2003 Le Mans 24 hour race

Bentley Speed ​​8 with starting number 7; Winning car from Rinaldo Capello , Tom Kristensen and Guy Smith

Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello

Lister Storm LMP

The 71st 24 Hours of Le Mans , the 71 ^e Grand Prix d'Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans , also 24 Heures du Le Mans, Le Mans , took place from June 14th to 15th, 2003 on the Circuit des 24 Heures instead.

The race

In 2003 Audi decided not to participate in a works at Le Mans. The Board of Management of Volkswagen AG decided in 2003 to focus on the overall victory of the group subsidiary Bentley . Despite the absence of the works cars, three R8s registered by private teams competed . Bentley received personnel and logistical support from Reinhold Joest's racing team , who had previously carried out Audi's works outings at Le Mans. Two factory drivers, Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello , switched to the Bentley. Capello formed a team with the four-time Le Mans winner Kristensen for the first time. The Italian had previously said in several interviews that you can only win at Le Mans if you form a team with Kristensen. The third driver was the Briton Guy Smith , who had already been at Le Mans for Bentley in 2001 . The second car was also newly manned. The 1992 Le Mans winner , Mark Blundell , and the two former Formula 1 drivers David Brabham and Johnny Herbert joined the team for Andy Wallace , Eric van de Poele and Butch Leitzinger .

Of the 50 cars registered, only 49 entered the race. The new Lister Storm LMP had an accident during training and could not be repaired until the race. Remarkable vehicle at the start was a reported from Nasamax team Reynard 01Q one with bioethanol powered V8 engine of Cosworth had.

There was no doubt about the overall victory of the superior Bentley from the start of the race. After the start, the two racing cars were in the lead for almost the entire race, although one of the cars had problems with the electrics. After 377 laps, the number 7 Speed ​​8 won, driven by Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Guy Smith. The double victory was completed by the number 8 sister car, in which Mark Blundell, David Brabham and Johnny Herbert were at the wheel. As expected, the R8 crossed the finish line behind these two vehicles. One of the three cars crashed due to one of the rare Audi pitfalls. The Audi-Sport-UK-R8 with Frank Biela at the wheel got stuck on the track after two hours of racing without fuel.

Behind the VW Group vehicles were the Panoz LMP01 Evo by Olivier Beretta , Gunnar Jeannette and Massimiliano Papis , the Dome S101 by Jan Lammers , John Bosch and Andy Wallace, and the Courage C60 by Jonathan Cochet , Stéphan Grégoire and Jean-Marc Gounon a race-long three-way battle for fifth place overall. At the finish, the three cars were separated by just a few seconds. The GTS class was also highly competitive for a long time; in the end, the Prodrive - Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello from Tomáš Enge / Peter Kox / Jamie Davies clearly prevailed.

Results

Pilots by nationality

41 French	26 British	18 Americans	10 Germans	9 Japanese
7 Italians	7 Dutch	5 Belgians	5 Canadians	5 Swiss
4 danes	2 fins	2 Sweden	1 Australian	1 Bolivian
1 Brazilian	1 Monegasse	1 New Zealander	1 Austrian	1 Portuguese
1 South African	1 Czech

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	LMGTP	7th	Team Bentley	Rinaldo Capello Tom Kristensen Guy Smith	Bentley Speed ​​8	Bentley 4.0L Turbo V8	M.	377
2	LMGTP	8th	Team Bentley	Mark Blundell David Brabham Johnny Herbert	Bentley Speed ​​8	Bentley 4.0L Turbo V8	M.	375
3	LMP900	6th	Champion Racing	JJ Lehto Emanuele Pirro Stefan Johansson	Audi R8	Audi 3.6L Turbo V8	M.	372
4th	LMP900	5	Audi Sport Japan Team Goh	Seiji Ara Jan Magnussen Marco Werner	Audi R8	Audi 3.6L Turbo V8	M.	370
5	LMP900	11	JML Team Panoz	Olivier Beretta Gunnar Jeannette Massimiliano Papis	Panoz LMP01 Evo	Élan 6L8 6.0L V8	M.	360
6th	LMP900	15th	Racing for Holland	Jan Lammers John Bosch Andy Wallace	Dome S101	Judd GV4 4.0L V10	M.	360
7th	LMP900	13	Courage Compétition	Jonathan Cochet Stéphan Grégoire Jean-Marc Gounon	Courage C60	Judd GV4 4.0L V10	M.	360
8th	LMP900	17th	Pescarolo sport	Jean-Christophe Boullion Franck Lagorce Stéphane Sarrazin	Courage C60	Peugeot 3.2L Turbo V6	M.	356
9	LMP900	18th	Pescarolo sport	Eric Hélary Nicolas Minassian Soheil Ayari	Courage C60	Peugeot 3.2L Turbo V6	M.	352
10	GTS	88	Veloqx Prodrive Racing	Tomáš Enge Peter Kox Jamie Davies	Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello	Ferrari F133 5.9L V12	M.	336
11	GTS	50	Corvette Racing	Oliver Gavin Kelly Collins Andy Pilgrim	Chevrolet Corvette C5-R	Chevrolet 7.0L V8	G	326
12	GTS	53	Corvette Racing	Ron Fellows Johnny O'Connell Franck Fréon	Chevrolet Corvette C5-R	Chevrolet 7.0L V8	G	326
13	LMP900	9	Kondo Racing	Masahiko Kondō Ukyo Katayama Ryō Fukuda	Dome S101	Mugen MF408S 4.0L V8	Y	322
14th	GT	93	Alex Job Racing	Sascha Maassen Emmanuel Collard Lucas Luhr	Porsche 911GR3-RS	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	M.	320
15th	LMP675	29	Noël del Bello Racing	Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière Christophe Pillon Didier André	Reynard 2KQ-LM	Volkswagen HPT16 2.0L Turbo I4	M.	319
16	GTS	86	Larbre Compétition	Patrice Goueslard Christophe Bouchut Steve Zacchia	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	Chrysler 8.0L V10	M.	317
17th	GT	87	Orbit Racing	Leo Hindery Peter Baron Marc Lieb	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	M.	314
18th	GT	75	Thierry Perrier	Michel Neugarten Nigel Smith Ian Khan	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	P	305
19th	GT	77	Team Taisan Advan	Atsushi Yogō Akira Iida Kazuyuki Nishizawa	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	Y	304
20th	GT	81	The Racer's Group	Kevin Buckler Timo Bernhard Jörg Bergmeister	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	M.	304
21st	GTS	72	Luc Alphand Aventures	Luc Alphand Jérôme Policand Frédéric Dor	Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello	Ferrari F133 6.0L V12	M.	298
22nd	LMP675	26th	RN Motorsport Ltd.	John Nielsen Hayanari Shimoda Casper Elgaard	DBA4 03S	Zytek ZG348 3.4L V8	D.	288
23	GT	78	PK Sport Ltd.	Robin Liddell David Warnock Piers Masarati	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	P	285
24	LMP900	19th	Automotive Durango SRL	Sylvain Boulay Michele Rugolo Jean-Bernard Bouvet	Durango LMP1	Judd GV4 4.0L V10	D.	277
25th	GT	70	JMB Racing	David Terrien Fabrizio De Simone Fabio Babini	Ferrari 360 Modena GT	Ferrari F131 3.6L V8	P	273
26th	GT	94	Risi Competizione	Anthony Lazzaro Ralf Kellener's Terry Borcheller	Ferrari 360 Modena GT	Ferrari F131 3.6L V8	M.	269
27	GT	84	T2M motorsport	Vanina Ickx Roland Bervillé Patrick Bourdais	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	M.	264
Not classified
28	GTS	64	Graham Nash Motorsport	Pedro Chaves Thomas Erdos Mike Newton	Saleen S7-R	Ford 7.0L V8	D.	292
29	GT	85	ST Team Orange Spyker	Norman Simon Tom Coronel Hans Hugenholtz Junior	Spyker C8 Double-12R	Audi 4.0L V8	D.	229
30th	LMP675	24	Rachel Welter	Yōjirō Terada Olivier Porta Gavin Pickering	WR LMP01	Peugeot 2.0L Turbo I4	M.	235
Failed
31	LMP900	16	Racing for Holland	Felipe Ortiz Beppe Gabbiani Tristan Gommendy	Dome S101	Judd GV4 4.0L V10	M.	316
32	LMP900	12	JML Team Panoz	Benjamin Leuenberger David Saelens Scott Maxwell	Panoz LMP-1	Élan 6L8 6.0L V8	M.	233
33	GTS	68	Scorp Motorsport Communication	Luis Marques Olivier Thévenin Dominique Dupuy	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	Chrysler 8.0L V10	D.	229
34	GT	99	XL Racing	Ange Barde Michel Ferté Gaël Lesoudier	Ferrari 550 Maranello	Ferrari F131 5.5L V12	P	227
35	LMP900	4th	Riley & Scott Racing	Jim Matthews Marc Goossens Christophe Tinseau	Riley & Scott Mk IIIC	Ford Yates 6.0L V8	M.	214
36	LMP675	25th	Gerard Welter	Bastien Brière Jean-René de Fournoux Stéphane Daoudi	WR LMP02	Peugeot 3.0L V6	M.	176
37	GTS	80	Veloqx Prodrive Racing	Anthony Davidson Kelvin Burt Darren Turner	Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello	Ferrari F131 5.9L V12	M.	176
38	LMP900	14th	Team Nasamax	Romain Dumas Robbie Stirling Werner Lupberger	Reynard 01Q	Cosworth XDE 2.7L Turbo V8 bioethanol	G	138
39	GT	95	Risi Competizione	Shane Lewis Butch Leitzinger Johnny Mowlem	Ferrari 360 Modena GT	Ferrari F133 3.6L V8	Y	138
40	GT	83	Seikel Motorsport	Tony Burgess David Shep Andrew Bagnall	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	Y	134
41	LMP675	27	Intersport Racing	Jon Field Duncan Dayton Rick Sutherland	MG-Lola EX257	MG AER XP20 2.0L Turbo I4	G	107
42	GT	92	Dewalt Racesports Salisbury	Mike Jordan Michael Caine Tim Sugden	TVR Tuscan T400R	TVR Speed ​​Six 4.0L I6	D.	93
43	GTS	66	Konrad Motorsport	Franz Konrad Toni Seiler Walter Brun	Saleen S7-R	Ford 7.0L V8	D.	91
44	LMP900	21st	Edouard Sezionale	Patrice Roussel Edouard Sezionale Lucas Lasserre	Norma M2000-2	Ford Roush 6.0L V8	D.	82
45	LMP675	31	Courage Compétition	David Hallyday Philippe Alliot Carl Rosenblad	Courage C65	JPX 3.4L V6	M.	41
46	LMP900	10	Audi Sport UK	Frank Biela Perry McCarthy Mika Salo	Audi R8	Audi 3.6L Turbo V8	M.	28
47	LMP675	23	Team Bucknum Racing	Jeff Bucknum Bryan Willman Chris McMurry	Pilbeam MP91	JPX 3.4L V6	D.	27
48	GT	91	Dewalt Racesport Salisbury	Rob Barff Richard Hay Richard Stanton	TVR Tuscan T400R	TVR Speed ​​Six 4.0L I6	D.	11
49	GTS	61	Carsport America	Mike Hezemans Anthony Kumpen David Hart	Pagani Zonda GR	Mercedes-Benz AMG 6.0L V12	P	10
Not started
50	LMP900	20th	Lister Racing	Jamie Campbell-Walter Nathan Kinch Vincent Vosse	Lister Storm LMP	Chevrolet LS1 6.0L V8	D.	1

¹ accident in training

Only in the entry list

Here you can find teams, drivers and vehicles that were originally registered for the race, but did not take part for various reasons.

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires
51	LMP900	22nd	Taurus Sports Racing	Justin Keen Christian Vann Phil Andrews	Lola B2K / 10	Judd GV4 4.0L V10	D.
52	GTS	67	Konrad Motorsport	Jean-Francois Yvon Walter Brun Jesus Diez de Villaroel	Saleen S7-R	Ford 7.0L V8	D.
53	GT	82	The Racers Group	Paul Daniels Pierre Ehret Werner Gröbl	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	M.
54	GTS	65	Graham Nash Motorsport	Thomas Erdos Gavin Pickering Mike Newton	Saleen S7-R	Ford 7.0L V8	D.
55	GT	79	PK Sport Ltd.	Bart Hayden Gregor Fisken Ian Donaldson	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	P
56	GT	74	Luc Alphand Aventures	James Ruffier Olivier Thevenin Marino Franchitti	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	P

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
LMP900	JJ Lehto	Stefan Johansson	Emanuele Pirro	Audi R8	Rank 3
LMP675	Christophe Pillon	Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière	Didier André	Reynard 2KQ-LM	Rank 15
LMGTP	Rinaldo Capello	Tom Kristensen	Guy Smith	Bentley EXP Speed ​​8	Overall victory
GTS	Tomáš Enge	Peter Kox	Jamie Davies	Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello	Rank 10
GT	Sascha Maassen	Lucas Luhr	Emmanuel Collard	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	Rank 14

Racing data

• Registered: 56
• Started: 49
• Valued: 27
• Race classes: 5
• Spectators: 220,000
• Honorary starter of the race: Don Panoz , US racing team owner and motorsport official
• Race weekend weather: hot and dry
• Route length: 13,650 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 40.928 hours
• Rounds of the winning team: 377
• Distance of the winning team: 5145.399 km
• Winner's average: 214.399 km / h
• Pole position: Tom Kristensen - Bentley Speed ​​8 (# 7) - 3: 35,529 = 230.874 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Johnny Herbert - Bentley Speed ​​8 (# 8) - 3: 35,529 = 227.997 km / h
• Racing series: did not belong to any racing series

literature

• Christian Moity, Jean-Marc Teissèdre: Les 24 heures du Mans 2003 . Chronosports, Saint-Sulpice 2003, ISBN 2-8470-7029-X .

Web links

Commons : Le Mans 24 Hours 2003  - Collection of images, videos and audio files