Japanese Manufacturers Make Big Push at Le Mans

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) announced today the entrants for the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans June 10 and 11, and there are some major surprises on the entry list. 

Japanese-powered cars have a huge place on the entry list this year. Of the 15 cars in LMP1 and 18 in LMP2, 21 of them are powered by Toyota, Honda, Mazda or Nissan. In LMP1 there are obviously the new Toyota Hybrid prototypes, but there are also two Toyota-powered Lolas and two Mazda-powered Lolas. There is even a Japanese Dome chassis powered by a Judd engine. 

Honda is even entering the LMP1 field with the HPD ARX 03a. Details about the car are still sketchy, but it is being run by Strakka Racing and JRM. 

The LMP2 field is even more packed with Japanese-powered cars. There are two HPD ARX 03b cars entered, but the biggest pack comes from Nissan. There are 11 Nissan-powered cars in the 18 car field using Oreca, Lola, and Zytek chassis.

There are no Japanese cars in either of the GT classes, but it is a big surprise to see so many entries from a single country in what is usually considered a Euro-centric race.