For fourth and final part we look at the three final ELMS LMP2 teams that will be taking part in the 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with two having enjoyed success in the LMP2 Pro/Am category in recent years.
The 2024 race will be Nielsen Racing’s fourth outing, with the British team enjoying success in 2022 when Rodrigo Sales, Matt Bell and Ben Hanley finished 2ndin the LMP2 Pro/Am category.
In 2020, Nielsen Racing finished 16thout of the 23-car entry on the British team’s 24 Hours of Le Mans debut, with Garett Grist, Alex Kapadia and Tony Wells completing 338 laps at the chequered flag.
After missing out on an entry for the 2021 event, Nielsen returned to the LMP2 category in 2022 as Asian Le Mans Series champions and went on to take that coveted podium finish in LMP2 Pro/Am. In 2023 saw Nielsen racing retire after just 18 laps.
For their 2024 challenge, Nielsen Racing will have a single entry in LMP2 driven by last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 winner Fabio Scherer, reigning ELMS LMP2 champion Kyffin Simpson and the highly experienced David Heinemeier Hansson.
DKR Engineering has enjoyed success in the LMP2 Pro/Am category in recent years, taking a podium finish in 2022 and 2023.
The Luxembourg flagged team did compete in LMP2 all the way back in 2013, when the team raced a Lola B11/40 Judd to 13thin class.
DKR Engineering next entry in the LMP2 category at Le Mans came in 2022 when Laurents Hörr, Jean Glorieux and Alexandre Cougnaud brought the car home to claim the final podium place in LMP2 Pro/Am and 18th overall in LMP2.
Last year DKR repeated the previous year’s success when the all Belgian crew of Tom Van Rompuy, Ugo de Wilde and Maxime Martin finished 3rd in LMP2 Pro/Am and 16th overall in LMP2.
The 2024 entry will consist of one car in LMP2 Pro/Am driven by Laurents Hörr, Rene Binder and Alexander Mattschull.
British team Vector Sport made their 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in 2023 when the team were part of the FIA World Endurance Championship.Ryan Cullen, Gaby Aubry and Matthias Kaiser finished a credible 7th in LMP2 on the team’s debut.
With the demise of the LMP2 category in the FIA WEC, Vector Sport is now a full season team in the ELMS. The no10 Oreca-Gibson will have a strong driver line up for the team’s second participation of the world’s leading endurance race, with Patrick Pilet, Stephane Richelmi and Ryan Cullen sharing the driving duties.
The 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans will be the first since the FIA World Endurance Championship haven’t any LMP2 teams, meaning the LMP2 grid at Le Mans this year will be made up of 16 cars, 15 from the ELMS and the reigning Asian Le Mans Series champions Crowdstrike Racing by APR, which is run by 2023 ELMS champions Algarve Pro Racing. The 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans will take place on June 15/16.
