2012 European Le Mans Series Explained

The 2012 European Le Mans Series was the ninth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's European Le Mans Series (previously known as simply Le Mans Series). Championship titles were awarded in five categories, with the Le Mans Series shifting its categories following its separation from the FIA World Endurance Championship. LMP1 cars were dropped due to most teams entering the FIA World Endurance Championship while a new GTC category was created to allow single make grand tourer cars and FIA GT3s to compete in endurance races. However, there were no GTC cars that competed during the season.

Due to the numerous issues the season was reduced to just three rounds, starting in Le Castellet, France on 1 April and ended at Braselton, Georgia, United States, on 20 October.

Schedule

Following the ELMS decision to no longer share races with the FIA World Endurance Championship (formerly the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup), the series required new races to replace the Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone races which now were part of the WEC. Circuit Paul Ricard was the only event carried over from 2011 and remained the season opener.^[1] Circuit Zolder was supposed to serve as the second round of the series, but on 1 April the race was cancelled due to a lack of entrants. ELMS teams were instead invited to enter the 6 Hours of Spa WEC round.^[2] Following a small number of entries at Donington, the season's two later rounds at the Brno Circuit and Autódromo Internacional do Algarve were cancelled. In place of these two rounds, an agreement was reached with the American Le Mans Series to allow ELMS competitors to participate in the Petit Le Mans for double points, with the ELMS providing transport assistance to full-season teams.^[3]

Rnd	Race	Circuit	Date
–	Official Test Session	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France	9–10 March
1	6 Hours of Castellet	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France	1 April
2	6 Hours of Donington	Donington Park, Castle Donington, United Kingdom	15 July
3	Petit Le Mans	Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia	20 October

Regulation changes

The Le Mans Series made changes to its class structure for the 2012 season, eliminating one previous class while adding another. The LMP1 Le Mans Prototype category were no longer featured in LMS races due to the large amount of LMP1 factory teams which switched from the Le Mans Series to the World Endurance Championship. This move promotes the LMP2 category to the top of the class structure. To replace LMP1, a new class has been created at the bottom of the class structure, named GTC. This class allowed only three cars from various one make series to compete: The Ferrari 458 Challenge, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, and the Lotus Evora GT4. Teams in GTC were not allowed more than one professional driver in their line-up.^[4] Finally, the Formula Le Mans category was renamed LMP Challenge, aligning with the title utilized by the American Le Mans Series.^[5]

Entry list

Entry List^[6]
Entrant/Team	Car	Engine	Tyre	No	Drivers	Rounds
LMP2
Greaves Motorsport	Zytek Z11SN	Nissan VK45DE 4.5L V8		1	Alex Brundle	All
					Tom Kimber-Smith	All
					Lucas Ordóñez	1–2
					Alex Buncombe	3
Pecom Racing	Oreca 03	Nissan VK45DE 4.5L V8		10	Luís Pérez Companc	1–2
					Pierre Kaffer	1–2
					Gianmaria Bruni	1
					Soheil Ayari^[7]	2
Race Performance	Oreca 03	Judd-BMW HK 3.6L V8		11	Jonathan Hirschi	1
					Michel Frey	1
					Ralph Meichtry^[8]	1
Status GP	Lola B12/80	Judd-BMW HK 3.6L V8		17	Alexander Sims^[9]	1–2
					Yelmer Buurman	1
					Dean Stirling	1
					Julien Jousse	2
					Maxime Jousse	2
Murphy Prototypes	MG-Oreca 03	Nissan VK45DE 4.5L V8		18	Jody Firth	All
					Warren Hughes	All
					Luca Moro	1
					Brendon Hartley	2–3
Sébastien Loeb Racing	Oreca 03	Nissan VK45DE 4.5L V8		19	Nicolas Marroc	1–2
					Nicolas Minassian	1–2
					Stéphane Sarrazin	1–2
OAK Racing	Morgan LMP2	Judd-BMW HK 3.6L V8		24	Jacques Nicolet	1–2
					Guillaume Moreau	1
					Dominik Kraihamer	1
					Matthieu Lahaye	2
		Nissan VK45DE 4.5L V8		35	Bertrand Baguette	2–3
					Dimitri Enjalbert	2
					Olivier Pla	2–3
					Jacques Nicolet	3
Jota	Zytek Z11SN	Nissan VK45DE 4.5L V8		38	Sam Hancock	1–2
Jota	Zytek Z11SN	Nissan VK45DE 4.5L V8		38	Simon Dolan	1–2
Extrême Limite ARIC	Norma M200P	Judd-BMW HK 3.6L V8		44	Fabien Rosier	1
Extrême Limite ARIC	Norma M200P	Judd-BMW HK 3.6L V8		44	Philippe Thirion	1
Boutsen Ginion Racing	Oreca 03	Nissan VK45DE 4.5L V8		45	Bastien Brière	1
					Jack Clarke	1
					Sébastien Buemi	1
Thiriet by TDS Racing	Oreca 03	Nissan VK45DE 4.5L V8		46	Mathias Beche	All
					Pierre Thiriet	All
					Christophe Tinseau	3
LMPC
Boutsen Ginion Racing	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet LS3 6.2L V8		40	Thomas Dagoneau	1–2
					Massimo Vignali	1
					Jean-Marc Merlin	1
					Jean-Charles Battut	2
					John Hartshorne	2
CURTIS Racing Technologies	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet LS3 6.2L V8		42	Phil Keen	1
					John Hartshorne	1
					Alex Kapadia^[10]	1
LM GTE Pro
Kessel Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	Ferrari F142 4.5L V8		61	Michał Broniszewski	1
Kessel Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	Ferrari F142 4.5L V8		61	Philipp Peter	1
JMW Motorsport	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	Ferrari F142 4.5L V8		66	James Walker	1
					Jonny Cocker	1–2
					Allan Simonsen	2
JMB Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	Ferrari F142 4.5L V8		83	Jaime Melo	1
JMB Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	Ferrari F142 4.5L V8		83	Marco Frezza	1
LM GTE Am
AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	Ferrari F142 4.5L V8		60	Piergiuseppe Perazzini	All
					Marco Cioci
					Matt Griffin
IMSA Performance Matmut	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6		67	Anthony Pons	All
					Nicolas Armindo
					Raymond Narac
Gulf Racing	Aston Martin Vantage GTE	Aston Martin 4.5L V8		69	Stuart Hall	1
Gulf Racing	Aston Martin Vantage GTE	Aston Martin 4.5L V8		69	Roald Goethe	1
Prospeed Competition	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6		75	Marc Goossens	1
Prospeed Competition	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6		75	Maxime Soulet	1
JMB Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	Ferrari F142 4.5L V8		99	Alain Ferté	1
JMB Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	Ferrari F142 4.5L V8		99	Philippe Illiano	1

Season results

Rnd.	Circuit	LMP2 Winning Team	LMPC Winning Team	GTE Pro Winning Team	GTE Am Winning Team	Results
Rnd.	Circuit	LMP2 Winning Drivers	LMPC Winning Drivers	GTE Pro Winning Drivers	GTE Am Winning Drivers	Results
1	Paul Ricard	No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing	No. 42 CURTIS Racing Technologies	No. 66 JMW Motorsport	No. 75 Prospeed Competition	Results
1	Paul Ricard	Mathias Beche Pierre Thiriet	John Hartshorne Alex Kapadia Phil Keen	James Walker Jonny Cocker	Marc Goossens Maxime Soulet	Results
2	Donington	No. 35 OAK Racing	No. 40 Boutsen Ginion Racing	No. 66 JMW Motorsport	No. 67 IMSA Performance Matmut	Results
2	Donington	Olivier Pla Dimitri Enjalbert Bertrand Baguette	Thomas Dagoneau Jean-Charles Battut John Hartshorne	Jonny Cocker Allan Simonsen	Nicolas Armindo Raymond Narac Anthony Pons	Results
3	Road Atlanta	No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	No. 67 IMSA Performance Matmut	Results
3	Road Atlanta	Mathias Beche Pierre Thiriet Christophe Tinseau	Nicolas Armindo Raymond Narac Anthony Pons			Results

Championship Standings

Points are awarded to cars that finish in tenth place or higher, with unclassified entries failing to complete 70% of the race distance or entries failing to reach the finish not earning championship points. One bonus point is awarded for winning pole position (denoted by bold). Double points will be awarded at Petit Le Mans.

Teams Championships

The top two finishers in the LMP2, GTE Pro, and GTE Am championships earn automatic entry to the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans.

LMP2 Standings

Pos	Team	Chassis	Engine	CAS	DON	ATL	Total
1	Thiriet by TDS Racing	Oreca 03	Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8	1	2	3	94
2	OAK Racing	Morgan LMP2	Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V8 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8	6	1	4	71
3	Greaves Motorsport	Zytek Z11SN	Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8	4	7	5	48
4	Sébastien Loeb Racing	Oreca 03	Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8	2	4		30
5	Pecom Racing	Oreca 03	Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8	7	5		16
6	Status GP	Lola B12/80	Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8	3	Ret		15
7	Murphy Prototypes	MG-Oreca 03	Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V8	Ret	3	Ret	15
8	Race Performance	Oreca 03	Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V8	5			10
9	Extrême Limite ARIC	Norma M200P	Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V8	8			4
10	JOTA	Zytek Z11SN	Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8	9	Ret		2
–	Boutsen Ginion Racing	Oreca 03	Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V8	Ret			0

LMPC Standings

Pos	Team	Chassis	Engine	CAS	DON	Total
1	Boutsen Ginion Racing	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet 6.2 L V8	Ret	1	27
2	Curtis Racing Technologies	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet 6.2 L V8	1		25

LM GTE Pro Standings

Pos	Team	Chassis	Engine	CAS	DON	Total
1	JMW Motorsport	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	Ferrari 4.5 L V8	1	1	51
2	JMB Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	Ferrari 4.5 L V8	2		19

LM GTE Am Standings

Pos	Team	Chassis	Engine	CAS	DON	ATL	Total
1	IMSA Performance Matmut	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6	2	1	1	94
2	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT2	Ferrari 4.5 L V8	3	2	Ret	34
3	Prospeed Competition	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6	1			26

Drivers Championships

LMP2 Standings

Pos	Driver	Team	CAS	DON	ATL	Total
1=	Pierre Thiriet	Thiriet by TDS Racing	1	2	3	94
1=	Mathias Beche	Thiriet by TDS Racing	1	2	3	94
2=	Bertrand Baguette	OAK Racing		1	4	62
2=	Olivier Pla	OAK Racing		1	4	62
3	Jacques Nicolet	OAK Racing	6	6	4	54
4	Christophe Tinseau	Thiriet by TDS Racing			3	50
5=	Alex Brundle	Greaves Motorsport	4	7	5	48
5=	Tom Kimber-Smith	Greaves Motorsport	4	7	5	48
6=	Nicolas Marroc	Sébastien Loeb Racing	2	4		30
6=	Stéphane Sarrazin	Sébastien Loeb Racing	2	4		30
6=	Nicolas Minassian	Sébastien Loeb Racing	2	4		30
7	Dimitri Enjalbert	OAK Racing		1		25
8	Lucas Ordoñez	Greaves Motorsport	4	7		18
9=	Luís Pérez Companc	Pecom Racing	7	5		16
9=	Pierre Kaffer	Pecom Racing	7	5		16
10=	Alexander Sims	Status GP	3	Ret		15
10=	Dean Sterling	Status GP	3			15
10=	Yelmer Buurman	Status GP	3			15
10=	Jody Firth	Murphy Prototypes	Ret	3	Ret	15
10=	Warren Hughes	Murphy Prototypes	Ret	3	Ret	15
10=	Brendon Hartley	Murphy Prototypes		3	Ret	15
11=	Michel Frey	Race Performance	5			10
11=	Jonathan Hirschi	Race Performance	5			10
11=	Ralph Meichtry	Race Performance	5			10
11=	Soheil Ayari	Pecom Racing		5		10
12	Matthieu Lahaye	OAK Racing		6		9
13=	Guillaume Moreau	OAK Racing	6			8
13=	Dominik Kraihamer	OAK Racing	6			8
14	Gianmaria Bruni	Pecom Racing	7			6
15=	Fabien Rosier	Extrême Limite ARIC	8			4
15=	Philippe Thirion	Extrême Limite ARIC	8			4
16=	Sam Hancock	JOTA	9	Ret		2
16=	Simon Dolan	JOTA	9	Ret		2

LMPC Standings

Pos	Driver	Team	CAS	DON	Total
1	John Hartshorne	Curtis Racing Technologies Boutsen Ginion Racing	1	1	51
2	Thomas Dagoneau	Boutsen Ginion Racing	Ret	1	27
3	Jean-Charles Battut	Boutsen Ginion Racing		1	26
4=	Alex Kapadia	Curtis Racing Technologies	1		25
4=	Phil Keen	Curtis Racing Technologies	1		25
5=	Jean-Marc Merlin	Boutsen Ginion Racing	Ret		1
5=	Massimo Vignali	Boutsen Ginion Racing	Ret		1

LM GTE Pro Standings

Pos	Driver	Team	CAS	DON	Total
1	Jonny Cocker	JMW Motorsport	1	1	51
2	James Walker	JMW Motorsport	1	WD	26
3	Allan Simonsen	JMW Motorsport		1	25
4=	Jaime Melo	JMB Racing	2		19
4=	Marco Frezza	JMB Racing	2		19

LM GTE Am Standings

Pos	Driver	Team	CAS	DON	ATL	Total
1=	Anthony Pons	IMSA Performance Matmut	2	1	1	94
1=	Nicolas Armindo	IMSA Performance Matmut	2	1	1	94
1=	Raymond Narac	IMSA Performance Matmut	2	1	1	94
2=	Piergiuseppe Perazzini	AF Corse	3	2	Ret	34
2=	Marco Cioci	AF Corse	3	2	Ret	34
2=	Matt Griffin	AF Corse	3	2	Ret	34
3=	Marc Goossens	Prospeed Competition	1			26
3=	Maxime Soulet	Prospeed Competition	1			26

Manufacturers Cups

LMP2 Standings

Pos	Constructor	CAS	DON	ATL	Total
1	Oreca-Nissan	44	33	50	127
2	Morgan-Nissan		25	37	62
3	Zytek-Nissan	14	6	30	50
4	Morgan-Judd	8	9		17
5	Lola-Judd	15	0		15
6	Oreca-Judd	10			10
7	Norma-Judd	4			4

LM GTE Standings

Pos	Constructor	CAS	DON	ATL	Total
1	Porsche	27	18	51	96
2	Ferrari	44	41	0	85
–	Aston Martin	0			0

External links

European Le Mans Series

Notes and References

Web site: Tracks for Drivers... . . 2011-11-22 . 2011-11-28 . https://archive.today/20130127170528/http://www.lemans-series.com/en/s03_actualites/s03p02_detail_actualite.php?news=2035 . 2013-01-27 . dead .
Web site: Zolder annulé ! Des réflexions en cours pour le futur de la série. . Endurance-Info.com . 2012-04-01 . 2012-04-02.
Web site: ELMS: Series Cancels Brno, Algarve, Teams Invited to Petit Le Mans . . . Dagys . John . 2012-07-20 . 2012-07-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120722200800/http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/elms-series-cancels-remainder-of-2012-races-teams-invites-to-petit-le-mans . 2012-07-22 . dead .
Web site: LE MANS: LMS Confirms GTC Class For 2012 . . speedtv.com . 2011-11-10 . Dagys . John . 2011-11-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120110171735/http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/le-mans-lms-confirms-gtc-for-2012/ . 2012-01-10 . dead .
Web site: LE MANS: ACO, ORECA Launch LMPC Trophy . . speedtv.com . 2011-09-08 . Dagys . John . 2011-11-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120613010218/http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/le-mans-aco-oreca-launch-lmpc-trophy/ . 2012-06-13 . dead .
Web site: ELMS 2012 Entry List . https://web.archive.org/web/20210126105732/https://www.europeanlemansseries.com/ml/images/content/communiques/2012/Engag%C3%A9s/elms_2012_entry_list.pdf . dead . January 26, 2021 . europeanlemansseries.com . 10 February 2012 . 8 March 2012 .
Web site: Donington: The Participants. European Le Mans Series. Peter Auto. 11 July 2012. 14 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001150/http://www.europeanlemansseries.com/en/s52_circuits/s52p06_engages.php?circuit=16&annee=2012. 2013-12-31. dead.
Web site: Le Castellet: The Participants . europeanlemansseries.com . 23 March 2012 . 24 March 2012 . https://archive.today/20121216092736/http://www.europeanlemansseries.com/en/s52_circuits/s52p06_engages.php?circuit=19 . 2012-12-16 . dead .
News: Alexander Sims joins Status GP for European Le Mans Series . Autosport.com . 29 March 2012 . 29 March 2012.
Web site: 6H Castellet : Alex Kapadia rejoint Curtis Racing Technologies . 6H Castellet: Alex Kapadia joined Curtis Racing Technologies . Endurance-Info . endurance-info.com . Mercier . Laurent . French . 2012-03-28 . 2012-03-29 . 2012-03-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120331032459/http://www.endurance-info.com/version2/actualite-endurance-10030.html . dead .