2008 Le Mans Series
The 2008 Le Mans Series was the fifth season of ACO's Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototype and Grand Touring style cars broken into 4 classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. It ran from 6 April to 14 September 2008 with five rounds taking place.
Schedule
The 2008 schedule remained largely unchanged from that of 2007, except for Circuit de Catalunya replacing Circuit de Valencia for the Spanish round. A large gap was built into the schedule between May and August to better allow teams to prepare for and recover from the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans.An additional race was announced at a later date, with a 1000 km event in Shanghai. This event however would not replace the Mil Milhas Brasil round, but was instead to be a stand-alone event as a precursor to a new Asian Le Mans Series planned for 2009. Points for the Le Mans Series would not be awarded but class winners would gain automatic entry to the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race was cancelled and was later rescheduled be held on 8 November 2009, because of conflicts with the 2008 Summer Olympics schedule.
| Rnd | Race | Circuit | Date |
| - |  LMS Official Test | Paul Ricard HTTT | 2 March 3 March |
| 1 |  1000 km of Catalunya | Circuit de Catalunya | 6 April |
| 2 |  1000 km of Monza | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | 27 April |
| 3 |  1000 km of Spa | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | 11 May |
| 4 |  1000 km of Nürburgring | Nürburgring | 17 August |
| 5 |  1000 km of Silverstone | Silverstone Circuit | 14 September |
Season results
| Rnd | Circuit | LMP1 Winning Team | LMP2 Winning Team | GT1 Winning Team | GT2 Winning Team | Results |
| Rnd | Circuit | LMP1 Winning Drivers | LMP2 Winning Drivers | GT1 Winning Drivers | GT2 Winning Drivers | Results |
| 1 | Catalunya | #7 Team Peugeot Total |  #34 VM Motorsport | #72 Luc Alphand Aventures | #96 Virgo Motorsport | Results |
| 1 | Catalunya | Nicolas Minassian Marc Gené | Jos Verstappen Peter van Merksteijn | Luc Alphand Guillaume Moreau Patrice Goueslard | Rob Bell Gianmaria Bruni | Results |
| 2 | Monza | #8 Team Peugeot Total |  #31 Team Essex | #59 Team Modena | #91 Farnbacher Racing | Results |
| 2 | Monza | Stéphane Sarrazin Pedro Lamy | John Nielsen Casper Elgaard | Antonio García Tomáš Enge | Lars-Erik Nielsen Allan Simonsen Richard Westbrook | Results |
| 3 | Spa | #7 Team Peugeot Total | #34 VM Motorsport | #72 Luc Alphand Aventures | #96 Virgo Motorsport | Results |
| 3 | Spa | Nicolas Minassian Marc Gené Jacques Villeneuve | Jos Verstappen Peter van Merksteijn |  Olivier Beretta Guillaume Moreau Patrice Goueslard | Rob Bell Gianmaria Bruni | Results |
| 4 | Nürburgring | #8 Team Peugeot Total | #34 VM Motorsport | #59 Team Modena | #96 Virgo Motorsport | Results |
| 4 | Nürburgring | Stéphane Sarrazin Pedro Lamy | Jos Verstappen Jeroen Bleekemolen | Antonio García Tomáš Enge | Rob Bell Gianmaria Bruni | Results |
| 5 | Silverstone | #1 Audi Team Joest | #34 VM Motorsport | #59 Team Modena | #96 Virgo Motorsport | Results |
| 5 | Silverstone | Allan McNish Rinaldo Capello | Jos Verstappen Peter van Merksteijn | Antonio García Tomáš Enge | Rob Bell Jaime Melo | Results |
Teams Championships
Points were awarded to the top eight finishers in the order of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. Unlike the American Le Mans Series, where teams with multiple entries scored the points of their highest finishing entry in each race, teams with multiple entries did not have their cars combined and each entry number was scored separately in the championship. Cars which failed to complete 70% of the winner's distance were not awarded points.The top two finishers in each team championship earned automatic entry to the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.
LMP1 Standings
LMP2 Standings
GT1 Standings
GT2 Standings
Drivers Championships
Points were awarded to the top 8 finishers in the order of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. Drivers who did not drive for at least 45 minutes do not receive points.LMP1 Standings
| Pos | Driver | Team | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Rnd 5 | Total |
| 1= | Alexandre Prémat | Audi Sport Team Joest | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 35 |
| 1= | Mike Rockenfeller | Audi Sport Team Joest | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 35 |
| 3= | Nicolas Minassian | Team Peugeot Total | 10 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 32 | |
| 3= | Marc Gené | Team Peugeot Total | 10 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 32 | |
| 5= | Allan McNish | Audi Sport Team Joest | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 27 |
| 5= | Rinaldo Capello | Audi Sport Team Joest | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 27 |
| 7= | Stéphane Sarrazin | Team Peugeot Total | 1 | 10 | 10 | 21 | ||
| 7= | Pedro Lamy | Team Peugeot Total | 1 | 10 | 10 | 21 | ||
| 9= | Jan Charouz | Charouz Racing System | 6 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 19 | |
| 9= | Stefan Mücke | Charouz Racing System | 6 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 19 | |
| 11 | Jean-Christophe Boullion | Pescarolo Sport | 5 | 4 | 6 | 15 | ||
| 12 | Stuart Hall | Creation AIM | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 14 | |
| 13= |  Harold Primat | Pescarolo Sport | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 13 | |
| 13= | Christophe Tinseau | Pescarolo Sport | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 13 | |
| 15 | Jacques Villeneuve | Team Peugeot Total | 10 | 10 | ||||
| 16 | Emmanuel Collard | Pescarolo Sport | 5 | 4 | 9 | |||
| 17 | Robbie Kerr | Creation AIM | 5 | 3 | 8 | |||
| 18= | Olivier Panis | Team Oreca-Matmut | 6 | 6 | ||||
| 18= | Nicolas Lapierre | Team Oreca-Matmut | 6 | 6 | ||||
| 18= | Romain Dumas | Pescarolo Sport | 6 | 6 | ||||
| 18= | Jamie Campbell-Walter | Creation AIM | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||
| 22= | Bruce Jouanny | Creation AIM | 5 | 5 | ||||
| 22= | Soheil Ayari | Team Oreca-Matmut | 3 | 2 | 5 | |||
| 22= | Stéphane Ortelli | Team Oreca-Matmut | 3 | 2 | 5 | |||
| 22= | Vanina Ickx | Rollcentre Racing | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 26 | Martin Short | Rollcentre Racing | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 27= | Loïc Duval | Team Oreca-Matmut | 3 | 3 | ||||
| 27= | João Barbosa | Rollcentre Racing | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||
| 29= | Duncan Tappy | Rollcentre Racing | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 29= | Ángel Burgueño | Epsilon Euskadi | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 29= | Miguel Ángel de Castro | Epsilon Euskadi | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 32= | Jacques Nicolet | Saulnier Racing | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 32= | Marc Faggionato | Saulnier Racing | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 32= | Richard Hein | Saulnier Racing | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 32= | Charlie Hollings | Rollcentre Racing | 1 | 1 |
LMP2 Standings
| Pos | Driver | Team | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Rnd 5 | Total |
| 1 | Jos Verstappen | Van Merksteijn Motorsport | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 48 |
| 2 | Peter van Merksteijn | Van Merksteijn Motorsport | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 38 | |
| 3= | John Nielsen | Team Essex | 6 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 32 |
| 3= | Casper Elgaard | Team Essex | 6 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 32 |
| 5= | Fredy Lienhard | Horag Racing | 3 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 25 | |
| 5= | Didier Theys | Horag Racing | 3 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 25 | |
| 5= | Jan Lammers | Horag Racing | 3 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 25 | |
| 8= | Pierre Ragues | Saulnier Racing | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 21 | |
| 8= | Matthieu Lahaye | Saulnier Racing | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 21 | |
| 8= | Mike Newton | Ray Mallock Ltd. | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 21 |
| 8= | Thomas Erdos | Ray Mallock Ltd. | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 21 |
| 12= | Olivier Pla | Quifel ASM Team | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 12= | Miguel Amaral | Quifel ASM Team | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 14 | Jeroen Bleekemolen | Van Merksteijn Motorsport | 10 | 10 | ||||
| 15= | Andrea Belicchi | Speedy Racing Team Sebah | 8 | 8 | ||||
| 15= | Xavier Pompidou | Speedy Racing Team Sebah | 8 | 8 | ||||
| 15= | Steve Zacchia | Speedy Racing Team Sebah | 8 | 8 | ||||
| 18= |  Karim Ojjeh | Trading Performance | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 18= | Claude-Yves Gosselin | Trading Performance | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 20 | Warren Hughes | Embassy Racing | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 21= | Darren Manning | Embassy Racing | 5 | 5 | ||||
| 21= | Joey Foster | Embassy Racing | 5 | 5 | ||||
| 21= | Julien Schroyen | Trading Performance | 1 | 4 | 5 | |||
| 21= | Jonny Kane | Embassy Racing | 2 | 3 | 5 | |||
| 25= | Jean de Pourtalès | Kruse Schiller Motorsport | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||
| 25= |  Hideki Noda | Kruse Schiller Motorsport | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||
| 25= | Jens Petersen | Team Bruichladdich Radical | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 25= | Jan-Dirk Leuders | Team Bruichladdich Radical | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 25= | Marc Rostan | Team Bruichladdich Radical | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 30 | Adam Sharpe | Trading Performance | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 31= | Mario Haberfeld | Embassy Racing | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 31= | Juan Barazi | Barazi-Epsilon | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 31= | Michael Vergers | Barazi-Epsilon | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 31= | Fernando Rees | Barazi-Epsilon | 1 | 1 |
GT1 Standings
| Pos | Driver | Team | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Rnd 5 | Total |
| 1= | Guillaume Moreau | Luc Alphand Aventures | 10 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 42 |
| 1= | Patrice Goueslard | Luc Alphand Aventures | 10 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 42 |
| 3= | Antonio García | Team Modena | 10 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 36 | |
| 3= | Tomáš Enge | Team Modena | 10 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 36 | |
| 5= | Peter Kox |  IPB Spartak Racing | 6 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 27 | |
| 5= | Roman Rusinov | IPB Spartak Racing | 6 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 27 | |
| 7= | Olivier Beretta | Luc Alphand Aventures | 8 | 10 | 18 | |||
| 7= | Luc Alphand | Luc Alphand Aventures | 10 | 8 | 18 | |||
| 9= | Peter Hardman | Strakka Racing | 5 | 5 | 10 | |||
| 9= | Nick Leventis | Strakka Racing | 5 | 5 | 10 | |||
| 11= | Christophe Bouchut | Larbre Compétition | 8 | 8 | ||||
| 11= | Frédéric Makowiecki | Larbre Compétition | 8 | 8 | ||||
| 11= | Patrick Bornhauser | Larbre Compétition | 8 | 8 | ||||
| 14= | Sébastien Dumez | Luc Alphand Aventures | 6 | 6 | ||||
| 14= | Jean-Luc Blanchemain | Luc Alphand Aventures | 6 | 6 | ||||
| 14= | Roland Bervillé | Luc Alphand Aventures | 6 | 6 | ||||
| 17 | Darren Turner | Strakka Racing | 5 | 5 |
GT2 Standings
| Pos | Driver | Team | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Rnd 5 | Total |
| 1 | Rob Bell | Virgo Motorsport | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | |
| 2= | Marc Lieb | Team Felbermayr-Proton | 8 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 35 |
| 2= |  Alex Davison | Team Felbermayr-Proton | 8 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 35 |
| 4 | Gianmaria Bruni | Virgo Motorsport | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | ||
| 5= | Pierre Kaffer | Farnbacher Racing | 5 | 8 | 6 | 19 | ||
| 5= | Pierre Ehret | Farnbacher Racing | 5 | 8 | 6 | 19 | ||
| 7 | Ben Aucott | JMB Racing | 3 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 18 | |
| 8 | Stéphane Daoudi | JMB Racing | 3 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 16 | |
| 9= | Raymond Narac | IMSA Performance Matmut | 6 | 3 | 6 | 15 | ||
| 9= |  Richard Lietz | IMSA Performance Matmut | 6 | 3 | 6 | 15 | ||
| 11= | Ralf Kelleners | Snoras Spyker Squadron | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 | ||
| 11= | Alexey Vasilyev | Snoras Spyker Squadron | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 | ||
| 13= | Anthony Beltoise | Farnbacher Racing | 5 | 6 | 11 | |||
| 13= | Andrea Chiesa | Speedy Racing Team Sebah | 5 | 5 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 13= | Benjamin Leuenberger | Speedy Racing Team Sebah | 5 | 5 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 11= | Peter Kutemann | JMB Racing | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 11 | |
| 17= | Lars-Erik Nielsen | Farnbacher Racing | 10 | 10 | ||||
| 17= | Allan Simonsen | Farnbacher Racing | 10 | 10 | ||||
| 17= | Richard Westbrook | Farnbacher Racing | 10 | 10 | ||||
| 17= | Jaime Melo | Virgo Motorsport | 10 | 10 | ||||
| 17= | Horst Felbermayr, Sr. | Team Felbermayr-Proton | 6 | 4 | 10 | |||
| 17= | Horst Felbermayr, Jr. | Team Felbermayr-Proton | 6 | 4 | 10 | |||
| 17= | Christian Ried | Team Felbermayr-Proton | 6 | 4 | 10 | |||
| 24 | Maurice Basso | JMB Racing | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 25 | Peter Dumbreck | Snoras Spyker Squadron | 4 | 4 | 8 | |||
| 26 | Tim Sugden | James Watt Automotive | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |
| 27= | Iradj Alexander | Speedy Racing Team Sebah | 5 | 5 | ||||
| 27= | Tom Coronel | Snoras Spyker Squadron | 5 | 5 | ||||
| 27= | Richard Balandras | IMSA Performance Matmut | 2 | 3 | 5 | |||
| 27= | Michel Lecourt | IMSA Performance Matmut | 2 | 3 | 5 | |||
| 27= | Jean-Philippe Belloc | IMSA Performance Matmut | 2 | 3 | 5 | |||
| 27= |  Markus Palttala | James Watt Automotive | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 27= | Paul Daniels | James Watt Automotive | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 34= | Mauro Casadei | JMB Racing | 4 | 4 | ||||
| 34= | Alain Ferté | JMB Racing | 4 | 4 | ||||
| 36 | Julien Gilbert | JMB Racing | 3 | 3 | ||||
| 37= | Johan-Boris Scheier | JMB Racing | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 37= |  Alan van der Merwe | James Watt Automotive | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 37= | Michael Outzen | James Watt Automotive | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 40 | Mikael Forsten | James Watt Automotive | 1 | 1 |
Confirmed entries
LMP1
- Oreca purchased Courage Compétition on 14 September 2007. Oreca ran two Oreca-Courage LC70s in 2008, with Judd engines replacing AER units. Olivier Panis was one of the team's drivers.
- Audi announced their intentions to run in the LMS in 2008, pending a marketing agreement for the series which Audi finds favorable. The two-car team was run by Joest Racing.
- Epsilon Euskadi planned to enter two EE1 coupes in the 2008 season.
- Creation Autosportif was due to switch to new AIM-built engines in 2008, while also running two cars.
- On 10 January 2008, Aston Martin announced that it would be moving into the LMP1 category. Using the same engine as the GT1-class DBR9, the prototype was a Lola B08/60 coupe. Charouz Racing System ran the car with assistance from Prodrive, with drivers Tomáš Enge, Jan Charouz, and Stefan Mücke.
- Swiss Spirit, now under the control of Phoenix Racing, planned a return for their Audi-powered Lola.
LMP2
- Caspar Elgaard and John Nielsen formed Team Essex, running a Porsche RS Spyder in 2008.
- Van Merksteijn Motorsport entered an RS Spyder in the series, driven by Dutchmen Jeroen Bleekemolen, Peter van Merksteijn Sr. and Jos Verstappen.
- Swiss Horag Racing competed with an RS Spyder, with regular drivers Fredy Lienhard and Didier Theys.
- Welter Racing returned to the series with an all-new prototype. The WR was powered by a Zytek V8 for the first time.
- On 23 October 2007, Pescarolo Sport merged with Saulnier Sport to form Pescarolo Automobiles. Besides Pescarolo Sport's two-car LMP1 effort, Pescarolo Automobiles also had an LMP2 team run by Saulnier.
- Embassy Racing constructed their own cars in 2008, known as the Embassy WF01. The cars will be powered by Zytek engines, and Warren Hughes, Jonny Kane and Joey Foster were to be drivers.
- Speed Racing Team and Sebah Automotive planned a joint campaign with a new Lola B08/80 under the Speedy Racing Team Sebah banner.
- Racing Box moved to LMP2 with the purchase of a Lucchini-Judd.
GT1
- Larbre Compétition were no longer be a factory-backed Aston Martin squad, instead moving to a pair of Oreca-supported Saleen S7-Rs.
GT2
- Spyker built new coupes for the GT2 class, both for their own team as well as replacements for the Speedy Racing Team.