2003 1000 km of Le Mans
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Bugatti_Circuit.svg/220px-Bugatti_Circuit.svg.png)
The 2003 1000 km of Le Mans was a one-off sports car event run under the organization of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) in preparation for the Le Mans Endurance Series that began in 2004. It was run on 9 November 2003 at the Bugatti Circuit near Le Mans, France.
Development
[edit]The ACO, having previous helped in the creation of the American Le Mans Series with the running of the 1998 Petit Le Mans, as well as a failed attempt at a Japanese sportscar series with the 1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000km, created the 1000 km of Le Mans as an experimental event to gauge the desire for teams to participate in a European-based endurance sportscar series under Le Mans rules.
Previously, the FIA Sportscar and FIA GT Championships had run primarily in Europe, but were not running as a combined series, one concentrating on prototypes and the other grand tourers, and featured mostly sprint or middle-distance races. Don Panoz, creator of the American Le Mans Series, had attempted to create a European series to combine the two types of sportscars with the European Le Mans Series, but had failed to gain enough entrants. The ACO, weary of the same occurrence, decided to hold a single race to see how much participation there would actually be.
Although officially run under the Le Mans Endurance Series name, this did not count towards any championship. In order to help bolster the number of entrants, the ACO promised winners in each of the four race classes automatic invitations to the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Unlike the usual 24 Hours of Le Mans run in June at the 13 km Circuit de la Sarthe, the 1000 km of Le Mans ran on the 4.3 km Bugatti Circuit which did not use closed public roads.
Official results
[edit]Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 75% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).[1][2]
Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Chassis | Tyre | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Engine | |||||||
1 | LMP900 | 5 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Audi R8 | M | 208 |
Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 | |||||||
2 | LMP900 | 2 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Courage C60 Evo | M | 205 |
Peugeot A32 3.2L Turbo V6 | |||||||
3 | LMP900 | 8 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Dome S101 | D | 204 |
Judd GV4 4.0L V10 | |||||||
4 | LMP675 | 13 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Courage C65 | M | 197 |
JPX 3.4L V6 | |||||||
5 | GTS | 88 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello | M | 195 |
Ferrari F133 5.9L V12 | |||||||
6 | GTS | 80 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello | M | 194 |
Ferrari F133 5.9L V12 | |||||||
7 | LMP675 | 18 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Lola B01/60 | G | 191 |
Judd KV675 3.4L V8 | |||||||
8 | GTS | 86 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | M | 190 |
Chrysler 356-T6 8.0L V10 | |||||||
9 | LMP900 | 9 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Lola B2K/10 | D | 190 |
Judd GV4 4.0L V10 | |||||||
10 | GT | 47 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Ferrari 360 Modena GTC | P | 189 |
Ferrari F131 3.6L V8 | |||||||
11 | GT | 39 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | D | 189 |
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | |||||||
12 | GT | 38 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | P | 188 |
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | |||||||
13 | GT | 36 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Porsche 996 GT3-R | D | 186 |
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | |||||||
14 | GT | 33 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | P | 186 |
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | |||||||
15 | LMP675 | 24 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | WR LMP01 | M | 185 |
Peugeot 2.0L Turbo I4 | |||||||
16 | GT | 30 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Ferrari 360 Modena GTC | P | 185 |
Ferrari F133 3.6L V8 | |||||||
17 | GT | 46 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | TVR Tuscan T400R | D | 182 |
TVR Speed Six 4.0L I6 | |||||||
18 | GT | 49 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Morgan Aero 8R | D | 178 |
BMW (Mader) 4.5L V8 | |||||||
19 | GT | 45 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | TVR Tuscan T400R | D | 175 |
TVR Speed Six 4.0L I6 | |||||||
20 | LMP675 | 12 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Pilbeam MP84 | D | 173 |
Nissan (AER) VQL 3.0L V6 | |||||||
21 | GT | 40 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | Y | 173 |
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | |||||||
22 | LMP900 | 7 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Reynard 01Q | D | 172 |
Ford (Nicholson-McLaren) 4.0L V8 | |||||||
23 | GTS | 66 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Saleen S7-R | D | 170 |
Ford 7.0L V8 | |||||||
24 | GT | 32 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | P | 169 |
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | |||||||
25 | GT | 42 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Spyker C8 Double-12R | D | 169 |
Audi 4.0L V8 | |||||||
26 | GT | 41 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | M | 165 |
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | |||||||
27 | LMP675 | 25 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | WR LMP02 | M | 163 |
Peugeot 3.4L V6 | |||||||
28 | GT | 34 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Porsche 996 GT3-RS | M | 161 |
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | |||||||
29 | LMP900 | 4 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Lister Storm LMP | D | 144 |
Chevrolet LS1 6.0L V8 | |||||||
NC | GT | 48 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Porsche 996 GT3-R | P | 125 |
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | |||||||
DNF | LMP675 | 15 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Debora LMP200 | M | 141 |
BMW (Mader) 3.4L I6 | |||||||
DNF | LMGTP | 10 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Panoz Esperante GTR-1 | M | 126 |
Ford (Élan) 6L8 6.0L V8 | |||||||
DNF | GT | 35 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Ferrari 550 Maranello | P | 84 |
Ferrari F133 5.5L V12 | |||||||
DNF | LMP675 | 14 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | MG-Lola EX257 | D | 65 |
MG (AER) XP20 2.0L Turbo I4 | |||||||
DNF | LMP900 | 6 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Riley & Scott Mk III C | D | 23 |
Ford (Roush) 6.0L V8 | |||||||
DNS | GT | 31 | ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Chevrolet Corvette LM-GT | D | - |
Chevrolet LS1 5.7L V8 | |||||||
DNS | LMP900 | 3 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Reynard 01Q | D | - |
Cosworth XD 2.7L Turbo V8 (Bio-Ethanol) |
Statistics
[edit]- Pole Position - #5 Audi Sport Japan Team Goh - 1:27.775
- Distance - 869.44 km
- Average Speed - 144.952 km/h
Post-Race
[edit]Following a successful turn out from a large number of European teams, as well as a handful of American and Japanese teams, the event was considered a success. With this, the ACO pushed forward with their development of the Le Mans Endurance Series, debuting in 2004. This move would also lead to the demise of the FIA Sportscar Championship, as prototype teams chose instead to participate in LMES.
Since this event, the LMES has not returned to Le Mans as part of their regular schedule, although many LMES participants race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
References
[edit]- ^ "Le Mans 1000 Km - Provisional Result". DailySportsCar. November 2003. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Le Mans 1000 Kilometres 2003". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 30 July 2023.