The league of gentlemen racers

The importance of gentleman drivers in top-line sports car racing will be enshrined in the regulations of the Le Mans Series in Europe next season.

The LMS is to mandate that each driver line-up in the LMP2 category has at least one amateur or gentleman racer. At the same time it will increase the minimum driving time for each driver from 45 minutes to one hour and 15 minutes.

LMS boss Patrick Peter said: “LMP2 is about amateur drivers and private teams. We need gentlemen (drivers) because they pay for the racing.”

The move by the LMS coincides with the arrival of the ‘pro-am’ FIA GT2 European Championship, which has grown out of FIA GTs.