The European Le Mans Series (ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and run by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the former American Le Mans Series (ALMS) based in the United States and Canada that was running with ACO and IMSA between 1999 and 2013. ELMS team champions and runners-up receive an automatic entry to the following year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Originally titled the Le Mans Endurance Series before becoming simply the Le Mans Series in 2006, the series was renamed once more in 2012, reusing a name previously utilized by IMSA in 2001.
Henri Jacques William Pescarolo is a former racing driver from France. He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans a record 33 times, winning on four occasions, and won a number of other major sports car events including the 24 Hours of Daytona. He also participated in 64 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium and 12 championship points. Pescarolo also drove in the Dakar Rally in the 1990s, before retiring from racing at the age of 57. In 2000 he set up his eponymous racing team, Pescarolo Sport, which competed in Le Mans until 2013. He wore a distinctive green helmet, and wears a full-face beard that partially covers burns suffered in a crash.
The 73rd 24 Hours of Le Mans was an 24 hour automobile endurance race held for Le Mans Prototype and Grand Touring cars from 18 to 19 June 2005 at the Circuit de la Sarthe close by Le Mans, France. It was the 73rd running of the event, as organised by the automotive group, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) since 1923. Unlike other events, it was not a part of any endurance motor racing championship. A test day was held two weeks prior to the race on 5 June. Approximately 230,000 people attended the race.
Warren Hughes is a racing driver from Newcastle, England.
The 2006 1000 km of Istanbul was the opening race of the 2006 Le Mans Series season run by the ACO. It was run on April 9, 2006.
Pescarolo Sport was a motorsport team based in Le Mans, France and founded in February 2000 by French racing driver Henri Pescarolo and his friend and partner, French publisher François Granet. They raced in the Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In October 2007, Henri Pescarolo purchased Jacques Nicolet's Saulnier Racing and created Pescarolo Automobiles, with the racing team becoming a division of the new company. The Pescarolo Automobiles went into receivership on 15 June 2010. Following a liquidation sale, the company was resold back to Henri Pescarolo and rebranded as Pescarolo Team for the 2011 season. However, the team's financial situation did not improve, and was wound up in January 2013.
The 2005 1000 km of Istanbul was the fifth and final round of the 2005 Le Mans Series season, held at the Istanbul Park, Turkey. It was run on November 13, 2005. Pescarolo Sport won the qualifying and the race.
The 2008 Le Mans Series was the fifth season of ACO's Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototype and Grand Touring style cars broken into 4 classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. It ran from 6 April to 14 September 2008 with five rounds taking place.
Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston Martin to sports car racing with the DBR9, a heavily modified variant of the Aston Martin DB9. Since the DBR9's racing debut in 2005, Aston Martin Racing has expanded to build a variety of cars available to customers, as well as development of Aston Martin's V12 engine for Le Mans Prototype use. Aston Martin Racing's program has earned several successes over the years.
Duncan Tappy is a professional racing driver from the United Kingdom.
The Pescarolo 01 is the first sports prototype racing car built entirely by French team Pescarolo Sport. It is designed to meet the LMP1 and LMP2 regulations for Le Mans Prototypes in the Le Mans Series as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and replace Pescarolo's previous C60 chassis which had been heavily modified from cars purchased through Courage Compétition. The first 01s debuted at the 2007 1000 km of Monza.
The 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 78th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, also known as the Grand Prix of Endurance. The race took place on 12–13 June 2010 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and was organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). Fifty-six cars participated in the event, organized into four categories. This race was attended by an estimated 238,850 spectators.
OAK Racing is an endurance racing team specialising in sports prototypes based in Le Mans, France. In 2013 it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2 class and the 2013 FIA WEC World Champion drivers and teams on LMP2 class.
The 80th 24 Hours of Le Mans was an 24 hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars held from 16 to 17 June 2012 at the Circuit de la Sarthe close to Le Mans, France. It was the 80th running of the event, as organised by the automotive group, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) since 1923. The race was the third round of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship, with 30 of the race's 56 entries contesting the championship. Approximately 240,000 people attended the race. A test day was held two weeks prior to the race on 3 June.
The 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship was the inaugural running of the World Endurance Championship. It was co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series replaced the former Intercontinental Le Mans Cup held by the ACO from 2010 to 2011. The series was open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-based racing cars meeting four ACO categories. Several championships, cups, and trophies were awarded in the series' four categories following an eight race season, with a World Championship available to the top scoring drivers and LMP1 category manufacturer.
Rebellion Racing is a Swiss racing team that competes in endurance racing. The team competed in the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season and won the LMP1 teams' title in the 2011 Le Mans Series season. The team started as an association between Speedy Racing and Sebah Racing, which began in 2008. Rebellion Racing's team principal is Alexandre Pesci and the team manager is Bart Hayden.
Greaves Motorsport is a British racing team, currently competing in the European Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 4 Hours of Portimão is an endurance race for sports cars, held at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, in Portugal. The first races were held in 2009 and 2010 as 1000 Kilometres of Algarve, as part of Le Mans Series calendar. Since 2017, it is run in 4 hours format, as part of the European Le Mans Series.
Tim Greaves is a British former racing driver and the team principal of Greaves Motorsport. He raced in various Radical series during the 2000s and also drove in the Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans between 2004 and 2010.
The Courage C60 was a Le Mans Prototype (LMP) racing car built by Courage Compétition in 2000, and used in international sports car races until 2006. A replacement for the Courage C52, it was Courage's first all-new prototype since the Courage C41 was built in 1994.
