24 Hours of Le Mans entry list updated on race website - MotorSportsTalk

The entry list for the 90th anniversary 24 Hours of Le Mans was first revealed in February, with a 56-car grid split between four classes: LMP1, LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE Am. On Tuesday, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) put out the latest update, with the driver lineups for each car all but set. It can be viewed here.

A total of eight LMP1 cars, 22 LMP2, 12 GTE Pro and 13 GTE Am, plus the experimental Green GT LMP H2 hydrogen-powered as the “Garage 56” entrant, make up the field.

Twenty-nine of the 56 are registered as full-season entrants in the FIA World Endurance Championship, although Le Mans always features a “bumper crop” of entries.

Audi has won the last two years with Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler in versions of its R18, first the R18 TDI in 2011 and the R18 e-tron quattro hybrid a year ago.

There are 17 ex-Formula One drivers on the entry list. They include:

LMP1: Allan McNish, Marc Gene, Lucas di Grassi (Audi), Alexander Wurz, Kazuki Nakajima, Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi, Stephane Sarrazin (Toyota), Nick Heidfeld (Rebellion Lola Toyota)
LMP2: Shinji Nakano (Delta-ADR Oreca Nissan)
GTE Pro: Gianmaria Bruni, Giancarlo Fisichella, Kamui Kobayashi, Olivier Beretta (AF Corse Ferrari), Jan Magnussen (Corvette), Pedro Lamy, Bruno Senna (Aston Martin)

There are also nearly 20 American drivers in the field. They include:

LMP2: Kevin Weeda (Lotus), Scott Tucker (Level 5 HPD), Alexander Rossi, Eric Lux (Greaves Zytek Nissan), Matt Downs, Rodin Younessi (Boutsen Ginion Oreca Nissan), Mark Patterson (Murphy Oreca Nissan)
GTE Pro: Jordan Taylor (Corvette), Tommy Milner (Corvette), Tommy Kendall, Jonathan Bomarito (SRT Viper), Bill Auberlen (Aston Martin)
GTE Am: Ricky Taylor, Cooper MacNeil (Larbre Corvette), Howard Blank (AF Corse Ferrari), Tracy Krohn (Krohn Ferrari), Patrick Dempsey, Joe Foster, Michael Avenatti (Dempsey Proton Porsche)

A handful of other names to note include Tucker’s teammates at Level 5 HPD, Marino Franchitti and Ryan Briscoe, Mike Conway (G-Drive) in his Le Mans debut and Christophe Bouchut (Lotus) in his 20th Le Mans start.

Ryan Hunter-Reay was named to replace Conor Daly in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet, starting in the NTT IndyCar Series event next week at Road America.

Hunter-Reay is the 2012 series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. He finished 11th for Dreyer & Reinbold last month in the 107th Indy 500, his first start since the 2021 season finale. He drove full time for Andretti Autosport from 2010-21.

“We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader. I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a team release. “We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on the pole following that test. I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team.”

Hunter-Reay has 18 IndyCar victories, most recently in 2018. He also is a winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, having been a part of winning entries in the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2018 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he was an endurance driver for Cadillac Racing while being on standby for Chip Ganassi Racing.

He replaces Daly, whose departure was announced a day earlier in what the driver and team said was a mutual decision.

“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed,” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help. Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I’ve worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in BITNILE.COM.

“This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It’s a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world. Certainly, part of my motivation in saying ‘yes’ to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an NTT IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber. However, I remain very confident in both my driving and technical abilities and believe by working with the talented people at ECR and Team Chevy, while representing BITNILE.COM, we will make progress. I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives.”

Said Milton “Todd” Ault, the chairman of sponsor BitNile.com: “It is great for BitNile.com to be aligned with an Indy 500 Winner and an NTT IndyCar Series champion. I have followed Ryan’s career for years and I am confident he will challenge the entire ECR team to perform at higher levels. I wish everyone luck at Road America.”