2011 Le Mans Intercontinental Cup

[beige]

The inaugural Le Mans Intercontinental Cup this year only features 3 races towards the end of the year - Silverstone 1000km, Petit Le Mans and Zhuhai 1000km. However, for 2011, the ACO has announced that the series will expand to 7 races and the calendar looks genuinely exciting. So is this the return of a genuine world sportscar championship for the first time in nearly 2 decades? Will this mean more interest from manufacturers and motorsport fans? Will this finally bring some order to sportscar racing? Will it impact on the FIA World GT1 Championship? And will this extend my interest in the category beyond a certain French race that I'm watching right now?

March – Sebring 12 Hours
May – Spa 1000 KM
June 11-12 – 24 Hours of Le Mans (double points)
September – Silverstone 1000 KM
September-October – Petit Le Mans
End of October – Fuji 1000 KM
Mid November – China 6 Hours

[SEATFreak]

This from planetlemans.com....

"This cup will be held on 3 continents in 3 races that are already part of the different series run under the Le Mans label.

This American/European/Asian triple crown will kick off at Silverstone (13th September) in the Le Mans Series. The second round will be the Petit Le Mans (2nd October) in the American Le Mans Series, and the final one will take place on the Asian continent in an Asian Le Mans Series event in November.

A teams’/manufacturers’ classification for the “2010 Le Mans Intercontinental Cup” will be established on the basis of the overall results of these races.

The “2010 Le Mans Intercontinental Cup” prefigures the creation of a world trophy for the 2011 season, which will be run in compliance with the new ACO regulations: it will consist of 6 races minimum. A more detailed presentation of the world trophy will be made before the end of March 2010.

N.B: Each competitor (team or manufacturer) must confirm its entry with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest before the end of February 2010.

Competitors will be obliged to compete in all 3 races to be included in the overall classification.
In addition, they must also take part in 5 races run under the Le Mans label (the 24 Hours excepted) to be eligible for the Intercontinental Cup."

This clarifies matters.

I understand well of course that the Cup straddles the Le Mans Series (Silverstone), American Le Mans (Petite Le Mans) and Asian Le Mans Series (Zuhai) and that like all championships in motorsport, the final classification in both the drivers and manufacturers will be decided on the results after all three races.

But what I want to know is, and it sounds daft, what about the other entrants in the three LMS's (Le Mans Series, American Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series)? Am I right they don't enter do, and it also sounds daft, is it only the pre-registered entrants who will race at Silverstone, Petite Le Mans and Zuhai.

[beige]

Am I right they don't enter do,

Pardon?

But no, I don't think it's just pre-registered entrants at those races because the races are still part of the domestic series.