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Country | ![]() |
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Inaugural season | 2006 |
Folded | 2007 |
Prototype Classes | LMP1, LMP2 |
GT Classes | GT1, GT2 |
The Japan Le Mans Challenge (abbreviated JLMC) was an endurance sportscar series based in Japan built around the 24 Hours of Le Mans that began in 2006. It was run by the Sports Car Endurance Race Operation (SERO) sanctioning body and ran under the rules laid out by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). It is the first endurance sportscar series in Japan since the demise of the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship in 1992, although the ACO had run a single endurance race since then, the 1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000 km. The series was cancelled in 2007 following two poor seasons.
The rules for the JLMC were based around the rules used by the ACO for the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in France, similar to those used by the Le Mans Series in Europe and the American Le Mans Series in North America. Cars were broken into two general classes, known as Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT). These classes were further broken down into a larger, more powerful class and a cheaper, less powerful class, which created four classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. All four classes raced at the same time on the same track, with a winner being declared for each class as well as an overall race winner. Points were based on finishing position are awarded for overall championships amongst drivers, teams, and engine builders. However, unlike the two other Le Mans-based series, the JLMC allowed cars which did not meet ACO guidelines in an attempt to increase the number of entrants. This was allowed with the belief that by 2008, JLMC would fully adapt to ACO rules and run fully compliant cars.
The ACO planned to also grant automatic entries to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the teams that win the season championships in each class. However, due to the use of cars which do not meet ACO guidelines, this plan for invitations was also moved to 2008.
During the brief two seasons of the Japan Le Mans Challenge, the series struggled to provide grids similar to those in the American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series. Most races averaged approximately 12 cars total, with only a few meeting actual LMP and GT regulations. Mugen Motorsports backed an LMP1 entry using one of their engines, while Hitotsuyama Racing attempted to increase field size by entering cars in two of the four classes. The LMP2 class however consisted entirely of rebodied single seaters, some of these were modified Dallara F3s from the domestic GC21 Championship. Even with some factory support and proven Le Mans cars, most teams struggled to survive the 1000 kilometer race distances. The first two races of the 2006 season were won by a Hitotsuyama Ferrari 550 Maranello in the GT1 class, while the two proper LMP1s failed to finish. It was not until the final race of 2006 that Mugen's LMP managed to earn an overall victory.
For 2007, Hitotsuyama's Zytek LMP1 managed to prove reliable enough to earn the first three victories of the season, before it once again struggled to finish in the final race of the year, leaving an LMP2 GC21 to take overall victory. During that 2007 season, SERO announced that they were relinquishing control of the series due to their failure to promote it and increase not only grid size, but also fan viewership. The ACO initially announced that they were to take over the series for 2008. However, shortly after this announcement, the ACO announced their intentions to cancel the series entirely, citing a continued lack of participants as well as being unable to make contracts with circuits over the lack of ticket sales.
The ACO announced a new Asian-based sports car series in 2009, which will encompass all of Asia in an attempt to increase support from outside Japan. A teasing race was to be held at the Shanghai International Circuit on November 1–2, 2008 but was later cancelled. The initial 2009 season comprised at least four three-hour races: two at Okayama International Circuit on October 30–November 1, [1] and the other two at Shanghai on November 7–8, [2] which was later cancelled due to economic reasons. [3] The winners would be awarded entries for the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans. The ACO aimed to attract teams from ALMS, LMS and the Super GT. Following the cancellation of the Shanghai race, the Asian Le Mans series would not be held again until 2013, [4] this time following the ELMS class structure (with additional classes for Group GT3 and Super GT GT300 cars [5] ), but the series continued to struggle from entry list issues until ACO took over the organisation of the series at the end of 2014 season.
Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is one of the main types of circuit auto racing, alongside open-wheel single-seater racing, touring car racing and stock car racing. Sports car races are often, though not always, endurance races that are run over particularly long distances or large amounts of time, resulting in a larger emphasis on the reliability and efficiency of the car and its drivers as opposed to outright car performance or driver skills. The FIA World Endurance Championship is an example of a sports car racing series.
The European Le Mans Series is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized 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.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose winner is determined by minimum time, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is won by the car that covers the greatest distance in 24 hours. The cars on this track can go up to 366 km/h (227 mph), and in prior events reaching 405 km/h (252 mph) before track modifications. Racing teams must balance the demands of speed with the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without mechanical failure.
The Japan Le Mans Challenge was a series of endurance races held in Japan, for motor racing cars, following the style of the famous Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race held every year in France.
The Nissan R391 is a prototype racing car built by Nissan and their motorsports counterpart Nismo for competition at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was a replacement for the R390 GT1, which was no longer legal in its production-based class.
The 1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000 km was an endurance race backed by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), who ran the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), who ran the JGTC race series. It was run on November 7, 1999.
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.
The Asian Le Mans Series is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second season. The ACO aims to attract teams and drivers from Asian countries.
The 2009 1000 km of Okayama was the inaugural event of Automobile Club de l'Ouest's (ACO) Asian Le Mans Series. It was held at the Okayama International Circuit, Japan and feature two 500 km races held on 30 October and 1 November 2009. The winning teams in each of the four categories earned an automatic invitation to the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans. A second Asian Le Mans Series event, scheduled for the Shanghai International Circuit, China, on 7 and 8 November was cancelled by the ACO due to economic circumstances. The race weekend is being shared with the World Touring Car Championship's Race of Japan.
The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010. The plans were first announced in June 2009 and confirmed in December of the same year.
United Autosports is a sports car racing team, founded by American businessman and entrepreneur Zak Brown and former British racing driver Richard Dean.
Strakka Racing was a British auto racing team founded by Nick Leventis. The team was based at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire. The team made history at the 2010 1000 km of Hungaroring when they became the first team in Le Mans Series history to win overall in an LMP2 class car. They also became the first team in LMS history to take overall pole position in an LMP2 class car.
The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercontinental Le Mans Cup which began in 2010 and is the first endurance series of world championship status since the demise of the World Sportscar Championship at the end of 1992. The World Endurance Championship name was previously used by the FIA from 1981 to 1985.
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.
The 2013 Asian Le Mans Series was the second season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's Asian Le Mans Series endurance auto racing championship. The series was initially launched in 2009 at the 1000 km of Okayama, but did not resume the following year. The project was reinitialized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) in 2012, with the Chinese S2M Group serving as the series promoter and TS Motorsport serving as organizer. It is the fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans-based series created by the ACO, following the American Le Mans Series, European Le Mans Series, and FIA World Endurance Championship. The four event season began in Inje, South Korea on 4 August and ended in Selangor, Malaysia on 8 December 2013.
The Dallara GC21 was a Le Mans Prototype built by Dallara for the Fuji Grand Champion Series, and based on one of the company's Formula Three cars. It was raced between 2002 and 2007, competing in the LMP2 class of the Japan Le Mans Challenge in the last two years of its usage. A GC21, entered by MYZ, won the LMP2 category of the Japan Le Mans Challenge in 2006.
The 2014 Asian Le Mans Series was the third season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's Asian Le Mans Series. It is the fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans-based series created by the ACO, following the American Le Mans Series, the European Le Mans Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship. The four event season began at the Inje Speedium on 20 July 2014 and ended at Sepang International Circuit in Selangor on 7 December 2014.
The 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season was the fourth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship auto racing series, co-organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series was open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style racing cars meeting four ACO categories. World championship titles were awarded for Le Mans Prototypes drivers and for manufacturers in the LMP1 category, and several World Endurance Cups and Endurance Trophies were also awarded in all four categories. The season began at the Silverstone Circuit in April and ended at the Bahrain International Circuit in November after eight rounds, and included the 83rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship was the sixth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series is open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into four categories. The season began at the Silverstone Circuit in April and will end at the Bahrain International Circuit in November, and include the 85th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. World championship titles will be awarded to the leading prototype drivers and manufacturers, while for the first time in the World Endurance Championship the leading grand touring drivers and manufacturers will also be awarded a world championship.
The 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship was the seventh season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series is open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into four categories. The season marked the first move to a winter schedule for the championship, with the season starting at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in May 2018 and concluding at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2019. World championship titles were awarded for LMP drivers, GTE drivers, LMP1 teams and GTE manufacturers.