LM24: LMP2 car-by-car preview

Marshall Pruett continues his overview of the field for this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Today, the LMP2 category.

• LMP1 car-by-car preview

• Le Mans Resource Guide

LMP2 Car #: 22
Team Name: MILLENNIUM RACING
Car: ORECA 03R - NISSAN
Drivers: Fabien GIROIX (FRA), John MARTIN (AUS), Oliver TURVEY (GBR)
Pruett says: The Delta-ADR team's brutal season continues as they were forced to withdraw from their third consecutive race due to Millennium's failure to send money. Scratched from the LM24 entry list, the No. 22 will hopefully turn up at a WEC race later in the year.

Car #: 24
Team Name: SEBASTIEN LOEB RACING
Car: ORECA 03R - NISSAN
Drivers: René RAST (DEU), Jan CHAROUZ (CZE), Vincent CAPILLAIRE (FRA)
Pruett says: Loeb's team has been steadily improving in the ELMS and has a serviceable driver lineup for Le Mans. Charouz is the only prototype veteran here, which means landing on the podium would be a major accomplishment. Rast, a LM24 rookie, is plenty fast, but still has a lot of learning to do in a P2. Capillaire is also a rookie, adding to the team's significant learning curve.

Car #: 26 (LEFT)
Team Name: G-DRIVE RACING
Car: MORGAN - NISSAN
Drivers: Roman RUSINOV (RUS), Olivier PLA (FRA), Julien CANAL (FRA)
Pruett says: One of the easy favorites for the P2 win. Rusinov and Pla are two of the best in the class, with Pla ranking as possibly the top among P2 drivers. Canal has tons of experience and success at Le Mans in GT cars, but will be contesting his first LM24 in a prototype this year.

Car #: 27
Team Name: SMP RACING
Car: ORECA 03R - NISSAN
Drivers: Sergey ZLOBIN (RUS), Mika SALO (FIN), Anton LADYGIN (RUS)
Pruett says: The Russian-backed team has an interesting blend of speed (Salo), promise (Ladygin) and age (Zlobin). 24-year-old Ladygin, a rookie, will be expected to complement Salo, while Zlobin, with just one LM24 start almost 10 years ago, will be the proverbial anchor among the trio. Given the disparity in age and experience, it's hard to feel bullish about their chances.

Car #: 29
Team Name: PEGASUS RACING
Car: MORGAN - NISSAN
Drivers: Julien SCHELL (FRA), Nicolas LEUTWILER (CHE), Stéphane RAFFIN (FRA)
Pruett says: Leutwiler has been around forever – I watched him race in IMSA's GTP Lights series in the late '80s, Schell has one LM24 P2 start in the horrid Norma and 18-year-old Roussel is making his first start at Le Mans. They don't stand a chance, but at least they've painted their car a pretty shade of blue.

Car #: 33 (ABOVE)
Team Name: OAK RACING - TEAM ASIA
Car: LIGIER JS P2 – HPD
Drivers: David CHENG (USA), Ho-Pin TUNG (CHN), Adderly FONG (CAN)
Pruett says: Cheng and Fong are rookies, leaving one-start Tung as the voice of experience at Le Mans for the squad. The team knows how to succeed, but with a brand-new Ligier chassis and an equal amount of LM24 experience piloting the JS P2, the No. 33 won't be much of a concern to the other P2 competitors.

Car #: 34
Team Name: RACE PERFORMANCE
Car: ORECA 03R - JUDD
Drivers: Michel FREY (CHE), Franck MAILLEUX (FRA), Jon LANCASTER (GBR)
Pruett says: Team owner/driver Michel Frey isn't bad, but his teammates, including the exceptional Franck Mailleux and LM24 rookie Jon Lancaster, a recent, race-winning GP2 driver, could provide some fireworks. Frey's the clear liability for outright pace, but if he's willing to let his co-drivers maximize their time in the car, this tidy, MOMO-sponsored outfit could move up a few notches in the hotly contested P2 category.

Car #: 35
Team Name: OAK RACING
Car: LIGIER JS P2 - NISSAN
Drivers: Alex BRUNDLE (GBR), Jann MARDENBOROUGH (GBR), Mark SHULZHITSKIY (RUS)
Pruett says: The NISSAN-backed effort has two of its young guns back for another attempt at Le Mans glory and one of its newest members in Russia's Shulzhitskiy learning at the heels of his younger teammates. Hard to say how Mark will go, but we know Alex and Jann are rockets, with Mardenborough looking like a genuine star in the making. The defending race-winning No. 35, now a Ligier JS P2 couple in place of the Morgan used in 2013, is the only big question mark here. If the car is reliable, and they keep Shulzhitskiy on a short leash, we could see big things from the No. 35.

Car #: 36 (LEFT)
Team Name: SIGNATECH ALPINE
Car: ALPINE A450 - NISSAN Drivers: Paul-Loup CHATIN (FRA), Nelson PANCIATICI (FRA), Oliver WEBB (GBR) Pruett says: The No. 36 led the Le Mans test day and has an intriguing element that marks the entire effort. The modified ORECA 03 chassis, under the Alpine banner, is obviously fast. Chatin has the makings of a serious badass in prototypes, Panciatici is quite good in the second-tier P2 class, and Webb, a standout in everything he drives, can be counted on for getting every drop of speed from the No. 36. This is another dark horse entry.

Car #: 37
Team Name: SMP RACING
Car: ORECA 03R - NISSAN
Drivers: Kirill LADYGIN (RUS), Nicolas MINASSIAN (FRA), Maurizio MEDIANI (ITA)
Pruett says: Minassian, one of the craziest guys in any paddock, will push well beyond 100 percent when he's in the car, and they'll need it. Ladygin and Mediani will, in polite terms, leave plenty of resources for Quick Nic to consume when he's strapped in.

Car #: 38 (LEFT)
Team Name: JOTA SPORT
Car: ZYTEK Z11SN - NISSAN
Drivers: Simon DOLAN (GBR), Harry TINCKNELL (GBR), Marc GENE (ESP)
Pruett says: Zytek's Z11SN is the closest thing to a tank that you'll find in P2, and that's a good thing at Le Mans. Rarely the quickest car in the class, the Zytek is sturdy, reliable, and the No. 38 has the must-have Nissan to go with two rickets in rookie Tincknell and veteran Gene. Team owner Dolan will carry his weight, making this another strong P2 entry to challenge for a top-5 finish.

Car #: 41
Team Name: GREAVES MOTORSPORT
Car: ZYTEK Z11SN - NISSAN
Drivers: Michael NUNEMANN (GBR), Alessandro LATIF (GBR), James WINSLOW (GBR)
Pruett says: This all-Brit, all-rookie lineup doesn't stand a chance, but they'll earn invaluable experience. Latif, in particular, is learning quickly and has a bit of buzz surrounding his exploits so far in sports car racing. He could continue that trend at the LM24 with a clean and quiet run.

Car #: 42
Team Name: CATERHAM RACING
Car: ZYTEK Z11SN – NISSAN
Drivers: Thomas KIMBER-SMITH (GBR), Chris DYSON (USA), Matt McMURRY (USA)
Pruett says: Add Greaves' No. 42 Zytek entry to those in play for a podium. TKS and Dyson are a well-oiled machine, know the car and team thanks to their ELMS engagement, and both are grooming 16-year-old (no, I'm not kidding) McMurry to make his first LM24 start. The teenager's quick and has a good, wise-beyond-his-years approach to the craft. If he avoids the familiar rookie pitfalls, his teammates will have the No. 42 in position for a proper result.

Car #: 43
Team Name: NEWBLOOD BY MORAND RACING
Car: MORGAN - JUDD
Drivers: Christian KLIEN (AUT), Gary HIRSCH (CHE), Romain BRANDELA (FRA)
Pruett says: Klien, the former F1 driver and factory Peugeot LMP1 driver, is the only noteworthy driver this year, but the team deserves a nod for impressing on its P2 debut last year. If they can register a similar performance, another top-5 isn't out of the question.

Car #: 46
Team Name: THIRIET BY TDS RACING
Car: LIGIER JS P2 - NISSAN
Drivers: Pierre THIRIET (FRA), Ludovic BADEY (FRA), Tristan GOMMENDY (FRA)
Pruett says: This all-French P2 program has a quick driver in Gommendy, a somewhat quick pilot in Thiriet. Badey isn't particularly threatening, or fast. P2 in 2104 is all about having the best pro/am combo, and this isn't a team that has the balance figured out. 

Car #: 47
Team Name: KCMG
Car: ORECA 03R - NISSAN
Drivers: Matthew HOWSON (GBR), Richard BRADLEY (GBR), Alexandre IMPERATORI (CHE)
Pruett says: Could be a bit of a sleeper P2 entry. Howson and Imperatori are back for another go-round with KCMG, and Bradley, a rookie, knows endurance racing. They're far from household names, but the No. 47 has a lot of potential to show this weekend.

Car #: 48
Team Name: MURPHY PROTOTYPES
Car: ORECA 03R - NISSAN
Drivers: Nathanael BERTHON (FRA), Rodolfo GONZALEZ (VEN), Karun CHANDHOK (IND)
Pruett says: Murphy is known for fielding quality entries, and the ORECA 03-Nissan is the right package to have. Chandhok is the LM24 veteran here, and his younger, rookie teammates definitely have the speed to make the No. 48 go quickly but none of the LM24 experience to stay out of harm's way.

Car #: 50
Team Name: LARBRE COMPETITION
Car: MORGAN - JUDD
Drivers: Pierre RAGUES (FRA), Ricky TAYLOR (USA), Keiko IHARA (JPN)
Pruett says: Ricky Taylor should be very fast in the No. 50. Ragues is very experienced, albeit not much of a threat, and Ihara is less experienced and even less of a threat. Hopefully, we'll get to see Taylor in the car and in the vicinity of some other prototype aces to mix it up a bit. That's going to be the only high point for this entry.