Le Mans 2014 runners and riders

Four classes, 13 types of car, 29 race teams, 35 entrants, 55 cars and 165 drivers - the entry for the 82nd running of the Le Mans 24 Hours is as diverse as it has probably ever been.

There are factories and privateers, open and closed cars, turbos and aspirated engines, and entrants from China and Russia. And there's even a car in the race that will attempt to achieve the first all-electric lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Those 165 drivers include a 16-year-old rookie and a grandson of a winner at Le Mans more than half a century ago. There are, of course, multiple winners of the great race on the entry and even a multiple winner of the English Premier League.

Here is AUTOSPORT's definitive guide to the whole field.

LMP1

AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST
Audi R18 e-tron Quattro (Michelin)

#1 Lucas di Grassi (BR)/Loic Duval (F)/Tom Kristensen (DK)
#2 Marcel Fassler (CH)/Andre Lotterer (D)/Benoit Treluyer (F)
#3 Filipe Albuquerque (P)/Marco Bonanomi (I)/Oliver Jarvis (GB)

Audi returns to Le Mans with an all-new turbodiesel that carries over little from its predecessor apart, confusingly, from its name - even the door hinges are different. The powertrain concept is the same: a single-turbo V6 diesel engine and front-axle energy recovery only.

Di Grassi has been promoted to a full-time WEC seat alongside reigning world champs Kristensen and Duval on the retirement of Allan McNish. Audi again runs an additional car alongside its two full WEC entries, all three of them in low-drag aero spec. Bonanomi returns to the prototype ranks after a year out of a race seat, while Albuquerque moves over from the DTM.

The marque's start to the WEC has been doubly disappointing: it failed to get either of its cars to the finish at Silverstone; and then couldn't match the pace of Toyota at Spa. The good news is that it showed at the Le Mans Test Day that it isn't a million miles away from pre-event favourite Toyota on pace.

TOYOTA RACING
Toyota TS 040 HYBRID (Michelin)

#7 Alexander Wurz (A)/Stephane Sarrazin (F)/Kazuki Nakajima (J)
#8 Anthony Davidson (GB)/Nicolas Lapierre (F)/Sebastien Buemi (CH)

Toyota is back for a third crack at Le Mans glory after re-entering the prototype arena in 2012 and is mounting its most concerted effort yet with a pair of TS040s. Its 2014 car follows on from its predecessor, now with front-axle energy recovery in addition to the rear system of 2012-13.

The Japanese manufacturer's German-based TMG squad was better prepared than last season ahead of a two-car WEC assault that has already yielded a pair of victories for Davidson, Buemi and Lapierre. The same goes for its Le Mans campaign: it has undertaken no fewer than four endurance tests with its new TS040.

The driver line-up is unchanged, though reshuffled. Lapierre and Sarrazin swap places in the two entries in an attempt to match the height of the drivers in each car. Pace at the Test Day underlined Toyota's status as favourite going into Le Mans week.

PORSCHE TEAM
Porsche 919 Hybrid (Michelin)

#14 Romain Dumas (F)/Neel Jani (CH)/Marc Lieb (D)
#20 Timo Bernhard (D)/Mark Webber (AUS)/Brendon Hartley (NZ)

Porsche makes its first bid for outright Le Mans honours since 1998 with a car that has been more than three years in the making. The project, remember, was announced back in June 2011, before Porsche had even started to build up the new organisation that has produced the 919 Hybrid, which retrieves energy from the front axle and the exhaust system of its V4 engine.

Porsche has overcome a disastrous start to its test programme (an engine vibration resulted in a major redesign) in mid-2013 to claim a podium and a pole position so far in the WEC. Despite that, it still has modest targets for Le Mans and has yet to prove the 919's reliability, although its final endurance simulation at Motorland Aragon suggests it can go the distance, if not cleanly.

Porsche's star signing for the programme last year was, of course, nine-time grand prix winner Webber. He is joined by fellow newcomers Jani and Hartley and marque regulars Bernhard, Dumas and Lieb.

REBELLION RACING
Rebellion-Toyota R-One (Michelin)

#12 Nicolas Prost (F)/Nick Heidfeld (D)/Mathias Beche (CH)
#13 Dominik Kraihamer (A)/Andrea Belicchi (I)/Fabio Leimer (CH)

Prototype stalwart Rebellion, the top P1 independent at Le Mans in 2011 and '12, has taken up the challenge of the LMP1-L (L for Light) category reserved for privateers running non-hybrid machinery to make a full WEC assault with its own car, designed and built by ORECA in France.

The late sign-off of the project ahead of Le Mans last year contributed to delays that resulted in the two Toyota-engined cars missing Silverstone and arriving at Spa having completed barely 1000km (620 miles) between them. It wasn't an easy debut, but the #12 car, Rebellion's lead entry, ran reliably to seventh place.

That was encouraging, though the car's lack of pace was slightly concerning for the Anglo-Swiss team. The best of the Rebellions was seven seconds off the P1 pace at the Test Day (while running more fuel than was allowed as per its allocation), so it looks like the team will be unable to hit its target of running right behind the factory cars.

GP2 champion Leimer and the underrated Kraihamer, who has raced in the LMP ranks since 2011, join a cast of team regulars for this year.

LMP2

SEBASTIEN LOEB RACING
ORECA-Nissan 03R (Michelin)

#24 Rene Rast (D)/Jan Charouz (CZ)/Vincent Capillaire (F)

Rally legend Loeb's team makes its Le Mans debut on its return to the P2 ranks in 2014 after more than a year away.

It hasn't been a contender in the ELMS on Michelin tyres (its distant second place at Imola in May owed a lot to the misfortunes of others), but the positive is the arrival of Audi GT star Rast alongside former LMS champion Charouz and ex-Formula Le Mans driver Capillaire.

G-DRIVE RACING (OAK)
Morgan-Nissan LMP2 (Dunlop)

#26 Roman Rusinov (RUS)/Olivier Pla (F)/Julien Canal (F)

The works OAK team, winner of P2 in both the WEC and at Le Mans last year, has taken two wins from two starts so far with the solo Morgan run under the Russian G-Drive banner.

OAK, under new team management with ex-Hexis GT boss Philippe Dumas at the helm, looks stronger than last year if anything, with a line-up comprising LMP2 superstar Pla, Rusinov (now upgraded from a silver rating to gold) and ex-GTE Am frontrunner Canal.

SMP RACING
ORECA-Nissan 03R (Michelin)

#27 Sergey Zlobin (RUS)/Mika Salo (FIN)/Anton Ladygin (RUS)
#37 Kirill Ladygin (RUS)/Nicolas Minassian (F)/Maurizio Mediani (I)

Russian entrant SMP fields a pair of P2s run by AF Corse in the full WEC in 2014 after dipping its toes in the prototype waters in the ELMS last year.

The team has yet to make an impression on the 2014 Michelin tyre in the WEC, even with a line-up including former Peugeot driver Minassian. Ex-Formula 1 driver Salo has joined the reshuffled line-up for Le Mans.

PEGASUS RACING
Morgan-Nissan LMP2 (Dunlop)

#29 Julien Schell (F)/Nicolas Leutwiler (CH)/Stephane Raffin (F)

The French Pegasus team moves back to P2 from the Group CN ranks four years on from its first and undistinguished foray at Le Mans with the unfashionable Norma chassis.

This time it has the right ingredients in a Morgan chassis, Nissan engine and Dunlop tyres, but arguably not the drivers to trouble the frontrunners. A finish would be a result.

OAK RACING/OAK TEAM ASIA
Ligier-HPD/Nissan JSP2 (Michelin/Dunlop)

#33 David Cheng (USA)/Ho-Pin Tung (PRC)/Adderly Fong (PRC)
#35 Alex Brundle (GB)/Jann Mardenborough (GB)/Mark Shulzhitskiy (RUS)

OAK fields two of sister company Onroak's new Ligier coupes, the result of its takeover of the Group CN marque bearing the name of ex-Formula 1 team owner Guy Ligier, for its Le Mans entries in addition to its G-Drive WEC Morgan. One runs under the OAK Racing - Team Asia banner with HPD turbo power and Michelins, the other as plain OAK Racing with a Nissan engine and Dunlops.

The JSP2 is well tested and already at least a match for its Morgan, according to the team. The Nissan-powered entry was quick at the Test Day, with Mardenborough ending up third in the times, even though the team put an emphasis on racking up the miles. The HPD-engined Ligier didn't show its form courtesy of a clutch problem.

RACE PERFORMANCE
ORECA-Judd 03R (Dunlop)

#34 Michel Frey (CH)/Franck Mailleux (F)/Jon Lancaster (GB)

The Swiss team returns to Le Mans for a fifth time with its strongest effort yet.

It brings in GP2 driver Lancaster, who shone on his P2 debut at last year's Bahrain WEC round in a Greaves Zytek last year, to bolster the line-up of Mailleux and Frey that narrowly missed out on victory in the Silverstone ELMS round. There's another plus too: it brings Momo sponsorship back to Le Mans.

SIGNATECH ALPINE
Alpine-Nissan A450 (ORECA-Nissan 03) (Michelin)

#36 Paul-Loup Chatin (F)/Nelson Panciatici (F)/Oliver Webb (GB)

The reigning ELMS champion team has made a last-minute switch from Michelins to Dunlops, which put its Alpine-branded ORECA straight in the mix at the Imola ELMS round in May.

Now it will be able to exploit its engineering strengths and drivers' talents - the team has arguably the strongest line-up in class, witness silver driver Chatin's timesheet-topping pace in the morning session at the Test Day - as it bids to repeat its frontrunning performance of 2012.

JOTA SPORT
Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (Dunlop)

#38 Simon Dolan (GB)/Harry Tincknell (GB)/Marc Gene (E)

Jota bounced back from a tub-destroying shunt in the Silverstone ELMS race to win round two at Imola.

Former Le Mans winner Gene comes into the line-up in place of Audi driver Albuquerque for the 24 Hours to give the Zytek-equipped team the experience it needs to make it a potential winner after two years of bad luck.

GREAVES MOTORSPORT/CATERHAM RACING
Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (Dunlop)

#41 Tom Kimber-Smith (GB)/Chris Dyson (USA)/Matthew McMurry (USA)
#42 Michael Munemann (GB)/Alessandro Latif (GB)/James Winslow (GB)

Greaves fields two Zyteks - one under the Caterham banner - with a roster of drivers boasting four Le Mans rookies, including 16-year-old McMurry, who bids to become the youngest starter in Le Mans history.

The question is whether either line-up can exploit the low-drag aero introduced last year that turned the ageing Zytek into a competitive proposition around Le Mans.

NEWBLOOD BY MORAND RACING
Morgan-Judd LMP2 (Dunlop)

#43 Christian Klien (A)/Gary Hirsch (CH)/Romain Brandela (F)

This Swiss team, run by sometime Formula 3000 driver Benoit Morand, returns to Le Mans for a second time in P2 and a third in total (don't forget its assault in 2011 as Hope Racing with a hybrid ORECA LMP1) with a line-up boasting former Peugeot driver Klien.

The team has been punching above its weight in the ELMS and has scored podiums with its Morgan in two of the past three races.

THIRIET BY TDS RACING
Ligier-Nissan JSP2 (Dunlop)

#46 Pierre Thiriet (F)/Ludovic Badey (F)/Tristan Gommendy (F)

The slick TDS squad, twice an ELMS champion with an ORECA, has tasted success in that series already this year with a Morgan and now swaps to Onroak Automotive's new Ligier coupe in its bid to go one better than its near-miss in P2 in 2012.

The experienced Gommendy, who first raced at Le Mans back in 2003 in a Racing for Holland Dome, has joined alongside team regular Thiriet and GT graduate Badey.

KCMG
ORECA-Nissan 03R (Dunlop)

#47 Matthew Howson (GB)/Richard Bradley (GB)/Alexandre Imperatori (CH)

KCMG returns a year on from becoming the first Chinese entrant to contest Le Mans. It has swapped from Morgan to ORECA, Michelins to Dunlops, and has a largely new crew - and has already shown that it can challenge OAK in the opening WEC rounds.

Its driver line-up is one of the best, arguably right up there with Signatech's.

MURPHY PROTOTYPES
ORECA-Nissan 03R (Dunlop)

#48 Nathanael Berthon (F)/Rodolfo Gonzalez (YV)/Karun Chandhok (IND)

This winner in the ELMS last year is back at Le Mans for a third crack at the race and has its best chance yet with what looks on paper to be a strong line-up.

The team had the pace - but not the consistency or luck - to win at the first two ELMS rounds. The unknown for the team is how rookies Berthon and Gonzalez will take to the race.

LARBRE COMPETITION
Morgan-Judd LMP2 (Michelin)

#50 Pierre Ragues (F)/Ricky Taylor (USA)/Keiko Ihara (J)

The multiple class-winning Larbre team moves up from GTE Am to the prototype ranks for the first time, 21 years on from its Le Mans debut.

It has only raced its Morgan once so far, but has bolstered its attack with Chevrolet factory driver Taylor and the experienced Ragues.

GTE PRO

AF CORSE
Ferrari 458 Italia (Michelin)

#51 Gianmaria Bruni (I)/Toni Vilander (FIN)/Giancarlo Fisichella (I)
#71 Davide Rigon (I)/James Calado (GB)/Olivier Beretta (MC)

The AF-run factory Ferrari team won the WEC last season, but struggled at Le Mans. That has been addressed by a new bodywork package it has been allowed to introduce, despite the specification freeze in GTE Pro this year. On the evidence of the Test Day, this has put the Ferrari right in the mix.

Fisichella comes back from the US to join the WEC pairing of Bruni and Vilander, recreating the line-up that gave Ferrari its last class victory at Le Mans in 2012. Old hand Beretta joins young guns Calado and Rigon.

RAM RACING
Ferrari 458 Italia (Michelin)

#52 Matt Griffin (IRL)/Alvaro Parente (P)/Federico Leo (I)

The winner of last year's ELMS GTE title makes its Le Mans debut after stepping up to the WEC for 2014. Ram set out on the season with aspirations to challenge the factories, but financial issues meant it had to miss Spa and bring in funded driver Leo alongside Parente and Griffin.

Parente proved at the Test Day, his first time at Le Mans, that he really is one of the world's top GT drivers. He was only half a second shy of Bruni in the lead AF car on the timesheets on his first sighting of the Circuit de la Sarthe.

CORVETTE RACING
Chevrolet Corvette C7 (Michelin)

#73 Jan Magnussen (DK)/Antonio Garcia (E)/Jordan Taylor (USA)
#74 Oliver Gavin (GB)/Tommy Milner (USA)/Richard Westbrook (GB)

Chevrolet returns to Le Mans with an unchanged driver line-up aiming to make up for the disaster of 2013 with the new C7.R. The more-efficient car has already proved its pace in the United SportsCar Championship in North America and has received a couple of performance breaks in comparison with its predecessor.

The car has claimed a first victory in the USC and wasn't far off the Ferrari at the test. There were, however, reliability issues on its 24-hour debut at Daytona in January.

PORSCHE TEAM MANTHEY
Porsche 911 RSR (Michelin)

#91 Patrick Pilet (F)/Jorg Bergmeister (D)/Nick Tandy (GB)
#92 Marco Holzer (D)/Frederic Makowiecki (F)/Richard Lietz (A)

The German manufacturer went from also-ran in the WEC to class winner at Le Mans last year courtesy of low-downforce aero, a Balance of Performance break and Aston's problems. The mixed weather conditions and cool temperatures played a part in the 991-shape 911 - the hot weather forecast for this year may not aid its chances of a repeat.

Makowiecki, pole winner in Pro for the past two seasons, joins from Aston and is paired with Holzer and 2013 winner Lietz. Tandy makes his first Le Mans start as a factory driver.

ASTON MARTIN RACING
Aston Martin Vantage V8 (Michelin)

#97 Darren Turner (GB)/Stefan Mucke (D)/Bruno Senna (BR)
#99 Alex MacDowall (GB)/Darryl O'Young (CDN)/Fernando Rees (BR)

The British marque claimed pole and battled with Porsche nearly all the way at Le Mans last year and can count itself unlucky not to take class honours. Last year there were three Pro cars, this year only two, and one of those is a commercial link-up with the Craft-Bamboo organisation.

How competitive the Vantage GTE will be this time isn't clear courtesy of an increase in the car's ride height that has taken a toll on performance so far in the WEC, which Aston claims hasn't been fully reversed with a weight break. The car also struggled on straightline speed at the Test Day.

The good news is that it has got back the five litres of extra fuel capacity that it lost last October. That will be crucial, because without it Aston's chances would have been slim.

GTE AM

RAM RACING
Ferrari 458 Italia (Michelin)

#53 Johnny Mowlem (GB)/Mark Patterson (USA)/Archie Hamilton (GB)

Ram's GTE Am entry has also been afflicted by the team's financial shortfall, which explains Ben Collins's replacement with Le Mans sophomore Hamilton, grandson of 1953 race winner Duncan. That's unlikely to have a major effect on its chances in the race, but running its 458 Italia in 2012 specification almost certainly will.

KROHN RACING
Ferrari 458 Italia (Michelin)

#57 Tracy Krohn (USA)/Niclas Jonsson (S)/Ben Collins (GB)

Krohn, which is based in Risi Competizione's US workshops, landed an ultra-late invite to take part this year at the end of May on the withdrawal of the Strakka Dome LMP2 entry.

The Le Mans stalwart team, which is undertaking a limited programme in the USC in North America this year, accepted the challenge, though it missed the Test Day.

Collins, who had lost his drive with Ram, was drafted in to share with team boss Krohn and long-time partner Jonsson.

TEAM SOFREV ASP
Ferrari 458 Italia (Michelin)

#58 Fabien Barthez (F)/Anthony Pons (F)/Soheil Ayari (F)

Jerome Policand, a 13-time Le Mans participant as a driver, finally brings his team to the 24 Hours on the back of an ELMS campaign. ASP has a superstar in its ranks - from the world of football - in Barthez, who is joined by the experienced Ayari and the improving Pons.

The team is one of a number of Ferrari squads to have decided against investing in the latest aero updates for the 458.

AF CORSE
Ferrari 458 Italia (Michelin)

#60 Peter Mann (USA)/Lorenzo Case (I)/Raffaele Giammaria (I)
#61 Luis Perez Companc (RA)/Marco Cioci (I)/Mirko Venturi (I)
#62 Yannick Mallegol (F)/Jean-Marc Bachelier (F)/Howard Blank (USA)
#81 Steve Wyatt (AUS)/Michele Rugolo (I)/Sam Bird (GB)

The AF Ferrari squad fields a massive four-car entry - and that's not counting the 8Star entry that it also runs - in GTE Am to go with the two cars it operates in LMP2 and its pair of factory GTE Pro 458 Italias.

The #61 entry, already a winner in the WEC this year, must surely be the team's best bet for honours in this class and has a line-up more or less on a par with those in the two GTE Am Astons.

The #81 entry, with Le Mans debutant Bird and Rugolo behind the wheel, must be in with a shout too.

JMW MOTORSPORT
Ferrari 458 Italia (Michelin)

#66 Abdulaziz Al Faisal (SA)/Seth Neiman (USA)/Spencer Pumpelly (USA)

The British team is back at Le Mans for its fifth assault, this time on Michelin tyres because there's no GTE rubber from long-time partner Dunlop this year.

There is no carry-over from its ELMS line-up, with Flying Lizard boss Neiman and USC team-mate Pumpelly coming in alongside Al Faisal.

IMSA PERFORMANCE MATMUT
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (Michelin)

#67 Erik Maris (F)/Jean-Marc Merlin (F)/Eric Helary (F)
#76 Raymond Narac (F)/Nicolas Armindo (F)/David Hallyday (F)

This local squad defends its GTE Am Le Mans crown with a pair of old-shape 911s.

Team boss Narac and Porsche star Armindo are this year joined by race returnee Hallyday to create a line-up more than capable of doing the double and giving Imsa its third class triumph at Le Mans.

TEAM TAISAN
Ferrari 458 Italia (Michelin)

#70 James Rossiter (GB)/Pierre Ehret (D)/Martin Rich (GB)

Long-time sportscar entrant Ricky Chiba's Taisan squad, GT class winner on its debut at Le Mans in 2000 with a Porsche, returns to the 24 Hours after an absence of seven years following an Asian Le Mans Series assault in 2013.

This 2012-spec car is owned and jointly run by the German Farnbacher squad, but Chiba has aspirations to return with an all-Japanese team next year.

The ambitious squad has recruited Japanese GT regular Rossiter to lead a decent line-up that boasts experienced amateur Ehret.

SMP RACING
Ferrari 458 Italia (Michelin)

#72 Andrea Bertolini (I)/Viktor Shaitar (RUS)/Aleksey Basov (RUS)

Russian entrant SMP fields a Ferrari with its own French-based team and has been loaned the services of factory driver Bertolini for the season.

Shaitar has been impressive behind the wheel of GT machinery too, and the squad's ELMS form suggests it could be a challenger.

PROSPEED COMPETITION
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (Michelin)

#75 Francois Perrodo (F)/Emmanuel Collard (F)/Markus Palttala (FIN)
#79 Cooper MacNeil (USA)/Bret Curtis (USA)/Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL)

The Belgian team gets two entries for 997-shape 911s for its fifth Le Mans assault - one via the reserve list - and should have its best shot yet at a decent result with two strong Am line-ups led by Collard and Bleekemolen.

The #75 car, which qualified second at Spa, looks strong on paper, but has yet to post a decent result in the WEC. This car is not its regular WEC chassis, but a shell of 2008 vintage updated to '11-spec, which means it has the narrower body that could pay dividends on the Mulsanne Straight.

DEMPSEY RACING/PROTON COMPETITION
Porsche 911 RSR (Michelin)

#77 Patrick Dempsey (USA)/Joe Foster (USA)/Patrick Long (USA)
#88 Christian Ried (D)/Klaus Bachler (A)/Khaled Al Qubaisi (UAE)

Le Mans stalwart Proton, winner in GT2 with the backing of the factory in 2010, fields one new 991-shape 911 under its own flag and one under the banner of US actor Dempsey.

Porsche junior Bachler and full factory driver Long lead line-ups that are likely to struggle to stay with the class favourites even if the latest Porsche has an edge on its rivals.

8STAR MOTORSPORTS (AF CORSE)
Ferrari 458 Italia (Michelin)

#90 Frankie Montecalvo (USA)/Gianluca Roda (I)/Paolo Ruberti (I)

The AF-run 8Star squad, teams' champion in the WEC last year, returns without team boss Enzo Potolicchio, who is seeking a green card in the US. With him, the car has been right on the pace this year, even if it hasn't got any decent results.

Montecalvo is probably a like-for-like replacement, so it should still be regarded as a potential class winner.

ASTON MARTIN RACING
Aston Martin Vantage V8 (Michelin)

#95 Kristian Poulsen (DK)/David Heinemeier Hansson (DK)/Nicki Thiim (DK)
#98 Paul Dalla Lana (CDN)/Pedro Lamy (P)/Christoffer Nygaard (DK)

The Aston factory team again fields a pair of Vantages in the Am class - a third was withdrawn in April - for arguably the best two driver line-ups in class.

The team has already won once in the WEC this year with the #95 car, but wasn't on the pace at the Test Day. The all-Danish driver line-up is still probably a narrow favourite, though the Ferrari hordes will be snapping at its heels.

GARAGE 56

NISSAN MOTORSPORTS GLOBAL
Nissan ZEOD RC (Michelin)

#0 Lucas Ordonez (E)/Satoshi Motoyama (J)/Wolfgang Reip (B)

The Nissan ZEOD is only the second occupant of the notional Garage 56, the grid spot reserved for experimental machinery with green credentials, after the DeltaWing of 2012, a project that the Japanese manufacturer made a reality.

The ZEOD is even more ambitious: Nissan's target is for one fully-electric lap per stint for this hybrid racer. Nissan GT Academy gamers-turned-racers Ordonez and Reip join Motoyama, whose heroic efforts to get the DeltaWing back to the pits two years ago made him a YouTube sensation.

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