Le Mans series dates published
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest has announced the provisional dates for the 2004 Le Mans Endurance Series.
The new series is to run to the same regulations as the club's Le Mans 24 hours, and is designed to broaden awareness of Le Mans and give entrants (and sportscar racing) a better chance of building up a following and sponsorship. It is hoped that the races will also give the public a better context in which to understand the 24 hours itself.
The ACO will run a trial 1000km event on the Le Mans Bugatti circuit on November 9 this year, where entries for next year's 24 hours will be at stake. A very healthy entry has already been received.
According to the ACO, at least four classic 1000km races will make up the series next year. This comes as no surprise since Stéphane Ratel, the man behind the series, was always keen to revive the traditional sportscar venues of Spa, Monza, Silverstone and the Nürburgring.
Quite understandably, a large gap has been left in the schedule for the 24 hours itself, which runs on June 12-13 next year. There will also be no clash with the Le Mans test day that goes ahead on April 25.
Monza 1000km
Nürburgring 1000km
Silverstone 1000km
Spa 1000km
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