2005 24 Hours of Le Mans
[2][3] The race was first held in 1923 after the automotive journalist Charles Faroux, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) general secretary Georges Durand and the industrialist Emile Coquile agreed to hold a test of vehicle reliability and durability.
Both the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, the world governing body of motor racing, and the ACO required new vehicles in both classes to be homologated.
Had these rules not been met, the automotive group would immediately intervene to lower the performance of individual cars by altering their aerodynamic efficiency, reducing the size of the air restrictor and the fuel tank for future editions of the Le Mans race.
[2] By the deadline for entries on 19 January 2005, the ACO had received 78 applications (37 for the Le Mans Prototype (LMP) classes and 41 for the GT categories).
63 Saleen S7-R due to aerodynamic deficiencies caused by a modification of the height of the car's rear wing at the 2004 Petit Le Mans to comply with ACO regulations.
[15] A revised entry list released by the ACO on 27 April confirmed the withdrawal of the Team Nasamax and ACEMCO Motorsports entries as well as the dropping of the Graham Nash Motorsport Saleen S7-R, Thierry Perrier's Porsche 911-GT3 RSR, a second Racing for Holland Dome S101-Judd car, a Ferrari 360 Modena GTC fielded by G.P.C.
[16] Four days before the start of scrutineering, Lucchini Engineering were unable to rectify a gearbox ratio problem in its LMP2/04 and were forced to withdraw the car, reducing the number of entries to 49.
[17] On June 5, a mandatory two-session pre-Le Mans test day lasting eight hours was held at the circuit, with 50 entries, to work on car setup and driver orientation.
[20] Aston Martin, in its first Le Mans works entry since the 1989 event,[21] led the LMGT1 category with a 3 minutes, 50.033 seconds lap from Tomáš Enge's No.
Tom Kristensen's lap put Champion's lead Audi in second and Ryo Michigami's Jim Gainer Dome car was third.
[26] A seal on a fuel rig braking during a pit stop caused a flash fire that damaged the Rollcentre Dallara's bodywork.
In LMGT1, Vincent Vosse led the session with a lap of 4 minutes, 20.688 seconds, displacing the Cirtek Ferrari at the top of the time sheets.
16 Pescarolo C60 had its times deleted for Collard touching the car after relieving Jean-Christophe Boullion though the penalty was rescinded 40 minutes later.
McNish's Champion car was third, Katsumoto Kaneishi improved on the Jim Gainer Dome's lap to start fourth and Montagny's Team Oreca Audi qualified fifth.
Notes: The drivers had a 45-minute warm-up session at 09:00 Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00) to test car functionality in clear and warm weather.
[41] Michigami's Jim Gainer Dome car passed Emanuele Pirro on the inside for third entering the Dunlop chicane.
25 Ray Mallock Lola car to the garage and Michigami lost a lap due to a minor paddle shift issue.
59 Aston Martin of Turner incurred two stop-and-go penalties for driving across a white line denoting the track boundaries at the Ford Chicane, dropping the car to third.
2 Audi rejoined in fifth place, with Marco Werner taking the lead and Stéphane Ortelli's Team Oreca car moving into second.
18 Rollcentre Dallara car, which had a cured misfiring engine, was forced to enter the pit lane to repair a broken power steering pump that needed fluid replenishment.
59 Aston Martin entering the first Mulsanne chicane in the seventh hour and Kox began to pull away from the rest of the class field.
[54] The safety cars were needed a second time to give marshals 24 minutes to dry the spilled oil with cement dust.
16 Pescarolo C60 vehicle took fourth when driver John Bosch entered the pit lane for debris removal from the Racing for Holland Dome's car sidepod and radiator.
[61] After missing his braking point, Gounon lost control of the Team Oreca R8 and narrowly avoided hitting Kristensen at the Ford Chicane.
91 T2M Motorsport Porsche struck a tree at 190 km/h (120 mph) at Indianapolis corner after its left-rear wheel bearing failed before his braking point, forcing its retirement.
Because the brunt of the impact damaged the car's right-hand corner, Pompidou was unharmed; he was transported from the circuit via a medical vehicle for a precautionary check-up.
13 Creation Autosportif DBA-Judd car to the garage for a new splitter, bodywork, and brake disc before rejoining the race in 20th after 1 hour and 10 minutes.
16 Pescarolo into the pit lane for a three-minute stop to clear debris from the car's air intakes and bodywork after going off the track onto an escape road at Indianapolis corner.
37 Paul Belmondo Courage vehicle due to a broken layshaft bearing that forced the car into the garage for 34 minutes, dropping it to third in the category.
The race for the LMP2 class victory continued into the final hour, with the Ray Mallock Lola car overtaking the two Paul Belmondo Courage vehicles after they experienced mechanical problems with 45 minutes remaining.
