The Le Mans organizer ACO has published the list of participants for the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2022 after a week and a half delay. The field is completely full with 62 vehicles. There is also a reserve list of six vehicles.
The release was originally scheduled for February 28th. However, the war in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed by the World Automobile Federation FIA against Russian and Belarusian athletes have led to a delay. Among other things, Roman Russinow, one of the best-known long-distance pilots, has retired until further notice.
The ACO then allowed late entries again for 48 hours. However, there are no big surprises; neither a third Glickenhaus vehicle nor the ByKolles Vanwall appear on the list that has now been published.
The “worst case” of only five hypercars remains – two from Toyota, the LMP1 “old car” from Alpine and two vehicles from Glickenhaus Racing; Peugeot will continue to develop the 9X8 and stick to its original plan of not using the car in racing until late summer 2022.
The list shows Luis Felipe “Pipo” Derani as the third driver alongside Roman Dumas and Olivier Pla in the #708 Glickenhaus, which also competes in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) all year round. The second car, which is only entered for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is shared by Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook and Franck Mailleux.
Algave Pro remains in spite of Russinov’s withdrawal
With 27 vehicles, the LMP2 category has grown by two vehicles compared to 2021. A single Ligier dares among the orecas. The two vehicles, which were originally registered as “G-Drive Racing”, Russinow’s label, are now being used independently by the Algarve Pro Racing team. They run in the LMP2 Pro-Am subcategory.
Ex-Formula 1 driver Daniil Kwjat is no longer on the starting list either. Rene Binder and James Allen are now driving together with IMSA LMP2 Vice Champion Steven Thomas. Sophia Flörsch, who was supposed to contest the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) with Russinow, remains on board. Her teammate is now amateur driver John Falb, the third driver is currently still open.
Two other Germans will start in the LMP2. Laurents Hörr will start for DKR Engineering. The Oreca is also running in the LMP2 Pro-Am as teammate Jean Glorieux has a bronze rating. Niklas Krütten is registered with the returnee Cool Racing. He will compete alongside Yifei Ye and Ricky Taylor without an amateur driver.
The GTE Pro is down by one vehicle compared to the previous year, since the private Porsches are no longer available. In return, Riley Motorsports brings a Ferrari for Felipe Fraga, Sam Bord and Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen. As expected, Corvette Racing secured a second grid position alongside its WEC vehicle.
The GTE Am remains constant with 23 vehicles, but this time there is no innovative team. On the reserve list are three teams each from LMP2 and GTE Am with the Magnussen family in the first slot.
Starter list 24h Le Mans 2022