The second round of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, which will take place on Saturday 7^th May on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, has received a fully-subscribed field. In addition to the 26 ILMC competitors (entered for the whole year), another 34 cars, many of which are there to prepare for the Le Mans 24 Hours, will arrive in the Spa paddock will arrive in the Spa paddock. In all, a total of 60 cars will do battle in the race on the daunting Belgian roller-coaster!

The list of entries for the second round of the 2011 ILMC has just been published. All 26 year-long entries will be present. At Sebring (Florida, USA) for the first event, only twenty turned up as a waiver had been given for the opening race. This time, no preferential treatment – they must all be present.

Le Mans Prototypes 1 (LM P1):
There are 10 ILMC cars in the top category, including four that have never raced against their rivals before in the Intercontinental Cup: the 2 Audi R18s, the Aston Martin AMR-ONE and the Hope Racing Oreca powered by a hybrid engine. The battle for victory which, at Sebring, went to the Lapierre-Panis-Duval Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP, will be a very indecisive one, as in addition to the LMS entries – like the winning Pescarolo in the Le Castellet 6 Hours – there will be a second Aston Martin, a third Audi R18 and a third Peugeot 908 entered to prepare for the Le Mans 24 Hours on 11-12 June. They will all be in the hands of the drivers who will be competing in the Sarthe including the 2010 Le Mans 24-Hours winners – Dumas-Bernhard-Rockenfeller.

Le Mans Prototype 2 (LM P2):
It’s obvious that the three ILMC entries (Signatech-Nissan, Level 5 Motorsports and OAK racing) will have their work cut out at Spa. They will be up against 8 very quick rivals from the LMS. Another indecisive battle in prospect.

Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Pro Class (LM GTE Pro):
The newcomers at Spa will be the two Lotus Evora GTEs. However, this car took to the track for the first time on 7th April and a month’s preparation before a race as tough as Spa is hardly enough. The new Ferrari F458 Italias are omnipresent. The drivers of AF Corse, who raced in the United States with an F430 GT, and Luxury Racing, which entered a singleton F458 at Sebring, will be able to fight their corner with this potentially very quick machine. BMW, which scored a double in Florida after a no-holds-barred battle, will be the team to beat, even if the Munich cars will have their hands full!

Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Am class (LM GTE Am):
At Sebring, AF Corse (also entered in LM GTE Pro) was unable to field its Ferrari. Its F430 GT will be at Spa to boost a category in which Aston Martin, Porsche and Corvette will try to bar the route to the flag to the American team, Krohn Racing, victorious at Sebring.

To see battles throughout the categories, a low price: tickets from 10 euros.

List of entries for the Spa-Francorchamps 1000 kms: click here

ILMC classification after the Sebring 12 Hours: click here

Practical information
The Spa-Francorchamps 1000 kms
26^th running
7^th May 2011

Second round of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup

Circuit: Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), length 7,004 km.
Free practice: Thursday 5th May: 12h20-13h20 then 16h55-17h55, Friday 6th May: 11h50-12h50.
Qualifying: Friday 6th May: 15h50-16h40 (LM GTE: 15h50-16h10 – LM Prototypes: 16h20-16h40).
Warm-up: Saturday 7th May: 09h55-10h15.
Race: start of the Spa-Francorchamps 1000 kms at 14h05 on 7th May 2011 (local time).
Entries: 60 cars including 26 ILMCs.
ILMC field: 26 cars: 10 LM P1s, 3 LM P2s, 7 GTE Pros, 6 GTE Ams.
2010 winner: Bourdais-Lamy-Pagenaud (F-P-F) Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP, 139 laps in 6h 00 39.12s
Sebring 12 Hours (1st round of the ILMC, 19th March 2011)

Podium: 1.Panis-Lapierre-Duval (F-F-F), Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP : 332 laps in 12 h 00m 28.423s. 2. Pagenaud-Brabham-Franchitti (F-AUS-Scottish), Honda ARX-01e, 31.868s behind. 3. Montagny-Sarazin-Lamy (F-F-P), Peugeot 908, 44.502s behind. Etc.
Category winners:
LM P1: 1. Panis-Lapierre-Duval (FRA-FRA-FRA), Peugeot 908 HDi FAP :332 laps in 12 h 00m 28.423s
LM P2: 1. Tucker-Hunter Ray-Diaz (USA-USA-USA), Lola Honda : 300 laps.
LM GTE Pro: 1. Priaulx-Müller-Hand (GBR-ALL-USA), BMW M3 GT : 312 laps.
LM GTE Am: 1. Krohn-Jönsson-Rugolo (USA-SUE-ITA), Ferrari F430 : 302 laps.

ILMC Classifications after Sebring

Manufacturers
LM P1: 1. Peugeot, 27 pts ; 2. Audi, 17 ; Aston Martin, 0.
LM GTE: 1. BMW, 29 pts ; 2. Corvette, 20 ; 3. Ferrari, 15 ; 4. Porsche, 8 ; 5. Aston Martin and Lotus, 0.

Teams
LM P1: 1.Team Oreca Matmut, 15 pts ; 2. Peugeot Sport, 12 ; 3. Audi Sport, 9 ; 4. Rebellion Racing, 6.
LM P2: 1. Signatech Nissan, 14 pts ; 2. OAK Racing, 11 ; 3. Level 5 Motorsports, 9.
LM GTE Pro: 1. BMW Motorsport, 15 pts ; A.F. Corse, 10 ; 3. Luxury Racing, 5.
LM GTE Am: 1. Krohn Racing, 15 pts ; 2. Proton Competition, 14.

Please note that before the Spa-Franciorchamps 1000 kms, which is also the second round of the 2011 Le Mans Series, the majority of the ILMC entrants will be at Le Mans for the test day on 24th April to prepare for the Le Mans 24 Hours (11-12 June).

Tickets:

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