Le Mans 24 hours to be part of the Intercontinental Cup

While everybody agrees that the Le Mans 24 Hours is the one of the greatest motor races in the world and THE blue riband event in the history of endurance, a kind of Grail was lacking. This top-level race is a story of battles between men, duels between the major manufacturers and also a permanent test bed for new technologies, which the current requirements in terms of energy savings have placed at the top of today’s agenda.

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest and its teams have been thinking about these problems for some time now, and the result is this common thread that brings to life on three continents Europe, North America and Asia throughout the season, the fundamentals of the history of Le Mans. These are attributes that cannot be disassociated from the Le Mans 24 Hours: the night-time, the festive ambience, the intimate connection with the crowd, the stories of
men and machines and the passion for the motor car.

Today, the name of this thread is the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and its acronym: ILMC. The ILMC will kick off in three months at the Silverstone 1000 kms (10-12 September), and will act as a counter point to the Le Mans 24 Hours.

This year, the ILMC calendar consists of three races, but the endurance thread will increase in influence in 2011 with 7 events: 2 in America, 2 in Asia, 2 in Europe and the Le Mans 24 Hours for which double points will be awarded! It is the dawn of a new era and the common thread and the blue riband event will boost its impact.

THE INTERCONTINENTAL LE MANS CUP (ILMC)

The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup will be launched in the second six months off the 2010 season on all continents: Europe, America and Asia. Here are the objectives, the base and the 2010-2011 programmes for this future monument of endurance with the Le Mans 24 Hours.

OBJECTIVES

— Bring the Le Mans magic back to all the continents
— Launch an Endurance World Cup
— Develop a common year-long thread with the manufacturers centered around the Le Mans 24 Hours

THE BASE OF THE ILMC

— The Le Mans Spirit
— A harmonious mixture of Prototypes and GT categories
— A permanent, recognised technological laboratory
— Prestigious and popular endurance races on the world scene
— A global and responsible approach to sustainable development in endurance (site, public, teams, constructors, manufacturers)

THE 2010 ILMC: 3 EVENTS AS ANNOUNCED

— The three events announced have been confirmed. They will be held on three continents - Europe, America and Asia - in chronological order, each one representing one of the 3 Le Mans Series: Le Mans Series (LMS), American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and Asian Le Mans Series. The season will finish with the third round of the ILMC in China on the Zhuhai circuit.

— 10-11-12 September: Silverstone 1000 kms, Great Britain
— 29 September - 2 October: Petit Le Mans (1 000 miles), Road Atlanta, USA
— 5-6-7 November: Zhuhai, 1000 kms China.