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Le Mans / ALMS
LE MANS: Dyson To Make LM24 Debut
Defending American Le Mans Series LMP1 champions to run two new Lola B12/60 Mazdas in historic debut at Le Mans...
Dyson Racing will take two Lola B12/60 Mazdas to France for the team's debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (Photo: LAT)
After nearly three decades of winning races and championships in North America, one of the top sports car racing teams in the U.S. will be headed to Le Mans for the first time this year.
As revealed in the entry list for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, released today by the ACO, Dyson Racing has accepted its pair of LMP1 auto entries, which will see the Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based squad campaign two brand-new Lola B12/60 Mazdas in the premier prototype ranks.
For reigning American Le Mans Series champion and sporting director Chris Dyson, who has made two starts at Le Mans as a driver, the choice to go to the legendary French endurance classic was fairly straight forward, especially being on the heels of a successful 2011 season.
“Ever since we've been in prototype racing, I think we've always taken a real hard look at going over to Le Mans,” Dyson told SPEED.com. “We said we wouldn't do it unless we had a competitive package and the opportunity was going to have to be right.
“Once we had the two entries granted to us by winning the [ALMS] championship and Green X Challenge last year, we were faced with a tantalizing prospect that we never had before.
“When you couple the fact that we're going to be adding new equipment that's current with the Le Mans rules for 2012, we think we've got a great package, technically, to take over there and I think we have the right partners.”
Chris Dyson and 2003 Le Mans winner Guy Smith are the nominated drivers for the two-car effort, with the remainder of the lineup to be confirmed in the coming weeks, according to Dyson.
With the team set to take delivery of two of the latest LMP1 challengers to come out of Lola’s Huntingdon, England factory, an evolution of the European Le Mans Series-winning Lola B11/60s Rebellion Racing campaigned last year, Dyson felt the time was right to make its Le Mans debut.
“Le Mans is not an event you take lightly,” Dyson said. “We recall all the years running at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the amount of preparation that went in to be competitive at that event. Le Mans is similar, but you're also including overseas travel and logistics planning. There's been a lot of thought and planning we put into it.”
Dyson has teamed up with Status GP, the U.K.-based organization that assisted Level 5 Motorsports during its Intercontinental Le Mans Cup effort last year, to be its logistical partner for the event.
The team expects to take delivery of its first new Lola B12/60 Mazda in the next two or three weeks, with it out testing by the end of the month. The second car would not likely debut until the Le Mans Test Day in June, which will give Dyson plenty of time to get up to speed around the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe.
The absence of Peugeot from Le Mans could likely have a positive effect for gasoline-powered privateers, despite four Audi R18's and two Toyota TS030’s entered for the twice-around-the-clock French classic. Last year, seven factory or semi-works diesel prototypes took part.
“When you think about it, you've lost three top-line cars with Peugeot leaving,” Dyson said. “While it's not good for the race, from a competitive landscape perspective, you have to say that it's just a straight fight between the gasoline cars and Audi now.
“If the ACO has in fact done its sums correctly and has been able to address the balance of performance correctly, I think you're absolutely in with a chance finishing in the top-five with a gasoline car, and depending on how things go, potentially a podium.
“From our standpoint, I think we want to be over there and be the best of the gasoline cars. If that puts us on the podium, first time out, that would be a great accomplishment. At the same time, we want to be realistic. We understand it's our first time being at Le Mans. We also want to make this the first of several visits to the event.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
As revealed in the entry list for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, released today by the ACO, Dyson Racing has accepted its pair of LMP1 auto entries, which will see the Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based squad campaign two brand-new Lola B12/60 Mazdas in the premier prototype ranks.
For reigning American Le Mans Series champion and sporting director Chris Dyson, who has made two starts at Le Mans as a driver, the choice to go to the legendary French endurance classic was fairly straight forward, especially being on the heels of a successful 2011 season.
“Ever since we've been in prototype racing, I think we've always taken a real hard look at going over to Le Mans,” Dyson told SPEED.com. “We said we wouldn't do it unless we had a competitive package and the opportunity was going to have to be right.
“Once we had the two entries granted to us by winning the [ALMS] championship and Green X Challenge last year, we were faced with a tantalizing prospect that we never had before.
“When you couple the fact that we're going to be adding new equipment that's current with the Le Mans rules for 2012, we think we've got a great package, technically, to take over there and I think we have the right partners.”
Chris Dyson and 2003 Le Mans winner Guy Smith are the nominated drivers for the two-car effort, with the remainder of the lineup to be confirmed in the coming weeks, according to Dyson.
With the team set to take delivery of two of the latest LMP1 challengers to come out of Lola’s Huntingdon, England factory, an evolution of the European Le Mans Series-winning Lola B11/60s Rebellion Racing campaigned last year, Dyson felt the time was right to make its Le Mans debut.
“Le Mans is not an event you take lightly,” Dyson said. “We recall all the years running at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the amount of preparation that went in to be competitive at that event. Le Mans is similar, but you're also including overseas travel and logistics planning. There's been a lot of thought and planning we put into it.”
Dyson has teamed up with Status GP, the U.K.-based organization that assisted Level 5 Motorsports during its Intercontinental Le Mans Cup effort last year, to be its logistical partner for the event.
The team expects to take delivery of its first new Lola B12/60 Mazda in the next two or three weeks, with it out testing by the end of the month. The second car would not likely debut until the Le Mans Test Day in June, which will give Dyson plenty of time to get up to speed around the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe.
The absence of Peugeot from Le Mans could likely have a positive effect for gasoline-powered privateers, despite four Audi R18's and two Toyota TS030’s entered for the twice-around-the-clock French classic. Last year, seven factory or semi-works diesel prototypes took part.
“When you think about it, you've lost three top-line cars with Peugeot leaving,” Dyson said. “While it's not good for the race, from a competitive landscape perspective, you have to say that it's just a straight fight between the gasoline cars and Audi now.
“If the ACO has in fact done its sums correctly and has been able to address the balance of performance correctly, I think you're absolutely in with a chance finishing in the top-five with a gasoline car, and depending on how things go, potentially a podium.
“From our standpoint, I think we want to be over there and be the best of the gasoline cars. If that puts us on the podium, first time out, that would be a great accomplishment. At the same time, we want to be realistic. We understand it's our first time being at Le Mans. We also want to make this the first of several visits to the event.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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