Ten reserve entries have been announced for the 24 Hours of Le Mans should any drop off the list from the initial entry list that we discussed yesterday. The reserve entries list is made up of ten cars. There are three LMP2 reserve entries, and seven in GTE-Am that will be added to the overall entry list if one or more confirmed entries drops by the wayside between now and June. Oh, by the way, all of the reserve LMP2 entries are Pro/Am rated as we have that distinction in ACO rules racing for the different levels of drivers who are eligible to compete in the division, and as far as I am aware I don't think that is a deal which exists in IMSA. The first reserve is the American LMP2 team DragonSpeed that has competed in IMSA and WEC before in years past, with Swedish driver Henrik Hedman leading the team and joined by the father and son duo of Juan Pablo Montoya and Sebastian Montoya.
Nielsen Racing have a second Oreca 07 under their team's name that is listed as a reserve. This is car #15 with British drivers Tony Wells and Matt Bell confirmed as 2/3rds of the driver lineup. I suspect a third driver shall only be added if indeed they are a call up on the reserve list to replace an existing entry. The third LMP2 reserve is the #44 Oreca for ARC Bratislava. The Slovakian team have been a full on Le Mans entry in the past and have also competed numerous times in both the Asian Le Mans Series and European Le Mans Series. This time, they are the number two reserve car.
The GTE Am class sees the bulk of the entries that are on the reserve list, if they are absolutely needed. The first of these is the #555 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE, and the Swiss team has actually been an overall starter at Le Mans and in WEC now for a number of years. Englishman Duncan Cameron is the lead driver and will share the car with Matt Griffin of Ireland and David Perel of South Africa. Risi Competizione, an IMSA stalwart and Le Mans competitor and class winner, have only made the reserve list this go around. The American team based in Houston, Texas, has Finland's Toni Vilander, so far, the only listed driver, in an as needed situation.
Team Project 1 has been a stalwart of GTE Am in the WEC and at Le Mans for a number of years now. This year, under team boss and candy magnate Egidio Perfetti (you will know his name if you are familiar with candies like Mentos and Chupa Chups lollipops), could only muster one car and one that has been relegated to the reserve list in case another drops out before the race happens. Very interesting to see the only driver in the car so far is former Formula 1 driver for teams like Toyota, among others, and former BMW DTM driver, Timo Glock. The German is the only confirmed driver thus far, and again, it is a reserve, so the likelihood it may get into the motor race is remote.
Danish team Formula Racing are on the reserve list with their #52 Ferrari 488 GTE. The new Ferrari 296, incidentally, has only been introduced as a GT3 car and hence will not make it's Le Mans debut until next year when the GT class is slated to go to all GT3 spec. Formula Racing have Danish brothers Johnny and Conrad Laursen as their two confirmed drivers should their reserve entry be needed. TF Sport have another Aston Martin handy in addition to their two confirmed cars in GTE Am already. John Hartshrone and Jonny Adam, who was a factory Aston Martin driver who won in class at Le Mans a number of years ago, are 2/3rds of this lineup and the final piece of the puzzle will only be confirmed if they get in.
Garage 59 from England are the penultimate reserve entry and we have been used to them running GT3 spec Aston Martin's and McLaren's for a number of years now in FIA and SRO sanctioned championships. They will be campaigning a Ferrari 488 GTE if they do get in of course, since GT3 cars are not permitted at Le Mans until the new rules take effect next year, in 2024. Sweden's Alexander West is their one and only confirmed driver at this stage of the game and again, we just do not know what the entry status will be other than they are a reserve who will fill in a spot if an existing car is withdrawn from the entry list in due time.
Our look at the reserve entrants comes to a close with a familiar team and a fan favorite in IMSA as The Heart of Racing, who have tackled a number of championships in the recent past, have an Aston Martin Vantage set up and ready in case they are needed. We have seen this charity team that raises money for pediatric patients, children in need of heart and cardiovascular care, raise a bunch of money for that charity through their racing efforts predominantly in Aston Martin GT3 machines in IMSA and SRO but have also seen them campaign a Mercedes AMG GT3 in the Dubai 24 Hours for Creventic earlier in the year. American domiciled Englishman Ian James, who owns this team, is currently their only listed driver.
Again, they are a reserve, and will be called upon to enter the race if needed, if another entry or group of entries are forced to drop by the wayside for any reason in the time from now until June. I believe there is a window of time, and the reserve entry window or withdrawal window will close I think a month or three weeks before the race weekend itself. So, there are your ten reserve entries that may or may not be needed for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and this in and of itself is another waiting game to play. A nerve-racking waiting game I must say.
This has been your analysis of the reserve entrants for the centenary running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Thanks for reading and we'll see you soon for more sports car racing action, everybody. So long until next time.
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