2003 1000 km of Le Mans

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

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 was did not count towards any championship. In order to help bolster the amount 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

Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 75% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Tyre	Laps
Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Engine	Tyre	Laps
1	LMP900	5	Audi Sport Japan Team Goh	Tom Kristensen Seiji Ara	Audi R8	M	208
1	LMP900	5	Audi Sport Japan Team Goh	Tom Kristensen Seiji Ara	Audi 3.6L Turbo V8	M	208
2	LMP900	2	Pescarolo Sport	Stéphane Sarrazin Franck Lagorce Sébastien Bourdais	Courage C60 Evo	M	205
2	LMP900	2	Pescarolo Sport	Stéphane Sarrazin Franck Lagorce Sébastien Bourdais	Peugeot A32 3.2L Turbo V6	M	205
3	LMP900	8	Racing for Holland	Jan Lammers Andy Wallace	Dome S101	D	204
3	LMP900	8	Racing for Holland	Jan Lammers Andy Wallace	Judd GV4 4.0L V10	D	204
4	LMP675	13	Courage Compétition	Wim Eyckmans Roman Rusinov Enrico Muscioni	Courage C65	M	197
4	LMP675	13	Courage Compétition	Wim Eyckmans Roman Rusinov Enrico Muscioni	JPX 3.4L V6	M	197
5	GTS	88	Care Racing	Jamie Davies Darren Turner	Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello	M	195
5	GTS	88	Care Racing	Jamie Davies Darren Turner	Ferrari F133 5.9L V12	M	195
6	GTS	80	Care Racing	Peter Kox Tim Sugden	Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello	M	194
6	GTS	80	Care Racing	Peter Kox Tim Sugden	Ferrari F133 5.9L V12	M	194
7	LMP675	18	Intersport Racing	Jon Field Duncan Dayton Larry Connor	Lola B01/60	G	191
7	LMP675	18	Intersport Racing	Jon Field Duncan Dayton Larry Connor	Judd KV675 3.4L V8	G	191
8	GTS	86	Larbre Compétition	Christophe Bouchut Vincent Vosse Sébastian Dumez	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	M	190
8	GTS	86	Larbre Compétition	Christophe Bouchut Vincent Vosse Sébastian Dumez	Chrysler 356-T6 8.0L V10	M	190
9	LMP900	9	Taurus Racing	Phil Andrews Justin Keen Giovanni Lavaggi	Lola B2K/10	D	190
9	LMP900	9	Taurus Racing	Phil Andrews Justin Keen Giovanni Lavaggi	Judd GV4 4.0L V10	D	190
10	GT	47	Cirtek Motorsport	Philipp Peter Klaus Engelhorn Andrea Montermini	Ferrari 360 Modena GTC	P	189
10	GT	47	Cirtek Motorsport	Philipp Peter Klaus Engelhorn Andrea Montermini	Ferrari F131 3.6L V8	P	189
11	GT	39	Freisinger Motorsport	Stéphane Ortelli Stéphane Daoudi Alexey Vasilyev	Porsche 996 GT3-RS	D	189
11	GT	39	Freisinger Motorsport	Stéphane Ortelli Stéphane Daoudi Alexey Vasilyev	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	D	189
12	GT	38	PK Sport Ltd.	Robin Liddell Jean-Philippe Belloc	Porsche 996 GT3-RS	P	188
12	GT	38	PK Sport Ltd.	Robin Liddell Jean-Philippe Belloc	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	P	188
13	GT	36	Sebah QM Automotive	Xavier Pompidou Emmanuel Collard	Porsche 996 GT3-R	D	186
13	GT	36	Sebah QM Automotive	Xavier Pompidou Emmanuel Collard	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	D	186
14	GT	33	Bernard Jubin	Sylvain Noël Christophe Tinseau	Porsche 996 GT3-RS	P	186
14	GT	33	Bernard Jubin	Sylvain Noël Christophe Tinseau	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	P	186
15	LMP675	24	Rachel Welter	Olivier Porta Richard Balandras Yojiro Terada	WR LMP01	M	185
15	LMP675	24	Rachel Welter	Olivier Porta Richard Balandras Yojiro Terada	Peugeot 2.0L Turbo I4	M	185
16	GT	30	Scuderia Ecosse	Tim Mullen Marino Franchitti Chris Niarchos	Ferrari 360 Modena GTC	P	185
16	GT	30	Scuderia Ecosse	Tim Mullen Marino Franchitti Chris Niarchos	Ferrari F133 3.6L V8	P	185
17	GT	46	DeWALT-Racesports Salisbury	Michael Caine Richard Stanton Bob Berridge	TVR Tuscan T400R	D	182
17	GT	46	DeWALT-Racesports Salisbury	Michael Caine Richard Stanton Bob Berridge	TVR Speed Six 4.0L I6	D	182
18	GT	49	Morgan Motor Company	Adam Sharpe Neil Cunningham	Morgan Aero 8R	D	178
18	GT	49	Morgan Motor Company	Adam Sharpe Neil Cunningham	BMW (Mader) 4.5L V8	D	178
19	GT	45	DeWALT-Racesports Salisbury	Amanda Stretton Fanny Duchateau Liz Halliday	TVR Tuscan T400R	D	175
19	GT	45	DeWALT-Racesports Salisbury	Amanda Stretton Fanny Duchateau Liz Halliday	TVR Speed Six 4.0L I6	D	175
20	LMP675	12	PiR	Pierre Bruneau Marc Rostan	Pilbeam MP84	D	173
20	LMP675	12	PiR	Pierre Bruneau Marc Rostan	Nissan (AER) VQL 3.0L V6	D	173
21	GT	40	Seikel Motorsport	Johnny Mowlem Alex Caffi Gabrio Rosa	Porsche 996 GT3-RS	Y	173
21	GT	40	Seikel Motorsport	Johnny Mowlem Alex Caffi Gabrio Rosa	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	Y	173
22	LMP900	7	Fred Goddard	Earl Goddard Martin Short Warren Carway	Reynard 01Q	D	172
22	LMP900	7	Fred Goddard	Earl Goddard Martin Short Warren Carway	Ford (Nicholson-McLaren) 4.0L V8	D	172
23	GTS	66	Konrad Motorsport	Wolfgang Kaufmann Toni Seiler Franz Konrad	Saleen S7-R	D	170
23	GTS	66	Konrad Motorsport	Wolfgang Kaufmann Toni Seiler Franz Konrad	Ford 7.0L V8	D	170
24	GT	32	System Force Motorsport	Peter van Merksteijn Sr. Frans Munsterhuis	Porsche 996 GT3-RS	P	169
24	GT	32	System Force Motorsport	Peter van Merksteijn Sr. Frans Munsterhuis	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	P	169
25	GT	42	Spyker Automobilien	Patrick van Schoote Norman Simon	Spyker C8 Double-12R	D	169
25	GT	42	Spyker Automobilien	Patrick van Schoote Norman Simon	Audi 4.0L V8	D	169
26	GT	41	T2M Motorsport	Georges Forgeois Paul Daniels Wim Coekelberghs	Porsche 996 GT3-RS	M	165
26	GT	41	T2M Motorsport	Georges Forgeois Paul Daniels Wim Coekelberghs	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	M	165
27	LMP675	25	Gerard Welter	Jean-René de Fournoux Bastien Brière William David	WR LMP02	M	163
27	LMP675	25	Gerard Welter	Jean-René de Fournoux Bastien Brière William David	Peugeot 3.4L V6	M	163
28	GT	34	Noël del Bello	Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière Patrick Caternet Philip Collin	Porsche 996 GT3-RS	M	161
28	GT	34	Noël del Bello	Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière Patrick Caternet Philip Collin	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	M	161
29	LMP900	4	Lister Racing	Jamie Campbell-Walter Nathan Kinch Tom Coronel	Lister Storm LMP	D	144
29	LMP900	4	Lister Racing	Jamie Campbell-Walter Nathan Kinch Tom Coronel	Chevrolet LS1 6.0L V8	D	144
30 NC	GT	48	Olivier Baron	Bruno Houzelot Denis Cohignac André-Alain Corbel	Porsche 996 GT3-R	P	125
30 NC	GT	48	Olivier Baron	Bruno Houzelot Denis Cohignac André-Alain Corbel	Porsche 3.6L Flat-6	P	125
31 DNF	LMP675	15	Didier Bonnet Racing	Renaud Denoit Roland Bossy	Debora LMP200	M	141
31 DNF	LMP675	15	Didier Bonnet Racing	Renaud Denoit Roland Bossy	BMW (Mader) 3.4L I6	M	141
32 DNF	LMGTP	10	JML Team Panoz	Olivier Beretta David Saelens	Panoz Esperante GTR-1	M	126
32 DNF	LMGTP	10	JML Team Panoz	Olivier Beretta David Saelens	Ford (Élan) 6L8 6.0L V8	M	126
33 DNF	GT	35	XL Racing	Gilles Vannelet Bernard Rousselot Gaël Lesoudier	Ferrari 550 Maranello	P	84
33 DNF	GT	35	XL Racing	Gilles Vannelet Bernard Rousselot Gaël Lesoudier	Ferrari F133 5.5L V12	P	84
34 DNF	LMP675	14	RML	Thomas Erdos Mike Newton Chris Goodwin	MG-Lola EX257	D	65
34 DNF	LMP675	14	RML	Thomas Erdos Mike Newton Chris Goodwin	MG (AER) XP20 2.0L Turbo I4	D	65
35 DNF	LMP900	6	Intersport Racing	Clint Field Rick Sutherland John Graham	Riley & Scott Mk III C	D	23
35 DNF	LMP900	6	Intersport Racing	Clint Field Rick Sutherland John Graham	Ford (Roush) 6.0L V8	D	23
DNS	GT	31	RJ Cole Xero Competition	Ricky Cole Peter Le Bas Paula Cook	Chevrolet Corvette LM-GT	D	-
DNS	GT	31	RJ Cole Xero Competition	Ricky Cole Peter Le Bas Paula Cook	Chevrolet LS1 5.7L V8	D	-
DNS	LMP900	3	Team Nasamax	Robbie Sterling Werner Lupberger Romain Dumas	Reynard 01Q	D	-
DNS	LMP900	3	Team Nasamax	Robbie Sterling Werner Lupberger Romain Dumas	Cosworth XD 2.7L Turbo V8 (Bio-Ethanol)	D	-

Statistics

Pole Position - #5 Audi Sport Japan Team Goh - 1:27.775
Distance - 869.44 km
Average Speed - 144.952 km/h

Post-Race

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.

External links

Racing Sports Cars - 2003 1000km of Le Mans

European Le Mans Series

Main topics	Automobile Club de l'Ouest 24 Hours of Le Mans FIA World Endurance Championship Classic Endurance Racing GT3 Le Mans Cup

Classes	LMP Classes list LMGT Classes Le Mans Prototype Challenge 2009 Cup

Seasons	2001 (only season) 2003 (one event) 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Statistics	Champions Circuits

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