The 2008 Le Mans Series Preview

It's been a long time coming but finally Audi are going to be challenged in a head-to-head, season-long battle for supremacy in sportscar racing's premier category. And the fight starts with round one at Barcelona this weekend.

Peugeot had a decent stab at them at Le Mans last year, but that was very much the beginning for the French manufacturer and they've come a long way since then.

It looks like the 908 is now a quicker car than its R10 rival, although it is still vulnerable to mechanical gremlins and the battle could well come down to reliability. But then, the Audi hasn't exactly lived up to its bulletproof reputation of late either.

Peugeot's lead driver line-up is about as close as they're going to get to Audi's, without actually cloning Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello. Nicolas Minassian and Marc Gene could be a revelation this year if the car does indeed have the legs of the Audi, as many expect it will.

Both factory teams' second line-ups are eager to prove they can match their sister cars. Stephane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy will be keen to defend their title and stop Minassian and Gene from becoming the number one car. Alexandre Premat and Mike Rockenfeller have both shown they can match the raw pace of their more experienced comrades, but can they keep it up without making the potentially costly mistakes?

The LMP1 class has unprecedented depth this year and the fight for petrol honours is likely to be a frantic one with at least six cars in with a shout.

Charouz Racing System Lola Aston Martin © LMS

The outstanding Emmanuel Collard will continue to lead Henri Pescarolo's charge and if he can take Jean-Christophe Boullion with him, the team's aerodynamic revisions could return the car the front of the petrol field. Christophe Tinseau and Harold Primat will drive the second entry.

The joining of ORECA and Courage can only help both to move forward, and in Olivier Panis and Nicolas Lapierre they have a fearsomely strong line-up that will be one of the favourites for petrol honours. The experience of team regulars Stephane Ortelli and Soheil Ayari should ensure that ORECA has two cars in the fight more often than not.

Jamie Campbell-Walter will lead Creation's attack again and will mix it with Pescarolo and ORECA whenever he's in the hotseat. The car's success might boil down to how close Felipe Ortiz can get to their rivals' second drivers. Stuart Hall has impressed so far but still has a bit to prove and Simon Pagenaud has even more to prove as an unknown quantity in sportscars.

The new Lola coupe certainly looks the business, and with the Aston Martin engine in the back bringing help from Prodrive, you have to think that Charouz must be going in the right direction with it. Stefan Mucke is a class act, Jan Charouz isn't far behind, and the car has shown a decent turn of speed over a lap in testing, so look out for it to pop up among the other petrol contenders, in short bursts at least.

The other new closed-roof prototype is the Spanish Epsilon Euskadi EE1. The car has been well hyped but in reality it's had so little running that expectations have to be modest for the early part of the season. LMP2 stars Miguel De Castro and Angel Burgueno will drive the first car, with a second due along later in the season.

The likes of Rollcentre, Chamberlain Synergy, and Saulnier Racing will have much more of a fight on their hands to reach the front of LMP1 with so much opposition around this year. Rollcentre's Joao Barbosa is a proven force, but whether DTM convert Vanina Ickx will be able to get close enough to him for the team to mount a sustained challenge remains to be seen.

LMP2

The long-awaited arrival of the Porsche RS Spyder in the LMS brings a depth of competitiveness to the LMP2 class as well, and the German machines are queuing up to relieve the RML Lola of its crown.

Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder © LMS

Essex Racing's Danish crew of John Nielsen and Casper Elgaard will be the odd Porsche out on Dunlops, but are probably the strongest of the driver rosters. Jos Verstappen will carry Peter van Merksteijn in the Verschuur entry, while Jan Lammers will lead Horag's assault alongside Didier Theys and Fredy Lienhard.

But Tommy Erdos and Mike Newton will be fighting hard to retain their title and have an updated version of the Lola-MG to do it in, including a revised AER turbo from MG's new Chinese owner.

Embassy Racing made the decision to build their own chassis this year and it looks to have been a good one. The drivers are good too, so there's a lot of potential here. Warren Hughes and Jonny Kane will lead a car each, and if Mario Haberfeld and Joey Foster can get their respective jobs done the Zytek-powered WF01 could be mixing it with the Lola and the Porsches.

The Quifel team have punched above their weight in recent years when LMP2 competition has been a little thin on the ground. Olivier Pla will have to really step up if Miguel Amaral's Lola is going to repeat that again this season.

Speedy Racing and Team Sebah have got together to make a push with the former's Lola and Andrea Belicchi and Xavier Pompidou will do a solid job, even if Steve Zacchia can't quite match them.

Michael Vergers helped the Barazi Epsilon Zytek to punch above its weight too last year, but he too may suffer from the increased competition in the class this season. Saulnier's handy Pierre Ragues and Mathieu Lahaye will be there or thereabouts, but unfortunately Radical's decision to run pay drivers will limit their competitiveness.

GT1

The only Aston Martin left in the series is hot favourite for the title, especially with factory driver Tomas Enge borrowed for the season alongside the excellent Antonio Garcia.

Luc Alphand's Corvettes will be closest to the Aston and the first car has a useful line-up with Alphand joined by Patrice Goueslard and Guillaume Moreau, and Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta to make the odd guest appearance too. The team's second car isn't likely to challenge for wins with Sebastien Dumez, Jean-Luc Blanchemain and Roland Berville taking turns behind the wheel.

Peter Kox is still a class act, but might struggle with a Lamborghini that falls short of its class rivals and a team-mate, Roman Rusinov, that falls short of his ability. The Larbre Competition Saleen has potential, but Christophe Bouchut is vital to its success and his participation beyond Barcelona is unknown.

GT2

Virgo Motorsport Ferrari F430 GT © LMS

With Rob Bell and Gianmaria Bruni in the same car, it's going to be competitive. When it's a class-leading Ferrari 430 that they're in, it looks unstoppable. Increased backing from Ferrari and Dunlop should help Virgo Motorsport to keep a firm grasp of their crown.

But they won't have it easy, Porsche have a heavily revised 911 GT3-RSR this year and have given their backing to the Felbermayr Proton squad, who have Michelins, and Marc Lieb and Alex Davison to lead their charge.

Spyker have drafted in Peter Dumbreck and Ralf Kelleners to share the latest Dutch model with Alexei Vasiliev. James Watt Automotive is set to bring out the world's first Aston Martin GT2, although no drivers have yet been named. The team will also run Joel Camathias and Tim Sugden in a Porsche.

At least one of IMSA's Porsches should go well in the capable hands of Richard Lietz, as will the Farnbacher Porsche with Allan Simonsen, Richard Westbrook, Lars Erik Nielsen on board. Farnbacher will also field a Ferrari for Pierre Kaffer, Anthony Beltoise, and Pierre Ehret.