The 2012 European Le Mans Series was the ninth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's European Le Mans Series (previously known as simply Le Mans Series). Championship titles were awarded in five categories, with the Le Mans Series shifting its categories following its separation from the FIA World Endurance Championship. LMP1 cars were dropped due to most teams entering the FIA World Endurance Championship while a new GTC category was created to allow single make grand tourer cars and FIA GT3s to compete in endurance races. However, there were no GTC cars that competed during the season.
Due to the numerous issues the season was reduced to just three rounds, starting in Le Castellet, France on 1 April and ended at Braselton, Georgia, United States, on 20 October.
Schedule
Following the ELMS decision to no longer share races with the FIA World Endurance Championship (formerly the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup), the series required new races to replace the Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone races which now were part of the WEC. Circuit Paul Ricard was the only event carried over from 2011 and remained the season opener.[1] Circuit Zolder was supposed to serve as the second round of the series, but on 1 April the race was cancelled due to a lack of entrants. ELMS teams were instead invited to enter the 6 Hours of Spa WEC round.[2] Following a small number of entries at Donington, the season's two later rounds at the Brno Circuit and Autódromo Internacional do Algarve were cancelled. In place of these two rounds, an agreement was reached with the American Le Mans Series to allow ELMS competitors to participate in the Petit Le Mans for double points, with the ELMS providing transport assistance to full-season teams.[3]
| Rnd | Race | Circuit | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| – | Official Test Session |  Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France |
9–10 March |
| 1 | 6 Hours of Castellet | Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France |
1 April |
| 2 | 6 Hours of Donington |  Donington Park, Castle Donington, United Kingdom |
15 July |
| 3 | Petit Le Mans |  Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia |
20 October |
Regulation changes
The Le Mans Series made changes to its class structure for the 2012 season, eliminating one previous class while adding another. The LMP1 Le Mans Prototype category were no longer featured in LMS races due to the large amount of LMP1 factory teams which switched from the Le Mans Series to the World Endurance Championship. This move promotes the LMP2 category to the top of the class structure. To replace LMP1, a new class has been created at the bottom of the class structure, named GTC. This class allowed only three cars from various one make series to compete: The Ferrari 458 Challenge, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, and the Lotus Evora GT4. Teams in GTC were not allowed more than one professional driver in their line-up.[4] Finally, the Formula Le Mans category was renamed LMP Challenge, aligning with the title utilized by the American Le Mans Series.[5]
Entry list
Season results
| Rnd. | Circuit | LMP2 Winning Team | LMPC Winning Team | GTE Pro Winning Team | GTE Am Winning Team | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LMP2 Winning Drivers | LMPC Winning Drivers | GTE Pro Winning Drivers | GTE Am Winning Drivers | |||
| 1 | Paul Ricard | No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing |
No. 42 CURTIS Racing Technologies |
No. 66 JMW Motorsport |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} No. 75 Prospeed Competition |
Results |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Mathias Beche Pierre Thiriet |
John Hartshorne Alex Kapadia Phil Keen |
James Walker Jonny Cocker |
Marc Goossens Maxime Soulet | |||
| 2 | Donington | No. 35 OAK Racing |
No. 40 Boutsen Ginion Racing |
No. 66 JMW Motorsport |
No. 67 IMSA Performance Matmut |
Results |
| Olivier Pla Dimitri Enjalbert Bertrand Baguette |
Thomas Dagoneau Jean-Charles Battut John Hartshorne |
Jonny Cocker Allan Simonsen |
Nicolas Armindo Raymond Narac Anthony Pons | |||
| 3 | Road Atlanta | No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing |
Did Not Participate | Did Not Participate | No. 67 IMSA Performance Matmut |
Results |
| Mathias Beche Pierre Thiriet Christophe Tinseau |
Nicolas Armindo Raymond Narac Anthony Pons | |||||
Championship Standings
Points are awarded to cars that finish in tenth place or higher, with unclassified entries failing to complete 70% of the race distance or entries failing to reach the finish not earning championship points. One bonus point is awarded for winning pole position (denoted by bold). Double points will be awarded at Petit Le Mans.[3]
| Points System | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Pole Position | |||||||||||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | |||||
| 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Teams Championships
The top two finishers in the LMP2, GTE Pro, and GTE Am championships earn automatic entry to the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans.
LMP2 Standings
| Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | CAS | DON | ATL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thiriet by TDS Racing |
Oreca 03 | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | 26 | 18 | 50 | 94 |
| 2 | OAK Racing |
Morgan LMP2 | Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V8 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 |
8 | 26 | 37 | 71 |
| 3 | Greaves Motorsport |
Zytek Z11SN | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | 12 | 6 | 30 | 48 |
| 4 | Sébastien Loeb Racing |
Oreca 03 | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | 18 | 12 | 30 | |
| 5 |  Pecom Racing |
Oreca 03 | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | 6 | 10 | 16 | |
| 6 |  Status GP |
Lola B12/80 | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | 15 | 0 | 15 | |
| 7 | Murphy Prototypes |
MG-Oreca 03 | Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V8 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| 8 | Race Performance |
Oreca 03 | Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V8 | 10 | 10 | ||
| 9 | Extrême Limite ARIC |
Norma M200P | Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V8 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 10 | JOTA |
Zytek Z11SN | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| – | Boutsen Ginion Racing |
Oreca 03 | Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V8 | 0 | 0 | ||
LMPC Standings
| Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | CAS | DON | ATL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boutsen Ginion Racing |
Oreca FLM09 | Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 | 1 | 26 | 27 | |
| 2 | Curtis Racing Technologies |
Oreca FLM09 | Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 | 25 | 25 | ||
LM GTE Pro Standings
| Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | CAS | DON | ATL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JMW Motorsport |
Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | Ferrari 4.5 L V8 | 25 | 26 | 51 | |
| 2 |  JMB Racing |
Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | Ferrari 4.5 L V8 | 19 | 19 | ||
LM GTE Am Standings
| Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | CAS | DON | ATL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IMSA Performance Matmut |
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | 18 | 25 | 51 | 94 |
| 2 |  AF Corse |
Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | Ferrari 4.5 L V8 | 15 | 19 | 0 | 34 |
| 3 | Prospeed Competition |
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | 26 | 26 |
Drivers Championships
LMP2 Standings
LMPC Standings
| Pos | Driver | Team | CAS | DON | ATL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Hartshorne |
Curtis Racing Technologies Boutsen Ginion Racing |
25 | 26 | 51 | |
| 2 | Thomas Dagoneau |
Boutsen Ginion Racing |
1 | 26 | 27 | |
| 3 | Jean-Charles Battut |
Boutsen Ginion Racing |
26 | 26 | ||
| 4= | Alex Kapadia |
Curtis Racing Technologies |
25 | 25 | ||
| 4= | Phil Keen |
Curtis Racing Technologies |
25 | 25 | ||
| 5= | Jean-Marc Merlin |
Boutsen Ginion Racing |
1 | 1 | ||
| 5= | Massimo Vignali |
Boutsen Ginion Racing |
1 | 1 | ||
LM GTE Pro Standings
| Pos | Driver | Team | CAS | DON | ATL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonny Cocker |
JMW Motorsport |
25 | 26 | 51 | |
| 2 | James Walker |
JMW Motorsport |
25 | 1 | 26 | |
| 3 | Allan Simonsen |
JMW Motorsport |
25 | 25 | ||
| 4= |  Jaime Melo |
JMB Racing |
19 | 19 | ||
| 4= | Marco Frezza |
JMB Racing |
19 | 19 | ||
LM GTE Am Standings
| Pos | Driver | Team | CAS | DON | ATL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Anthony Pons |
IMSA Performance Matmut |
18 | 25 | 51 | 94 |
| 1= | Nicolas Armindo |
IMSA Performance Matmut |
18 | 25 | 51 | 94 |
| 1= | Raymond Narac |
IMSA Performance Matmut |
18 | 25 | 51 | 94 |
| 2= | Piergiuseppe Perazzini |
AF Corse |
15 | 19 | 0 | 34 |
| 2= | Marco Cioci |
AF Corse |
15 | 19 | 0 | 34 |
| 2= | Matt Griffin |
AF Corse |
15 | 19 | 0 | 34 |
| 3= | Marc Goossens |
Prospeed Competition |
26 | 26 | ||
| 3= | Maxime Soulet |
Prospeed Competition |
26 | 26 | ||
Manufacturers Cups
LMP2 Standings
| Pos | Constructor | CAS | DON | ATL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oreca-Nissan | 44 | 33 | 50 | 127 |
| 2 | Morgan-Nissan | 25 | 37 | 62 | |
| 3 | Zytek-Nissan | 14 | 6 | 30 | 50 |
| 4 | Morgan-Judd | 8 | 9 | 17 | |
| 5 | Lola-Judd | 15 | 0 | 15 | |
| 6 | Oreca-Judd | 10 | 10 | ||
| 7 | Norma-Judd | 4 | 4 | ||
LM GTE Standings
| Pos | Constructor | CAS | DON | ATL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porsche | 27 | 18 | 51 | 96 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 44 | 41 | 0 | 85 |
| – | Aston Martin | 0 | 0 | ||
References
- ↑ "Tracks for Drivers..." Le Mans Series. 2011-11-22. Archived from the original on 2013-01-27. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
- ↑ "Zolder annulé ! Des réflexions en cours pour le futur de la série". Endurance-Info.com. 2012-04-01. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
- 1 2 Dagys, John (2012-07-20). "ELMS: Series Cancels Brno, Algarve, Teams Invited to Petit Le Mans". SpeedTV.com. Speed Channel. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
- ↑ Dagys, John (2011-11-10). "LE MANS: LMS Confirms GTC Class For 2012". speedtv.com. Speed Channel. Archived from the original on 2012-01-10. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- ↑ Dagys, John (2011-09-08). "LE MANS: ACO, ORECA Launch LMPC Trophy". speedtv.com. Speed Channel. Archived from the original on 2012-06-13. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- ↑ "ELMS 2012 Entry List" (PDF). europeanlemansseries.com. 10 February 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Donington: The Participants". European Le Mans Series. Peter Auto. 11 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-12-31. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 "Le Castellet: The Participants". europeanlemansseries.com. 23 March 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-12-16. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
- 1 2 3 "Alexander Sims joins Status GP for European Le Mans Series". Autosport.com. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
- ↑ Mercier, Laurent (2012-03-28). "6H Castellet : Alex Kapadia rejoint Curtis Racing Technologies" [6H Castellet: Alex Kapadia joined Curtis Racing Technologies]. endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2012-03-29.