The Le Mans Series is about to begin in less than two weeks’ time when action gets under way at the Paul Ricard HTTT in the south of France. More than 40 cars have been entered for the 8 Heures du Castellet (April 11).

After a fortnight of testing in Florida earlier this month, the new Audi R15 Plus is poised to make its competition debut at the French race in the hands of 2008 Le Mans winners Capello/McNish/Kristensen. The German team can expect some pretty stiff competition from the Oreca-run Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, a brace of Lola-Aston Martins and the two Rebellion Racing Lola B10/60s, not to mention the Mansell family’s Ginetta-Zytek.
The biggest fields will be seen in LMP2 and LMGT2 which boast 19 and 14 cars respectively. The rivalry between the manufacturers, teams, drivers and tyre firms in these two classes is expected to be particularly fierce.
The first round of the 2010 Le Mans Series 2010 takes the championship to a new venue, namely the Paul Ricard HTTT which was built 40 years ago and which hosted a long list of prestigious races before becoming a private test track only at the beginning of the Noughties. This year’s Le Mans Series race will see it open up its gates to the public once more for an eight-hour endurance race, which is two hours longer than the usual format seen in the LMS.

Olivier Panis

Former F1 driver Olivier Panis, who will be driving the N°4 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, talks about Le Castellet: “It’s here that I began my racing career. The circuit and its surroundings were very different back then, though. Today, it sits in a splendid setting, yet the track has lost none of its appeal, and it is also much safer for the drivers. The Signes right-hander at the end of the long Mistral straight is a challenge in itself. On fresh tyres, you can take it flat out at 300kph! Thank you, Michelin! It’s a circuit that the drivers tend to enjoy because it provides a wide variety of turns, although it can be quite tough physically.“

Castellet, Michelin, Panis