Several teams invited to the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year will be seen this weekend at the Paul Ricard circuit in the opening round of the Le Mans Series.

Aston Martin
The Var circuit will stage the first public appearance of the AMR-One prototype. Prodrive took the opposite view of their opponents by betting on an open car and an amazing straight six petrol engine, while the trend is to closed coupés and diesel engines. Not ready in time for the 12 Hours of Sebring, the race at Le Castellet will be decisive in the preparation for Le Mans.

Lola
After a remarkable performance at Sebring (7th), Rebellion Racing is expected to perform. With two cars, talented drivers, and "factory" engines from Toyota , the Swiss team have everything they need to succeed. Only drawback, the prototype does not yet enjoy the new aerodynamic package, which will appear at the Test Day of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the 24th April.

Zytek
After five years of involvement in the LMS and a title in LM P2, Quifel ASM is finally launching into the premier class. The Portuguese team is counting on a package (chassis-engine-tyre-driver) unchanged for the past two seasons in a bid to succeed at Le Mans, the task of Olivier Pla and his teammates will be much harder in this category.

Pescarolo
Pressed for time, Henri Pescarolo retains the Judd V10, with the capacity slightly reduced due to vibration problems. The body has a kit designed in regulatory compliance by Oak Racing, and various trends developed last year. The twelve months lost in the rescue of the team did not seem to have affected them and they were in the leading pack during the first tests. A few weeks before the big event of Le Mans, Collard, Jousse and Tinseau aim to hear the Marseillaise on the podium of the French leg of the LMS.

Julien Hergault

Photo: 2nd MARCH 2011, PRESENTATION OF THE ASTON MARTIN AMR ONE. The 007 in Gulf colours will make its debut at the 6 Hours of Le Castellet.