More Le Mans slots taken up

More and more slots for the 24 hours of Le Mans 2020 are taken up.

A total of 43 entries have been handed out so far. But one thing is the amount of entries handed out – a completely different thing is the teams taking up their invitations. Because it is just invitations, and the entry fee still has to be paid.

The 31 full season entrants from the FIA World Endurance Championship 2019/20 are all secured a ticket for the race, with it being the finale in the World Championship.

All class winners from the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2019 have won a spot in the race, but all four winners are already participating in the FIA WEC, so they might not take the chance to run an extra car.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship came to a conclusion two weeks ago, with the winners of the Jim Trueman and Bob Akin Championship both get a ticket. Trueman is for the best ranked Bronze driver in the LMP2 category, while Akin is for the best placed Bronze driveer in GTD. These tickets are not for the teams, but for the drivers themselves. The two entries were won by Cameron Cassels and Richard Heistand.

A further six entries were handed out yesterday, with five in the European Le Mans Series and a single one in the Michelin Le Mans Cup.

IDEC Sport won the LMP2 championship ahead of G-Drive Racing. Both will get an entry for the LMP2 category 2020.

Eurointernational won the LMP3 championship, and gets an LMP2 entry.

Luzich Racing Ferrari and Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche both got a GTE Am entry, as the top-two finishers in GTE.

Kessel Racing Ferrari won the GT3 championship in Michelin Le Mans Cup, so they receive a GTE Am ticket too.

With 48 of 62 tickets already handed out, there just a limited number of entries left. It’s expected to see two Porsche cars from IMSA, just like Corvette Racing will bring two brand new C8.R’s. There are six more spots available this time around compared to 2019, where BMW ran two cars, and Ford had a total of four cars. There is still a slight chance for two BMW from USA showing up, if they and BMW Europe are interested. BMW Team RLL has previously run at Le Mans, representing the German brand.

Here is the count of already handed out entries, while thee names in Italic still needs to be allocated. But please remember – to have an entry is one thing, but to actually run is another. Each team still needs to find the budget to run, transport and entry fee – but then they have their secured spot.

LMP1 (7 – 7 already allocated)

Rebellion Racing – 2 cars (FIA WEC)

Team LNT Ginetta – 2 cars (FIA WEC)

Toyota Gazoo Racing – 3 cars (FIA WEC + Le Mans victory 2019)

LMP2 (16 – 13 already allocated)

United Autosports (FIA WEC)

Racing Team Nederland (FIA WEC)

High Class Racing (FIA WEC)

Signatech Alpine Elf (FIA WEC)

Jackie Chan DC Racing (FIA WEC)

JOTA (FIA WEC)

Cool Racing (FIA WEC)

Cetilar Racing (FIA WEC)

Signatech Alpine Matmut (Le Mans victory 2019)

Cameron Cassels (IMSA LMP2)

IDEC Sport (ELMS LMP2 P1)

G-Drive Racing (ELMS LMP2 P2)

Eurointernational (ELMS LMP3 P1)

Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 P1

Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 Am P1

Asian Le Mans Series LMP3 P1

GTE Pro (7 – 7 already allocated)

AF Corse Ferrari – 3 cars (FIA WEC + Le Mans victory 2019)

Porsche – 2 biler (FIA WEC)

Aston Martin Racing – 2 cars (FIA WEC)

AF Corse Ferrari  (Le Mans victory 2019)

GTE Am (18 – 16 already allocated)

AF Corse Ferrari – 2 cars (FIA WEC)

Team Project 1 Porsche – 2 cars (FIA WEC)

Red River Sport Ferrari (FIA WEC)

MR Racing Ferrari (FIA WEC)

Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche – 3 cars (FIA WEC + ELMS GTE P2)

Gulf Racing Porsche (FIA WEC)

TF Sport Aston Martin (FIA WEC)

Aston Martin Racing (FIA WEC)

Team Project 1 Porsche (Le Mans victory 2019)

Richard Heistand (IMSA GTD)

Luzich Racing Ferrari (ELMS GTE P1)

Kessel Racing Ferrari (LMC GT3 P1)

Asian Le Mans Series GT P1