42 of the 60 entries for the 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours have now been confirmed, the ACO revealing the list this year for the first time in a two-stage process.

The ACO initially announced last November that today’s batch would see 50 of the 60 entries confirmed with the balance, plus a 10 car reserve list set to be confirmed on 1 March, following the conclusion of the 2018/19 Asian Le Mans Series on 24 February at Sepang which will see a further 4 Auto entries decided.

Instead, today’s announcement encompasses only the full-season 2018/19 FIA WEC cars, plus the automatic entries from other races and series that have opted to take up that opportunity.

The 42 is composed of 34 full season WEC entries and eight further automatic entries. The ACO has revealed that 75 teams applied.

There are few surprises though the absence of both TRSM Ginetta LMP1 cars ranks as something of a shock for some, the Ginetta factory having recently regained control of the entries from their former customers and was known to have posted a pair of entries for the now AER powered cars.

Of the initial 11 auto entries awarded thus far, eight have opted to take up the opportunity: Toyota, Porsche and Signatech Alpine have not, all three awarded for their racing success at Le Mans last year.

There is no news yet of which of the full season IMSA GTLM cars will be added to the entry, a surprising move at this point from the ACO.

Amongst the confirmations is the first ever privately-entered Ford GT for Keating Motorsports, as revealed yesterday on DSC, Ben Keating telling DSC that “As a third generation Ford dealer with three Ford dealerships in Texas, I am excited to be the first ever GTE Am Ford GT entry. I have a life-long relationship with Ford so rolling out at Le Mans with a Ford GT is going to be a very special moment for me.”

Still to come therefore in the second tranche are the four Asian Le Mans Series Auto entries, plus any additional GTE Pro entrants from the IMSA entry, plus additional LMP2 and/ or GTE entries from the ELMS, Asian Le Mans Series and/ or IMSA, though the likelihood is that the balance will be dominated by full season 2018 ELMS LMP2 squads.

Here, for now, is the confirmed entry list with any notable changes mentioned (driver squads unchanged unless noted):

LMP1

#1 – Rebellion Racing – R-13 Gibson – Michelin – WEC

#3 – Rebellion Racing – R-13 Gibson – Michelin – WEC

#4 – ByKolles Racing Team – ENSO CLM P1/01 – Michelin – WEC – Only Tom Dillman named

#7 – Toyota Gazoo Racing – TS050 HYBRID – Michelin – WEC

#8 – Toyota Gazoo Racing – TS050 HYBRID – Michelin – WEC

#10 – DragonSpeed – BR1 Gibson – Michelin – WEC

#11 – SMP Racing – BR1 AER – Michelin – WEC – Jenson Button confirmed as a returnee

#17 – SMP Racing – BR1 AER – Michelin – WEC

LMP2

#28 – TDS Racing – ORECA 07 Gibson – Dunlop – WEC

#29 – Racing Team Nederland – Dallara P217 – Michelin – WEC – De Vries confirmed for LM debut

#31 – DragonSpeed – ORECA 07 Gibson – Michelin – WEC

#36 – Signatech Alpine – A470 Gibson – Michelin – WEC

#37 – Jackie Chan DC Racing – ORECA 07 Gibson – Dunlop – WEC – Only Heinemeier Hansson named

#38 – Jackie Chan DC Racing – ORECA 07 Gibson – Dunlop – WEC

#50 – Larbre Competition – Ligier JS P217 – Michelin – WEC – Third seat alongside Creed and Ricci open

#43 RLR MSport/Tower Events – ORECA 07 Gibson – Dunlop (Auto Entry ELMS LMP3 Champions) – Farano and Maini named

#26 – G-Drive Racing – ORECA 07 Gibson – Dunlop (Auto entry ELMS Champions) – Only Rusinov named

GTE Pro

#51 – AF Corse – Ferrari 488 GTE EVO – Michelin – WEC – Daniel Serra returns as third driver

#71 – AF Corse – Ferrari 488 GTE EVO – Michelin – WEC – Miguel Molina confirmed as third driver

#66 – Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK – Ford GT – Michelin – WEC – No third driver named alongside Mucke and Pla

#67 – Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK – Ford GT – Michelin – WEC – No third driver named alongside Priaulx and Tincknell

#81 – BMW Team MTEK – BMW M8 GTE – Michelin – WEC – Nicky Catsburg only confirmed driver

#82 – BMW Team MTEK – BMW M8 GTE – Michelin – WEC – Augusto Farfus only confirmed driver

#91 – Porsche GT Team – Porsche 911 RSR – Michelin – WEC

#92 – Porsche GT Team – Porsche 911 RSR – Michelin – WEC

#95 – Aston Martin Racing – Aston Martin Vantage AMR – Michelin – WEC – No third driver named alongside Thiim and Sorensen

#97 – Aston Martin Racing – Aston Martin Vantage AMR – Michelin – WEC – No third driver named alongside Martin and Lynn

GTE Am

#54 – Spirit of Race – Ferrari 488 GTE – Michelin – WEC

#56 – Team Project 1 – Porsche 91 RSR – Michelin – WEC

#61 – Clearwater Racing – Ferrari 488 GTE – Michelin – WEC – Griffin, Perez Companc and Cressoni continue

#70 – MR Racing – Ferrari 488 GTE – Michelin – WEC

#77 – Dempsey Proton Racing – Porsche 911 RSR – Michelin – WEC – Only Matt Campbell named

#88 – Dempsey Proton Racing – Porsche 911 RSR – Michelin – WEC – Hoshino returns alongside Roda and Carioli

#86 – Gulf Racing – Porsche 911 RSR – Michelin – WEC

#90 – TF Sport – Aston Martin Vantage GTE – Michelin – WEC – Euan Hankey back in for Jonny Adam

#98 – Aston Martin Racing – Aston Martin Vantage GTE – Michelin – WEC

#85 – Keating Motorsports – Ford GT (Ben Keating winner of Bob Akin Trophy in IMSA) – Bleekemolen, Keating and Fraga the named trio

#84 – JMW Motorsports – Ferrari 488 GTE (Auto Entry – 2nd in GTE class in ELMS) – Cocker only driver

#60 – Kessel Racing – Ferrari 488 GTE (Auto Entry – Winners of GT Class in Michelin Le Mans Cup) – First driver confirmed as Schiavoni

#78 – Proton Competition – Porsche 911 RSR (Auto Entry – Winners of GTE class in ELMS) – Chen only named driver

#99 – Dempsey Proton Racing – Porsche 911 RSR (Auto Entry – Winners of GTE Am at 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours) – Pat Long confirmed as first driver

#62 – WeatherTech Racing – Ferrari 488 GTE (IMSA Nominated Auto Entry) – Cooper MacNeil confirmed



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