The new car is not being designed by Tony Southgate but by Andrea de Cortanze.
Jake Ulrich hopes to enter his Lister himself for Le Mans 1998 with '97 British GT Championship co-driver Ian Flux alongside him. The car, owned by the Texan, did race at Le Mans in 1997 as the second factory car.
The marque is adopting an interesting strategy for Le Mans in 1998, aiming to field three cars, each run by a separate team. There will be one car raced by the factory, and one by each of this year's teams, DAMS and David Price Racing. The 1998 car is taking shape, being both longer and wider than this year's, and the rumours regarding the 'truck' engine being replaced are still circulating. The car has recently been testing at Le Mans on the 'Bugatti' circuit in the hands of Eric Bernard.
Alessandro Nannini looks likely to drive the new Williams built BMW prototype at Le Mans next year. The rumour has emanated from Mercedes itself for whom he raced in this year's FIA GT championship. Nannini has an option in his contract with Mercedes and described the BMW opportunity as 'one possibility'. BMW themselves are still neither confirming nor denying any of the rumours regarding its driver line-up.
It looks extremely possible that Mercedes could run a second factory backed team in the FIA championship next year. This would be in addition to supplying two customer cars as required by rules. Factory teams are to be limited to two cars per team only, so the second team would be fronted by a factory assisted concern similar to this year's arrangements between Schnitzer and BMW. A possible to land the deal for the customer cars is the British Parabolica team, a spokesman for Mercedes has confirmed that they are 'one of favourites'. Another possibility is FIRST racing, which ran the Thai backed Lotus GT1 this year.
The five time Le Mans winner is confident of a drive in 1998. Derek has already got drives lined up for both Daytona and Sebring next year and in his words it was 'almost definite' that he will be at Le Mans. The drives at Daytona and Sebring are in a Riley & Scott MkIII entered by Jim Matthews. Two other Le Mans possibilities were with teams both running Ferrari 333 SPs, although no team names were forthcoming.
The 333 SP continues to be a popular choice for teams switching to the ISRS in 1998. Enzo Calderari and Lilian Bryner have confirmed their choice in preference to a Riley & Scott. Giampiero Moretti has said that his new car will be at the opening round at Monza and may well continue depending on the situation in the US. In addition he confirms that his team will be returning to Le Mans 'in a bigger and better way'. The two teams negotiating with Mercedes, Parabolica and FIRST, may well switch to the ISRS should the Mercedes GT programme not materialise.
Further to recent speculation regarding the 1998 race in the GT championship, it looks likely that Donington will after all host a round in September. Donington had originally withdrawn their application after substantial losses at the corresponding fixture this year. The u-turn appears to have come about thanks to an offer of sponsorship from the series organiser, Stefan Ratel, who said that it had always been the intention to have a second British race in addition to Silverstone in May.
Formal confirmation has been given of its 1998 Le Mans programme. Three of the new TS020 GT1 cars will be entered. The Tony Southgate designed cars are currently being built at the team's European HQ at Cologne. The engine is to be an evolution of the 3.6 litre V8 turbo used in previous projects. It appears that Toyota has committed itself to Le Mans for at least the next three years. No drivers were confirmed at the time of the launch and no others have been rumoured other than those mentioned earlier on this site.
The well documented Mugello tests produced mixed fortunes. One car completed the 30 hour run with only minor problems, but the other suffered gearbox trouble. Mauro Martini who tested but did not race the 1997 car said that the modified chassis was 'easy to drive and very fast' and that he 'could feel the improvements to the chassis and the Bridgestone tyres were very good in the wet. No further running is scheduled until February.
The three time winner has yet to decide whether to continue with Porsche or switch to BMW for Le Mans. Both teams have given firm offers and he has even been approached by Team Scandia to run in the Indy Racing League. He promises a decision very soon and describes it as 'perhaps the most important decision I have ever had to make. The BMW programme would possibly allow him to drive in the IRL but Porsche's programme would preclude that as it is for a full season. He has already turned down an offer from Toyota.
It's all change for the driver squad at Porsche who have parted company with veterans Thierry Boutsen and Hans Stuck. The team appears to be putting its faith in its younger drivers such as Scotsman Allan McNish. However it appears that 54 year-old Bob Wollek would be retained for a testing role and a drive at Le Mans, a race he has yet to win after 25 starts despite having come so close so many times. Other likely drivers are Pedro Lamy, Emmanuel Collard and Ralf Kelleners who all raced at some point for the team this year.
Stories are also emerging that Porsche will enter cars in both the GT1 and LMP1 categories in 1998. If the team decides to enter a prototype, it would probably be an updated TWR chassis which the team retained after the 1996 race, the winning car having been kept by Joest as part of the agreement. Porsche also plans to fit the car with the latest water cooled GT1 engine in preference to the older 962 units used by Joest. The new GT1 car is said to look like the old Group C 962 with 911 headlights. This new car is scheduled to test in February and two cars have been entered in a full FIA GT programme.
Porsche is to build a new GT1 contender for the 1998 season. It is suggested that the 1998 car will be a development of the current car, although other sources have rumoured that it will be a virtually new car, utilising only the engine and gearbox from the existing. The move is in response to the car's basic uncompetitiveness this year, only showing competitive form at Le Mans and Laguna Seca. This seems to ensure the future of the FIA GT championship for 1998 and would now seem to make a commitment from Mercedes a formality.
Porsche has announced that it is to reverse its policy regarding the supply of parts to teams running cars in the ISRS. This is good news for Joest, Kremer and Courage who all use Porsche engines.
Martin Brundle has chosen to drive for Toyota at Le Mans 1998. He has officially signed as development driver, but either way this brings to an end the possibility of driving a TWR Nissan. His decision was made after a visit to Toyota team Europe's workshops in Germany to inspect the new TS 020. Other drives previously in the frame were with Porsche and BMW.
Julian Bailey was, prior to committing to Lister, apparently a possibility at Toyota. Although he received good offers from both teams, a major factor was that Lister's programme is for a full season, whereas Toyota are rumoured to be starting their race programme at Le Mans, and possibly joining the FIA GT championship thereafter.
Lola is looking to produce an all new prototype chassis, for the ISRS and for the US. The design team are currently evaluating a chassis to accommodate both normally aspirated and turbo engines. Le Mans in 1998 is not a possibility as the first car is not due to be running until April, however future years maybe a different matter. The last Lola's to race at Le Mans were the pretty Euroracing T92/10s in 1992, the better placed of which finished in 13th place driven by, among others, Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
Joest racing, the winner of Le Mans for the past two years are to race a modified version of their TWR chassis / Porsche engined prototype, rather than an all new car. This car will race in the ISRS as well as at Le Mans.
Still saying they are "unlikely" to be at next year's Le Mans.
Mauro Martini, who had to pull out of Nissan's '97 squad through injury, is to test the revised R390 at Mugello as part of the 10 driver squad for a five day endurance test, starting the 29th November. Other drivers due to test, apart from those reported last week, include Kazuyoshi Hoshino and Jamie Davis.
Nissan have hinted that the R390 may be replaced at Le Mans in 1999 by a prototype rather than pursue with the GT concept, dependent on next year's result and any rule changes.
Steve Soper has, as expected, renewed his contract for two years, to include driving the new prototype at Le Mans in 1998. The 6 litre engine to be used in the new car will make it ineligible to compete in the ISRS, which has stuck with the old Le Mans LMP1 regulations, limiting normally aspirated engines to 5.1 litres. The alternative Heini Mader developed 4 litre V8, to be used in the car in the US, may also become a customer unit, possibly to be used by Courage next year.
Ukyo Katayama is rumoured to be driving for the marque at Le Mans '98.
Drivers confirmed for '98 are Julian Bailey & Tiff Needell, with at least one other yet to be announced. The team's programme priorities are to be Sebring and Le Mans.
A summary of the ASA-ACO press release launching the 1998 24 hours is available on this link.
On the 2nd of November the ACO started to accept entries for the 66th running of the 24 heures du Mans. This will be the 75th birthday of the race.
The driver line-up for Nissans '98 assault is shaping up with their '97 BTCC driver Anthony Reid and 1990 Le Mans winner John Nielsen looking set to race next June. Ten drivers will be at Mugello next week for TWRs first endurance test since the disappointing outing in June. Jorg Muller is a possibility, having shaken down the revised R390 at Donington recently. Others likely are Erik Comas and Aguri Suzuki (both contracted). Extensive modifications have taken place since Le Mans including a new gearbox and braking system.
Wayne Taylor, who drove for Nissan in '97 has set up a new team, driving a Ferrari 333SP with Eric van der Poele and Fermin Velez. The intention is to contest a full US schedule, Le Mans and a couple of ISRS rounds. The team, named Doyle-Risi Racing, intends to enter two 333SPs for Le Mans.
Another team, following speculation regarding Thomas Bscher and Enzo Calderari, seemingly defecting from the FIA GT series to the International Sports Racing Series is Parabolica Motorsports, replacing their '97 McLaren with a Ferrari 333SP. The drivers will again be Chris Goodwin and Gary Ayles. An intention to run at Le Mans is yet to be confirmed.
More rumours regarding the 'Bigazzi'(Team Rafanelli) run Williams built BMW prototype are that in addition to Le Mans, some US races at the end of '98 and a full season in '99 are on the cards. The engine is to be built by Swiss Heine Mader, possibly turbocharged for Le Mans. Pending the completion of the new Williams chassis, a Courage is apparently to be the interim tester. Steve Soper, thought to already be down to drive at Le Mans, looks to be an ideal choice for the US programme, as he now resides in Florida.
The directors of the Lotus GT outfit, whose impressively quick but thirsty Elise-based GT1s have lost support from parent company Proton, are still intent on a race programme for '98.
Martin Brundle is talking to Toyota, BMW and Nissan regarding a drive for next year's race. Geoff Lees is Toyota's only confirmed signing so far.
The Mercedes team and Bernd Schneider cruised to both the team and driver titles in the FIA series at Laguna Seca. GT2 titles went to the Oreca Viper team and Justin Bell.
The '96 Le Mans winner and veteran of 5 Le Mans starts since 1988 Davy Jones who suffered a huge accident in the opening round of the IRL series at Disney World will be looking seriously for a ride in the 1998 event.
The much awaited Le Mans almanac page is now complete thanks mainly to the efforts of Rick Wilson. Thanks Rick! Click here to visit the page.
Panoz hope to build on experience in a 'factory' effort for '98. It is unlikely though that it will be in the capable hands of David Price. Toyota's much rumoured new GT will at la Sarthe next year. The european team will be running it's V8 cars. Mercedes however are playing down the possibility of a Le Mans run either for the CLK or for the new car currently in development.
Riley and Scott will be returning to the 24 hours in 1998 to try once more to capture the final 'classic' for the trophy cabinet. It also looks like the Ferrari 333SP will be back for another outing. Lotus look a very unlikely prospect after Lotus Racing's pull-out from the FIA GT series.
Click the following link to access the results of the 4 hour Autumn Cup Proto and
GT race run on the Bugatti Circuit, courtesy of Charles Queguiner.
Coupes d'automne 1997.
The Mercedes CLK piloted by Bernd Schneider and Alex Wurz dominated the FIA GT Round at Donington last weekend. The Mercs finished one-two after the BMW motorsport McLaren F1 of Steve Soper and JJ Lehto had an extended pitstop relegating them to third place. Schneider and Mercedes threaten to claim the series but they have not cast off the spectre of less than sportsmanlike driver changes in earlier rounds and the implications behind the opposition of Mercedes to the FIA closing this loophole next season.
The GTC Mclarens auto-incendiary habits have been compounded after John Nielsen's high speed shunt at Suzuka. The team are facing yet another total rebuild, the fifth this year.
The ACO are approaching agreement with efforts to harmonise the GT regulations for Le Mans with the FIA GT series. It is unlikely that the rules will be identical but teams will face fewer differences to cope with in 1998.
The FIA GT series ( and possibly the 24 hours ) may see factory efforts from Toyota, Honda and Lamborghini. The Lambo' will be a development of the on-make racing Diablo. Toyota are playing down rumours of a brand new V8 GT will appear in the FIA series but they are aiming to run at Le Mans.
This team will not be making it's 11th outing at La Sarthe in 1998, Japanese SARD chief Shin Kato announced recently. The team came close to success in the early 90's but have failed to shine in recent years.
The Nissan R390 GT1 will not appear as expected at Suzuka in August. The FIA have not admitted the car because Nissan failed to apply for the appropriate homologation.
Fans of the French Marque will be pleased to read that Alistair Davidson ( according to Autosport ) plans to run his 600LM in the FIA GT round at Doni' on September 14th.
The ever-quicker JJ Lehto made the BMW Motorsport Mclaren F1 GTR fly at Spa yesterday. After putting the car on pole position JJ proceeded to make a lap over the chasing Mercedes of Bernd Schneider and Alex Wurtz. Despite a late unscheduled pitstop, Steve Soper managed to retain the lead and finish 14.35s ahead of the Mercedes CLK and the Wollek/Dalmas Porsche GT1 in third place.
Frank Nichols the founder of Elva cars died on the 5th July at the age of 76.
Two Esprit GT2 cars may start next year if plans go ahead for the Mellors-Elliot running Andrew Bramley's ex-works cars.
Patrick Peter is still short of critical mass for his plans to launch an international GT championship after the popular BPR series was 'kidnapped' by the FIA. He is planning 2 races this year including a 4 hour race at Nogaro on 5th October.
Rumours of a new chassis for the GT1 have been dismissed by Porsche Motorsport. The 'Evo' development of the '96 cars that ran so quickly at Le Mans has been improved significantly to meet the challenge the Mercedes CLKs in the remaining rounds of the FIA GT series.
Following the announcement by American SportsCar supremo Andy Evans that the US series is to align it's rules with the FIA GT regs and the ACO Le Mans GT rules, it seems likely that more US teams will be making the trip to La Sarthe next year. Evans has proposed a separate series for the prototype/spaceframe cars that currently dominate the US Sportscar scene.
The Kremer team look set to return to evolving the K8 prototype for the ISRS series. They will be building a new prototype for 1998 instead of the 911 GT1. The change has been blamed on the high cost of running the GT.
The double Le Mans winning prototype is likely to make the first round of the ISRS series at Donington on the 6th July. The 'rookie 24 hours winner' Tom Kristensen will be on the driver line-up. For all of you who missed the big race this year this is a second chance to see the 'Joest perfect' team in action.
Le Mans regulars would have heard Dave Davies of Club Arnage interviewed live on Radio Le Mans on the Saturday and Sunday mornings of the race weekend. We all know how important this English language radio station is to us and we are very grateful to Janice Minton and John Hindhaugh of Chrysler Radio Le Mans for taking the time to extend this opportunity and all the other assistance they gave us during the event. If you missed the interview you can download it in Real Audio format (0.16 MBytes) by clicking this link or in WAV format (2 MBytes) by clicking here, or for a 'zipped' version of about 1 Megabyte click here.
You can have a chance to win an exclusive 1998 Radio Le Mans T-shirt and VIP tour of the station in our prize draw coming soon to this web site so stay tuned by bookmarking the index page now!
UK Le Mans fans should be sure not to miss the TV report on the pre-qualifying weekend. Set your video recorder for Wed 28th May at 19:30 - 20:00 BST on BBC2 . Full details are on the BBC Top Gear web site.
Jim Downing's Mazda team have a second chance now due to the retirement of the WR team after the fatal accident of Sebastian Enjolras during prequalification. They will be eligable to take part in the final qualification sessions during race week.
The ACO are offering a special deals for members of the new British arm of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest. The "Le Mans Club 24" is a major effort by the club to involve English speaking members.
Provisional driver and team line-ups for Le Mans this year are beginning to be revealed this week. Indycar stars Michael Andretti and Christian Fittipaldi are possible to join Mario Andretti in the Courage C36. John Paul jr fresh from success at Daytona will be joining the factory Panoz team of David Price Racing. The touring car ace and Le Mans 'regular' Win Percy will now be driving a Porsche 911 GT2 for the EMKA team due to the withdrawl of the Harrier.
The ACO announced on Wednesday this week the full entry list for 'invited' and prequalifying entrants. The phalanx of four Courages are notable in the prototypes class, along with a rerun of the winning Joest Porsche of 1996 (forced to prequalify due to late entry). The GT1 class is dominated by no less than nine Porsche GT1's alongside seven McLarens, five Lotus four Panoz and three Nissans. GT2 is an almost solid parade of Porsche 911 GT2s broken up by Marcos', Vipers and Ford Mustangs. Remember that of the 76 cars listed, only 48 will start the 24 hours. Follow this link to the full classified list.
The final spot in the Gulf Racing team has been bagged by British driver Andrew Gilbert Scott. He will be returning from his stint in Japan to return to La Sarthe for the first time since 1989.
The Moretti team have scaled down their Le Mans effort to a single 333P and as a result Derek Bell will not be running. It appears that Derek will not be seeking an alternative drive, but will focus on the American IMSA WSC endurance series that continues this week with the Sebring 12 hours.
The much delayed on-and-off history of the Mercedes CLK GT was given a boost recently with a test session at Jarema. It still remains to be confirmed that the car will contest the '97 GT series or Le Mans.
Joest Racing plan to run again with the TWR Porsche WSC car that won in '96.
Riccardo Patrese may be tempted back to Le Mans this year by the offer of a TWR Nissan seat. One of the Nissan cars will have an all Japanese driver line-up but the other two will be piloted by an international squad headed up by Martin Brundle.
American ex indycar star Danny Sullivan may be making his fourth Le Mans start this year in one of two Esperante GTS-Rs. He could be joined by Butch Leitzinger a Daytona 24h winner who had his debut at Le Mans in 1996.
A row has broken out over the schedule for the FIA GT championship and the clash of dates between the Spa event and Le Mans. Initially scheduled for 12/13th July it was moved to the 8th June, just a day before scrutineering begins in La Sarthe.
Gulf Racing announced on Wednesday this week
a stunning new livery for the 3 car assault on Le Mans and the FIA GT series.
With a solid driver line up for the new long-tail McLaren F1 GTR this is
the best chance Gulf have had for a Le Mans win since 1975.
For more pictures click here.
'96 Le Mans winning driver Davy Jones who was seriously injured in the first round of the Indy Racing League at Disney World is now recovering well. He is walking again and is expected to be home within the next week or so.
Jim Downing will be fielding a new 4-rotor car at Le Mans this year. The car's first run will be at Le Mans test weekend. Mazda does not have an invitation this year, so their chances might be lower than usual to make the show. But who knows, the 3-rotor DLM debuted sans problems in '96.
The three TWR built Nissan R390 GT1 cars spearheading the assault on Le Mans will be shod with Japanese Bridgestone tyres after a deal recently completed for Le Mans and the FIA GT series.
Former F1 star Nigel Mansell has been dropped from the FIA GT and Le Mans deal that has been widely predicted. It appears that sponsors failed to back the plan after Mansell tested at Paul Ricard recently.
British sportscar manufacturer Lister will be running two new cars on the Le Mans pre-qualification weekend in May. The 'soft' shape storm is lighter and possibly faster than last year's car and has the 'long-tail' style trend set by Porsche and McLaren.
Last friday Davy Jones veteran of 5 Le Mans starts since 1988 and winner in 1996 was seriously injured in a incident during practice at the the Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando Florida. The condition of 32 year old Jones was initially critical and remains serious.
Mario Andretti is likely to make another attempt to break his bad luck streak at Le Mans again this year. He may be tempted from his retirement to make another outing, this time in a Ferrari 333 with Stephan Ratel's French RFR team.
Nigel Mansell may get a works drive in FIA series as well as at Le Mans if a season deal is taken up by Porsche. There are doubts remaining as to Mansell's possible performance in sportscars, a drive is likely be announced subsequent to testing. ( Let us hope there is enough elbow room in a 911 GT1 !)
Martin Brundle who lost his F1 drive with Jordan last week will now join TWR and will lead the TWR Nissan effort on Le Mans and the FIA sportscar series. Three Nissan R390 GT1 cars will run at La Sarthe, but the driver line up is still hazy. Martin is no stranger to sportscars or Le Mans, having won the 24 hours in 1990 also with TWR in a Jaguar.
The Spice marque is set to reappear in the 24 hours this year. The team will be running a pair of cars designated WSC D97. This will be the first factory effort for seven years.
Fading F1 star Nigel Mansell and Pedro Lamy may be joining the Porsche team to drive the 911 GT1 at Le Mans and the new FIA sportscar series. It is expected that there will be a three car line-up for the factory team in '97.
This British manufacturer will be joining Alco Motorsport to develop the American Ford V8 powered R42 sportscar. They hope to run two cars in the FIA series and possibly Le Mans.
The motorsport season starts here! This annual event at the National Exhibition Centre always marks the launch of several gridfulls of new race cars, and the '97 season is no exception.
For Le Mans fans there were two notable events today. The much rumoured launch of the Noel Edmonds "Unique Group" assault on the 24 hours with the outrageously styled Panoz GT1 and the resurfaced BRM marque in the shape of the new Nissan powered BRM P301. The BRM has a reworked IMSA Nissan twin turbo 3 litre V6 and a full carbon fibre monocoque. It has been testing at chilly Snetterton recently but will be off to warmer parts quite soon according to Janspeed team boss Chris Goodwin. It will run in the LMP1 class at Le Mans and will also contest the FIA sports racing series.
Get yourselves down to the NEC if you possibly can. There are plenty of treats for both adults and kids. See formula 1 cars closer than you will ever get to see them at the circuit. Browse the books in the bookstalls , try your hand at the indoor karting circuit. Oh yes, and don't miss the Live Action show either!
Derek Bell will be piloting a 333 for Moretti Racing at Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans.
British TV presenter Noel Edmonds will announce a deal for Le Mans '97 at the Autosport International show this week.
Sporstcar driver Soames Langton who sustained serious head injury last October in the BPR series is showing the first signs of recovery at the East Surrey Hospital. He has opened his eyes and is responding to signals. Let us hope his recovery continues.