ACO announces automatic 2012 Le Mans entries

Entries are determined by results from the 2011 season, with Audi earning one automatic place in LMP1 by virtue of its victory at Le Mans this year and Peugeot as a result of its Petit Le Mans win.

The 17 automatic entries also include one LMP1 invitation each for Dyson Racing and the Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team, which finished first and second respectively in the 2011 American Le Mans Series.

Rebellion Racing and the Pescarolo Team, the champion and runner-up squads in the 2011 Le Mans Series, also earn automatic invitations.

In LMP2 Le Mans class victor Greaves Motorsport earns two invitations, with Petit Le Mans winner Level 5 Motorsports and Strakka Racing qualifying for one entry apiece. Pegasus Racing, victor in the Formula Le Mans category of the 2011 LMS, also receives an LMP2 entry.

Corvette Racing and BMW Team RLL meanwhile both qualify for two LM GTE Pro entries off the back of their 2011 campaigns, while Larbre Competition and Krohn Racing are among five teams given automatic invitations to GTE Am.

AF Corse received the highest number of entries, as victory in the LMS GTE Pro class and at Petit Le Mans helped earn four invitations.

The ACO announced that its automatic selection process represented a possible entry of 23 cars from the maximum 55 places are available.

As revealed by AUTOSPORT in June, it has also granted an additional entry to the DeltaWing project in the interests of promoting new technology.

The full list of entries for the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours and the FIA World Endurance Championship will be published on 2nd February 2012.