42 Cars for 2024 Michelin Le Mans Cup Season
A huge 42 car grid will contest the ninth season of the Michelin Le Mans Cup, with 29 LMP3 and 13 GT3 cars entered for the six round / seven race series.
The grid will feature 28 different teams, with three championship winning teams returning to challenge for the two 2024 Team Titles. The entry list also includes six teams that will make their Michelin Le Mans Cup debut in Barcelona, including Bretton Racing, the first Czech team to enter the series, and GG Classics the first from Australia.
29 Cars for LMP3
The LMP3 field will feature 25 Ligier JS P320-Nissans and 4 Duqueine M30-D08-Nissans. Team Virage will return to defend their 2023 title with a two-car entry, with 2021 champions Nielsen Racing and 2022 champions Racing Spirit of Léman each fielding a car, with 2021 champion Tony Wells returning for Nielsen Racing alongside ELMS LMP3 champion Wayne Boyd.
Team Thor returns with an unchanged driver line up of Audunn Gudmundsson and 2021 champion Colin Noble. 2023 ELMS LMP3 Champion Adrien Chila will also compete in the Michelin Le Mans Cup with ELMS Champions COOL Racing alongside Swiss driver David Droux.
Series returnees CD Sport, ANS Motorsport, MV2S Racing, Inter Europol Competition, COOL Racing and Rinaldi Racing will each run a two-car entry, along with series newcomers Bretton Racing.
Single car entries in LMP3 have also been received from High Class Racing, Steller Motorsport, IDEC Sport, Murphy Prototypes, Haegeli by T2 Racing, M Racing and as well as a car each for the first time from More Motorsport, GG Classics, P4 Racing and R-ACE GP.
GT3 Grid Increases in Size for 2024
The GT3 grid will feature 13 entries, one more than the 2023 grid, with Aston Martin, Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche as represented this season.
Two new teams will find a warm welcome in the Michelin Le Mans Cup Paddock with Spain’s Biogas Motorsport and UK team Blackthorn making their series debut in Barcelona.
There will be five Ferrari 296 GT3s on the grid, with former champions Kessel Racing and AF Corse running a pair of 296s each, with Biogas Motorsport running a single Ferrari.
There will be three Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2s in 2024, two run by Michelin Le Mans Cup race winners Leipert Motorsport and the third run by Iron Dames, with Swiss driver Karen Gaillard being joined by Celia Martin of France.
2023 race winners Steller Motorsport will run their Audi R8 LMS alongside their LMP3 entry.
There will be two Porsche 911 GT3 R, with Danish team High Class Racing running one car, with multiple ELMS LMGTE Champions Proton Huber Competition running the second.
The GT3 grid is completed by British team Blackthorn, with two Aston Martin Vantage GT3s.
Pierre Fillon, Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) President: “The Michelin Le Mans Cup is back with an array of experienced teams and talented drivers. This strong field will have the chance to race at some of Europe’s most prestigious venues throughout the six rounds of the championship season. We’re really looking forward to April’s curtain-raiser in Barcelona!”
Frédéric Lequien, Le Mans Endurance Management (LMEM) CEO: “It is great to witness an exceptional assembly of LMP3 and GT3 cars for the ninth season of the Michelin Le Mans Cup. We would like to extend a warm welcome to the new teams who will be making their debut in Barcelona and say thank you to the teams who are returning for another season of top-class competition. With a great line-up in both the Michelin Le Mans Cup and the European Le Mans Series, the 2024 season promises to be exciting. We look forward to welcoming all of you this year.”
The 2024 Michelin Le Mans Cup will begin in Spain with Round 1 in Barcelona, followed by Round 2 in Le Castellet. The series stays in France for Round 3 with the two 55-minute Road to Le Mans races on the full 13.6km La Sarthe circuit. Round 4 is in August at Spa-Francorchamps followed by a new track for the series, the 5,245km Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello in Italy. The season finale will take place in October at Portimão.
