Le Mans Endurance Series announced.

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest today revealed the formation of a four-race series next year, confirming the announcement made at the Le Mans trials in May.

There will also be a race at Le Mans this year, on November 2 around the shorter Bugatti circuit, from which a maximum of the top three from each class will receive automatic entry to Le Mans 2004.

The French organisation is part-funding the series and is hoping to have 1000km rounds at Silverstone, Spa, Monza and the Nurburgring in a bid to return to the glory days of endurance motor sport.

"It is important for us to have a strong championship on some good circuits," said the ACO Sporting Director Daniel Poissenot.

Stephane Ratel was announced as the organiser for the championship, the Frenchman having negotiated an automatic entry into Le Mans for the top two cars in each class of his FIA GT Championship, GT and N-GT, provided they are accepted under the ACO regulations in the LM-GTS and the LM-GT classes.

That would exclude the Lister Storm GT car, the only car on the FIA GT Championship grid that is not acceptable to the ACO, according to Ratel.

The series has the full support of the FIA, motor sport's governing body, which will work with the ACO in order to eventually bring the two sets of regulations into line. "It took 18 months to bring the sports car regulations together, I don't know how long it will take for the GTS and GT regulations," said Poissenot.