Driver Lineups Finalized For 2013 24 Hours Of Le Mans

(photo credit: ACO/Francois Navarro)

 

According to a posting on the Speed TV website, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest has released the official driver lineups for this year’s 24 Hours Of Le Mans. The difficulty associated with the world’s premier endurance race has a tendency to attract some of the finest drivers the world over, including several veterans of Formula 1.

 

You can head over to Speed TV’s website to read their posting or peruse the official list on the Le Mans website.

 

From the get-go, we can see several F1 veterans running in the top-flight LMP1 class. Former Ferrari test driver Mark Gene will lead the number three Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro, alongside Pirelli tire tester Lucas Di Grassi. Toyota’s first foray into Le Mans in several years is well staffed with veterans. Of the six men tasked with driving the two Toyota hybrids, four of them have F1 experience (Alexander Wurz, Kaz Nakajima, Sébastien Buemi, and Anthony Davidson). Nick Heidfeld will be the third driver of the leading, Toyota-powered Lola.

 

Meanwhile, former Force India driver Karun Chandok will be running in LMP2, behind the wheel of an Oreca Nissan. Also in LMP2 will be Indy Car vet Ryan Briscoe. In the LM GTE Pro class, Gianmaria Bruni and Giancarlo Fisichella will run this year’s race in a Ferrari 458 Italia. And if you’re trying to talk your wife/girlfriend into watching this year’s race, passing along that Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey will be running a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR could help your cause.