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 9 9 12 6 7 Ret 10 24
11 United Kingdom #64 Team Parker Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2) 8 Ret DNS 10 5 7 12 22
12 Germany #70 Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 Ret 12 5 5 Ret 21
Teams ineligible to score points
Belgium #31 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 1 2
Belgium #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 13 1
United States #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 8 3
Denmark #95 GMB Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 7 15
Germany #24 Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 8
Italy #53 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 10 9
Italy #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 14 14
France #76 IMSA LS Group Performance Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 17 17
Italy #52 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 Ret 18
Pos. Team Car BAR
Spain
LMS
France
LEC
France
ARA
Spain
SPA
Belgium
POR
Portugal
Points

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Smal is Russian, but he competes as a neutral competitor as Russian national emblems were banned by the FIA following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Bukhantsov, also a Russian, competes under an Emirati licence for the same reason.
  2. ^ a b Car No. 33 entered as WTM by Rinaldi Racing, car No. 66 entered as Rinaldi Racing.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Michelin Le Mans Cup Returns to Barcelona in 2023". lemanscup.com. Le Mans Cup. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Building Work Delays Force 4 Hours Imola To Be Postponed". ELMS. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Imola Round Postponed Due to Delayed Track Upgrades". sportscar365.com. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Portimão To Host ELMS Grand Season Finale In October". ELMS. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  5. ^ "The French team @cdsport will be racing with two Ligiers JS P320 in this year's #LMC season!". Twitter. Le Mans Cup. 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Les brèves du mardi 4 avril matin". Endurance-Info (in French). 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  7. ^ a b c d Goodwin, Graham (20 January 2023). "Inter Europol Confirm Michelin Le Mans Cup Squad For 2023". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  8. ^ Goodwin, Graham (16 January 2023). "Team Virage, Expanding Across The ELMS Package". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Goodwin, Graham (26 January 2023). "Laurents Hörr Joins IDEC Sport For 2023 ELMS". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Belén García to race in Le Mans Cup with 360 Racing". Racers - Behind the Helmet. 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  11. ^ "4H Le Castellet: Friday Paddock Notes | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  12. ^ a b c d e Goodwin, Graham (12 January 2023). "Cool Racing Confirm Michelin Le Mans Cup Plans". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  13. ^ a b "2023 MICHELIN LE MANS CUP - Provisional Season Entry List" (PDF). storage.googleapis.com. Michelin Le Mans Cup. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  14. ^ a b c "2023 MICHELIN LE MANS CUP - Barcelona Round - Provisional Entry List V1" (PDF). storage.googleapis.com. Michelin Le Mans Cup. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  15. ^ a b "2023 MICHELIN LE MANS CUP - ROAD TO LE MANS - Provisional Entry List V2" (PDF). Al Kamel Systems. Michelin Le Mans Cup. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  16. ^ a b "2023 MICHELIN LE MANS CUP - Le Castellet Round - Provisional Entry List V2" (PDF). Al Kamel Systems. Michelin Le Mans Cup. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  17. ^ a b "2023 MICHELIN LE MANS CUP - Aragón Round - Competitors & Drivers authorized to take part in Race V1" (PDF). Al Kamel Systems. Michelin Le Mans Cup. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  18. ^ a b "2023 MICHELIN LE MANS CUP - Spa-Francorchamps Round - Provisional Entry List V1" (PDF). storage.googleapis.com. Michelin Le Mans Cup. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  19. ^ "2023 MICHELIN LE MANS CUP - Portimao Round - Provisional Entry List V1" (PDF). storage.googleapis.com. Michelin Le Mans Cup. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  20. ^ a b c d e Lloyd, Daniel (3 May 2023). "Rossi to Make Circuit de la Sarthe Debut in Road to Le Mans". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  21. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (2023-05-08). "ASP Team Boss Policand to Drive for WRT Alongside Rossi". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  22. ^ a b c Goodwin, Graham (3 April 2023). "Steller Motorsport Confirms Livery & Crew For 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  23. ^ a b Goodwin, Graham (6 January 2023). "Michelin Le Mans Cup Set To See New Blood In GT3". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  24. ^ a b Tassel, Pierre (2023-04-11). "Vincent Abril to race at Barcelona in the Michelin Le Mans Cup with Iron Lynx". Endurance-Info. Retrieved 2023-04-11.

External links[edit]