FIA WEC 2019/2020: LMP2 season preview

The LMP2 class will have 8 cars on the grid this season:  7 Oreca’s and one single Dallara for newcomers Cetilar Racing.  The late change to Oreca by United Autosports makes it almost a single make cup for season 8.   2 teams don’t return to the championship, Dragonspeed and Larbre Competition while Jackie Chan DC Racing will only race one car this time.   TDS Racing now runs the Racing Team Nederland Oreca while the Dragonspeed run Oreca now races under the Jota flag.  4 teams move up from the European Le Mans Series to the World Championship: United Autosports, High Class Racing, Cool Racing and Cetilar Racing.   

There’s a lot of familiar names and faces in the class, which should give us some good racing over the season. Signatech Alpine is here to defend its title, but won’t face an easy task.  United Autosports and JOTA are expected to be their main contenders for the championship, but race by race it will be an open battle for all three podium spots.  The only real question mark is how far the Cetilar Dallara will be able to keep up with the pace of the Oreca’s. 

#22 United Autosports - Oreca 07/Gibson

A bit of a surprise at the time, United Autosports decided to bin the Ligier LMP2 and make a last-minute switch to the Oreca 07 chassis for their maiden season in the World Endurance Championship. The team acquired three chassis’ from USA based PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports.  After an almost faultless Le Mans 24 Hours, the team didn’t manage to do better than fourth position in the LMP2 class. Moving over to the Oreca chassis should enable them to fight for the win in the upcoming WEC season. 

A switch with consequences, as Ligier promptly announced the end of their collaboration with United Autosports as distributors for the English market. The team remains with their Ligiers in the ELMS this season and has already committed to run several Ligier LMP3’s in next year’s ELMS and Michelin Le Mans Cup. 

The #22 will have a strong driver line-up with Filipe Albuquerque, Phil Hanson and Paul Di Resta. Oliver Jarvis will replace Paul Di Resta for the second race in Japan, who has a date clash with the DTM championship. 

# 29 Racing Team Nederland - Oreca 07/Gibson

The Dutch are back for their second season in the FIA WEC and have a clear ambition to fight for the podium.  Despite a perfect run with Dallara I which they finished every race in their ELMS and WEC campaigns, the decision was made to end the collaboration with the Italian manufacturer and Davytech who ran the car since 2017.  Frits Van Eerd & co decided to switch to a brand new Oreca 07 chassis which now will be run by TDS Racing. The team also changes to Michelin tyres, after testing both the Michelin and new Goodyear compounds during the Prologue in Barcelona last month.

Frits Van Eerd will once again be joined by Giedo Van der Garde and Nyck De Vries.  Due to 2 date clashes with the F2 championship, De Vries won’t be able to race in Silverstone and Shanghai.  He will be replaced by silver rated Job Van Uitert who is making a blitz career in protoype racing since his debut in 2018.  

During the Prologue, Nick De Vries was the fastest driver in the LMP2 class.  With 2 fast & experienced pro drivers and Van Eerd who seems to be well at home in the Oreca 07, Racing Team Nederland might will be one of the teams to watch in the upcoming season. 

# 33 High Class Racing - Oreca 07/Gibson

Danish team High Class Racing has been racing in the European Le Mans Series since 2017 and made its debut in this years’ 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 11th in the LMP2 class.  The team owned by Anders Fjordbach also went from a Dallara P217 to an Oreca 07 at the start of the 2019 ELMS.   

Anders Fjordbach will be joined by 67 year old Mark Patterson who has recovered from his crash at Monza earlier this year at the ELMS test day.  The third driver for the Danish squad is Kenta Yamashita. This 24 year-old Japanese driver is part of Toyota’s Young Driver Programme and will make his debut in prototype racing at Silverstone. Yamashita has won the Japanese Formula 3 title in 2016 and is currently leading the Super GT championship.  Toyota will follow his progress from close by, so expect this youngster to be one of the candidates for a seat in the upcoming Hypercar next season. 

#36 Signatech Alpine Elf - Alpine A470/Gibson

Last seasons’ champions Signatech Alpine return to the WEC, with the rebadged Alpine A470 but a slightly different driver line-up.  There will be 2 new faces in the team’s garage since Nicolas Lapierre moved over to Cool Racing and Pierre Thiriet decided to focus on his professional commitments.  This leaves Andre Negrao as the only driver at the team that won last seasons title and the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2018 and 2019. 

Negrao is in for his third season with the team and will be joined by Thomas Laurent and Pierre Ragues.  Thomas Laurent, who is also reserve driver for Toyota, went from LMP3 to LMP1 in 3 years time and race with the Rebellion R13 last season. It’s a bit of a return for the young Frenchman who did his first rookie test with Signatech in 2016.  Pierre Ragues is no stranger to the team as he was one of their drivers who won the 2013 ELMS title in LMP2. Since then he raced with the Alpine for a part of the 2017 season, finishing on the podium at Le Mans. Ragues is currently also active in the ELMS with Duqueine engineering and is one of the drivers on double duty in Silverstone. 

Replacing Lapierre, who has been widely recognised as one of the best LMP2 drivers around, won’t be easy for Signatech Alpine.  But the experience of Ragues and the speed of Laurent should make them once again one of the top runners for the championship. 

#37 Jackie Chan DC Racing - Oreca 07/Gibson

Jackie Chan DC Racing’s effort is down to one car this season, which was expected after the Malaysian backing of the second car fell short at the start of this year.  With a win at Sebring (#38) and second place at Le Mans (#37), the team did end the super season on a high. 

Ho Pin Tung and Gabriel Aubry return at the wheel of the #37 Oreca and will be joined by Will Stevens this season.  Stevens is no stranger to the team as he raced with them at the 1000 miles of Sebring.  The former F1 driver made a successful switch to endurance racing with 2 Le Mans podiums (including a win in GTE Am), full season drives with Panis-Barthez Competition in the ELMS and winning Sebring in LMP2. 

#38 JOTA - Oreca 07/Gibson

For the first time since 2015, JOTA will racing again under its own banner in an endurance championship.  With the Jackie Chan effort down to one car and Dragonspeed suspending its WEC efforts, Roberto Gonzalez turned to JOTA to run his Oreca 07 in the 2019/2020 season. The car will run on Goodyear rubber and feature a new blue/yellow inspired Goodyear livery.

Initially last season’s driver line-up would have been retained, and was on the initial entry list for season 8.  Until Pastor Maldonado announced last week that he won’t participate in the season due to “not reaching a balance agreement between the parties”.  Exit Maldonado, enter Antonio Felix Da Costa.  Da Costa is no stranger to the team as he raced with JOTA at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2018.  The BMW factory driver who raced with Team MTek last season is also active in the Formula E championship, so it’s still to be seen whether he will be able to do a full season campaign with JOTA.   

The other two drivers remain the same a last season in the Dragonspeed run car. Roberto Gonzalez, one of the most consistent and fastest silver rated gentleman drivers and Anthony Davidson who joined the team last year after Le Mans after 6 years as a factory driver at Toyota. They won the 6 Hour race at Spa “Winter Wonderland” earlier this year, and with the addition of Felix Da Costa, this trio should be able to fight for podiums again. 

#42 Cool Racing - Oreca 07/Gibson

Swiss team Cool Racing is growing quickly, from several seasons in the LMP3 class of the European Le Mans Series to their debut in LMP2 at Paul Ricard in April and now straight into the FIA WEC. After scoring their first podium in Barcelona, the team now looks forward to their debut in the World Championship. 

Probably the biggest news about the team was adding Nicolas Lapierre to their driver line-up.  Lapierre, an ex Toyota factory driver, has been regarded as one of the - if not the - fastest drivers in the LMP2 class.  His experience with the Oreca and in the championship will be a serious asset for the team.  Joining Lapierre are team owner Antonin Borga and Alexandre Coigny who have been racing together since LMP3 in the ELMS.  The team will have a busy weekend in Silverstone, racing in both the ELMS as the WEC.  

#47 Cetilar Racing - Dallara P217/Gibson

The single non-Oreca chassis this season will be entered by Italian team Cetilar Racing.  Another team that has its roots in the LMP3 class of the European Le Mans Series. After two seasons in the top class of the ELMS and 2 consecutive Le Mans appearances, Roberto Lacorte & co now leap into the WEC. 

Cetilar stays loyal to the Dallara chassis in an all Italian entry, but has now joined forces with AF Corse to run their car instead of Villorba Corse who had been running their ELMS entries for the 4 past seasons.  Roberto Lacorte will be joined again by Giorgio Sernagiotto and Andrea Belicchi.  Belicchi is the most experienced driver of the team with 8 Le Mans starts under his belt. It will be interesting to see how they will cope with the sole Dallara agains the Oreca armada.    

FIA WEC: 34 cars to race at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this weekend

The FIA World Endurance championship returns to the iconic Spa-Francorchamps this weekend for the penultimate round of the 2018/2019 super season ahead of the big finale in Le Mans.  While Toyota in LMP1 and Porsche in GTE Pro are miles away from the competition in the championship, LMP2 and LMGTE Am still have all to play for.

The weather forecast for Francorchamps looks very interesting to say the least.  While we had sunny weather and warm temperatures in the past years, 2019 might be the one race with some real “Spa-weather”.  Temperatures in the Ardennes are dropping down as from Thursday on with (heavy) rain predicted, (almost) freezing temps at night and even a hint for snow on Saturday.

Toyota arrives in Spa, one of their home tracks with the factory based in Cologne, leading both the drivers and manufacturers championship with the TS050 Hybrid.  The TS050 will be equipped in the team’s new low downforce spec, which has been tested recently in a 4.000 km test at Paul Ricard. 

With 151 points after 6 races, Toyota can secure the teams championship this weekend in Spa. They have an advantage over Rebellion Racing of 53 points (98) and 80 points over SMP Racing (71). In the driver’s championship Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Fernando Alsono are in the lead with 135 points; 15 points more than Jose Maria Lopez, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota. Gustavo Menezes and Thomas Laurent (Rebellion #3) are in third position with 81 points, followed by Mathias Beche with 73 points and André Lotterer & Neel Jani with 63 points. 

For the first time this season, the non-hybrid LMP1 cars will have no restriction in the amount of fuel energy they are allowed to use per lap. This means they will no longer have to lift and coast on the long high speed sections at Spa and finally are allowed to race flat out. Whether this will be the case at Le Mans too is still unclear at this moment.  The Rebellion, ByKolles and Dragonspeed however did get a weight increase.  Their minimum weight now up to 824 kg instead of 818 kg.  

At Rebellion, Andre Lotterer takes his seat back in the #1 R13 after missing out the last race in Sebring due to his Formula E commitments.  Both Rebellions are expected to be racing in their new low drag body kit which has been tested in Aragon last week.  James Allen will race the #10 Dragonspeed BR1 instead of Renger Van Der Zande. Allen had a strong performance with the team at Le Castellet, winning the opening race of the ELMS 2 weeks ago with Hedman and Hanley in the Dragonspeed LMP2. (Update: The #10 Dragonspeed entry will not race this weekend at Spa.  The team have not been able to acquire  the electronics that needed fixing after their DNF at Sebring.)

© Erik Junius - http://motorsport.image-ine.net/

A big driver change in the #11 SMP Racing BR1, where Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne will make his sportscar debut at Spa this weekend.  Even more, it’s only the second time the former F1 driver will race a closed cockpit car in his career.  Vandoorne, who now races in the Formula E championship, will take Jenson Button’s place in Spa and at Le Mans, racing together with Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin. 

ByKolles will race its Enso CLM P1/01 for the first time with the Gibson engine after sitting out the 1000 miles of Sebring in March. Tom Dillman and Oliver Webb return to the Austrian team, and will be joined by Italian driver Paolo Ruberti.  Ruberti will make his debut in the LMP1 class, and returns to the FIA WEC after racing with the Larbre Corvette in 2016. 

The race for the title in LMP2 seems to be the one that will go down to the wire.  With the top 3 cars only separated by 7 points, all is still to play for between Jackie Chan DC Racing and Signatech Alpine Matmut.

Jackie Chan DC Racing has both of his cars in the top 3, separated by the Signatech Alpine Matmut.  The #37 Jackie Chan Oreca 07 leads the championship after rather win in Sebring with a completely new driver line-up.  With 130 points after 6 races, the Jota run Oreca has an advantage of just 5 points over the #36 Signatec Alpine.  The second Jackie Chan Oreca (#38) follows closely with 123 points. Best of the rest is the #31 Dragonspeed, which has collected 92 points so far. 

Andre Negrao, Nicolas Lapierre and Pierre Thiriet are leading the drivers championship with 125 points, 2 points more than the #38 crew of Gabriel Aubry, Ho-Pin Tung and Stéphane Richelmi. The former drivers of the #37 Oreca are still in third place but won’t race anymore, so third place in the championship is basically for Pastor Maldonado and Roberto Gonzalez in the #31 Dragonspeed with 92 points. 

G-Drive is using the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps as their annual prep for Le Mans by with the recently rebadged Aurus 01 (Oreca) for the first time in the FIA WEC.  Roman Rusinov will share the car with Job Van Uitert and Jean-Eric Vergne, the latter one missing out the ELMS Le Castellet race due to a clash with Formula E in Rome.  After winning the race in 2017 and 2018, Rusinov & co will certainly be out for a third win in a row. 

Norman Nato, who took pole position for G-Drive at Le Castellet earlier this month, will now race with TDS Racing where he will replace Loic Duval.  Duval is tied with the DTM race at Hockenheim next weekend, but will be back with the team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

Nicholas Boulle has been added to the #50 Larbre Competition Ligier JSP217.  He will join team regulars Erwin Creed and Romano Ricci in Spa.  Boulle is no stranger to LMP2 racing as he raced at Le Mans with Jackie Chan DC Racing last year, finishing 8th in the LMP2 class with David Cheng and Pierre Nicolet.  The American driver already ha some experience in Spa after finishing third in last year’s Spa 24 hours in the Rinaldi Racing Ferrari. 

Contrary to Sebring and Spa last year, all cars in LM GTE Pro will be driven by the team’s regular WEC drivers.  In other years, Spa was the ideal race for most teams to have their Le Mans line-up in the cars.  No driver changes to be noted, but an important change in the sporting regulations. As per decision by the FIA Endurance Committee, all Pro cars must be equipped with a homologated “Fuel Flow Meter”, starting at the Le Mans test day.  A decision that has been made with unanimous agreement of all LMGTE Pro manufacturers and the approval of the Endurance Commission.  So far the Fuel flow meter will only be used to collect data and won’t have any effect on the regulations or a restriction of the fuel flow as in LMP1.

After 6 of the 8 races in the Super Season, Porsche has built up a massive lead in the championship over the other manufacturers.  With a total of 227 points, Porsche leads Ferrari with 110 points.  A lead that big so the team from Stuttgart might be able to clinch the title even before the last race at Le Mans.  The battle for second place will be very intense though with just 2 points between Ferrari (127) and Ford (125).  Aston Martin isn’t far behind with 102 points so far, followed by BMW who have scored 87 points over the first six races of the season. 

Porsche also dominates the drivers championship, with Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen leading with 125 points.  Sebring winners Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz are in second place, with a total of 100 points.  Third place is for Ferrari drivers Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado with 80,5 points, followed by Ford drivers Olivier Pla and Stefan Mücke with 69 points so far.

Team Project 1 leads the GTE Am championship with a total of 103 points after 6 races.  Egidio Perfetti, Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Lindsey have an advantage of 25 points over the #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari of Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Giancarlo Fisichella who have a total of 78 points so far.  9 points further down is the #98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda with 69 points, with the #90 TF Sport Aston Martin right in their tail with 68 points. If Project 1 manages to win this race in Spa, they might take a big step to the WEC title in their first season in the championship. 

Two notable driver changes in the Am class, in the #77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche and the #90 TF Sport Aston Martin.  Julien Andlauer won’t be able to make it to Spa due to his commitments in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland in Hockenheim.  He will be replaced in the #77 Dempsey-Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR by Ricardo Pera who joins team owner Christian Ried and Matt Campbell .  Pera who races with Ebimotors in the European Le Mans Series already drove the #88 sister car during the 6 hours of Shanghai with Matteo Cairoli and Khaled Al Qubaisi.

Euan Hankey makes his return to the #90 Aston Martin Vantage of TF Sport alongside Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood. Since Silverstone last year, Jonny Adam raced the blue Vantage, but will now be replaced by Hanley who returns to the team for the first time since Le Mans 2018.

Track action in Belgium starts on Thursday with the first two 90-minute practice sessions.  Race start is scheduled for Saturday, March 3rd at 13h30.  If you’re heading to the track, bring your snowboots and winter jackets, they might come in handy this year. 

Timetable 

Entry list 

Event map

Kristof Vermeulen.
Pictures: Kristof Vermeulen, Erik Junius & Jellybaby.Media

ELMS: Norman Nato and G-Drive on pole for the first race of the season

Defending Champions G-Drive Racing will start in pole position for tomorrows 4 Horus of Le Castellet after a thrilling end of the 15 minute qualifying session.  Last year's race winner Norman Nato put the #26 G-Drive Aurus 01 on pole just ahead of Paul Loup Chatin in the #28 IDEC Sport. 

With another lap record for the LMP2 class, the third one this week and the second one today, the Frenchman secured pole position in 1.40.052, just 25 thousands of a second faster than Paul Loup Chatin in the #28 IDEC Sport Oreca.  What better way to start the season with a pole position in the first race for the re-badged Aurus 01 ?  A top result too for Nato who replaces Jean-Eric Vergne who is racing in Formula E this weekend. 

Paul Loup Chatin secured the second spot on the front row of the grid, ahead of Alex Brundle who had a very strong outing in the #32 United Autosports Ligier, splitting up the top 4 Oreca’s.  His best laptime of 1.40.293 was 0.241 second off Nato’s pole time, but a big improvement from the times the Ligiers set earlier this week(end). Rounding out the top 5 were Nico Lapierre in the #37 Cool Racing Oreca and Ben Hanley in the #21 Dragonspeed. 

In LMP3, Oregon Team secured their first ever pole position in the championship thanks to Damiani Fioravanti who has been quick all week here at Paul Ricard.  After a session which saw several drivers on top of the timetable, the Italian took pole position in his final lap with a 1.49.686.  Matthieu Lahaye had been on provisional pole until the dying moments of the session in the #17 Ultimate Norma, but eventually lost out 0.128 seconds to Fioravanti.

In an ultimate effort at the end of the session, Lucas Légeret got up to third position in the #19 M.Racing Norma, despite being briefly held up a bit by another car. 

(Dempsey) Proton Competition seemed to be on its way to lock out the front row with Thomas Preining in the #88 ahead of Matteo Cairoli in the #77 Porsche 911 RSR.  However, when Alessandro Pier Guidi dived 0.030 seconds under Preining’s  time in the final minute of the session it seemed like the experienced Italian would snatch the pole away from Porsche and hand it to Luzich Racing in their first race in the series.  

Matteo Cairoli did save the best for last though.  In his final lap, he went pushed his Porsche round the track in 1.52.499, shaving off an extra 0.273 seconds off Pier Guidi’s provisional pole time and giving Proton Competition its first pole of the season. 

The 4 Hours of Le Castellet will start at 12h30 tomorrow, and will be broadcasted live on the ELMS website and social media feeds.  

Qualifying results LMP2

Qualifying results LMP3

Qualifying results GTE

Kristof Vermeulen. 

ELMS: Carlin signes Tincknell in LMP2 and announces partnership with Thunderhead

Carlin, one of the new teams in the European Le Mans Series this season announced a title partnership agreement with British tech company Thunderhead for the upcoming season.  The partnership will see the team race under the banner of Thunderhead Carlin Racing with an exciting driver line-up.

Thunderhead Carlin Racing has already confirmed it will run the only Dallara P217 in the series, and announced 24 House of Le Mans LMP2 winner Harry Tincknell and Ben Barnicoat will join Jack Manchester in an all British team. Tincknell will however miss the opening round and will be replaced by Olivier Pla.  For Harry Tincknell it's a return to the championship he won in 2016 with Simon Dolan and Giedo van der Garde in the Jota/G-Drive Gibson 015S. 

Joining the team for the 2019 season Barnicoat said, “I’m delighted to be joining Thunderhead Carlin Racing for the 2019 European Le Mans series season. I’m extremely grateful to both Thunderhead and Trevor Carlin for giving me this opportunity to test my skills in the Dallara LMP2 machinery against some of the best drivers out there. I’ve been close with Carlin for many years but never had the opportunity to represent the team, I am extremely excited. I have great teammates in both Jack, who’s progressing rapidly, and Harry, who I am a big fan of and greatly respect, so I’m confident we will be a force to be reckoned with.”

2016 ELMS champion Tincknell, who will race for the team from Monza onwards added, “I can’t wait to get started with Thunderhead Carlin Racing at Monza. Jack and I are good friends and he’s really going places in sportscars, while Ben is already very established. As a trio, and with Carlin’s pedigree, we have an exciting year ahead! It’s great to be back racing with the team that guided and coached me back in my Formula 3 years, I wouldn’t be where I am now without them. I am sure Carlin’s debut sportscar season in the Thunderhead colours will be the start of something very special.”

Manchester, who was previously announced as embarking on an LMP2 programme with Carlin, said, “I am very excited to be racing with Ben and Harry, two incredibly talented fellow British drivers. We all get on extremely well, already there is a great team spirit and to get the opportunity to race with Olivier at Paul Ricard is a real bonus. It is going to be an exciting debut season for Thunderhead Carlin Racing.”

Substituting for the opening race of the season in Paul Ricard, Pla said of the upcoming race, “I am looking forward to joining Thunderhead Carlin Racing for their debut in endurance racing in the ELMS championship and sharing the car with Jack and Ben. It will be a new experience for most of the team and I look forward to helping them in Harry’s absence.”

Team Principal Trevor Carlin said, “We are extremely pleased to welcome Thunderhead to the team as a partner going forward. The ethos of the company is very similar to that of us here at Carlin – innovative, extremely professional and very proud of their reputation and results. We believe that this partnership will provide a fantastic foundation for the season ahead and we cannot wait for the first round in Paul Ricard next month. “Together we have created an exciting team of drivers. Jack, who is a very promising driver at the start of his career in sportscars, will have a great mentor in Harry who we know from our days together in Formula Three. Similarly, Ben is an extremely exciting driver who has made a big impact in testing and we have the best super sub you could wish for in Olivier for the first round. It’s going to be an exciting season.”

Thunderhead CMO Jason Hemingway said, “We feel as though there are parallels between Thunderhead and Carlin in terms of first-class engineering, impressive design and performance and a relentless commitment to innovation to achieve results. At Thunderhead we are continuously evolving and developing pioneering technology and we can see this level of commitment from Carlin too – it’s certainly a natural synergy. I’m looking forward to partnering as Thunderhead Carlin Racing and supporting Olivier and the young British driver trio Jack, Harry and Ben in the exciting season ahead.”

Le Mans: Duqueine Engineering joins LMP2 field after Spirit of Race withdrawal

One month after celebrating its 50th anniversary, Team Duqueine has probably received their most beautiful present by getting an invite for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.  Spirit of Race has withdrawn their entry with the #55 Ferrari of Duncan Cameron in the GTE Am class, so Duqueine will take their place as first reserve team on the list.   

Since 2014 the French team has worked its way up in endurance racing up until now with an entry for the most prestigious endurance race in the world. For Le Mans, the #30 LMP2 Gibson powered Oreca 07 will be driven by Pierre Ragues and Nicolas Jamin who will be joined by Romain Dumas.  Dumas will be in for his 19th 24 hour race at Le Mans this year. 

"Im very happy to join Team Duqueine for my 19th 24 Hours of Le Mans" said Romain Dumas. "We are neighbours in Alès and I know Yann Belhomme very well.  The idea to join the team was very pleasing to me. I know Pierre (Ragues), but haven't had the chance to meet or race with Nicolas (Jamin), but I've heard a lot about him already. We have a good package and now have 3 months to work on it for Le Mans.  I've won it in LMP1 and GT but not yet in LMP2 ... 

Yann Belhomme, team manager of Duqueine Engineering said: "Racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been a dream in my whole professional career since 20 years. It couldn't be any better with Pierre and Nicolas and Romain who will be joining the team. I'm very excited to have Romain (Dumas) on board; he's a person I have much respect for and he will bring a load of experience into the team. 

Check out the new entry list here

ELMS: Tomothé Buret leads second Panis-Barthez Competition line-up.

Following  the previous Stevens/Canal/Binder line-up announcement for the Ligier  JSP217 #23, Panis-Barthez Competition is now ready to run a two-car effort in the upcoming European Le Mans Series season.

© Panis-Barthez Competition

Aboard the additional  sister car, the first official driver revealed is Timothé Buret, 23 years old, who is extending his career in LMP2 for a 4th consecutive season with Panis-Barthez Competition. The winner of the  2016 Jean Rondeau Prize is more than ever in a position to reap the benefits of continuity with troops of team principal Olivier Panis and  team managers Sarah and Simon Abadie. 

His two teammates will be announced soon. 

Olivier Panis - Team Principal :  "We - Simon, Sarah (Abadie) and I -, shared the common desire to carry  on working with Timothé Buret. He has been with us since the team  establishment whose initial aim was to find and develop young talents.  Tim is the perfect illustration of our commitment. He has shown his  determination, his team spirit and a host of skills on track. We are  convinced he will emphasise his talent even more this year. He will play  an important role among his new teammates by transmitting his  experience and backgrounds with PBC."

Timothé Buret - Ligier JS P217 #24 driver:  "Finalizing my commitment in ELMS for another season was the absolute  goal. I am happy that PBC, I consider as a second family, still had  faith in me. Driving with a team with whom I have already shared so much  since my endurance debut is clearly a huge plus. Close to the sister  car driven by Stevens/Canal/Binder, we will share all the data and push  both of us close to the edge. I had an incredible complicity with Will  (Stevens) and Julien (Canal) last year, and it will remain the same.  From my side, I will do all I can to replicate the same relations with  my new teammates."

ELMS: Alex Brundle and Ryan Cullen to race for United Autosports in 2019

United Autosports has confirmed that Alex Brundle and Ryan Cullen will join their LMP2 team for the 2019 European Le Mans Series and pending entry confirmation, the Le Mans 24 Hours.

© United Autosports

Alex Brundle first raced for the team in 2016 when they made their European Le Mans Series debut. After scoring three wins and two further podiums, Alex was crowned 2016 ELMS LMP3 Champion alongside other LMP3 team returnees Mike Guasch and Christian England. Alex also joined the team for their Sebring 12 Hours debut last year, standing in for Bruno Senna and finishing fifth in the Ligier JS P217 with Phil Hanson and Paul Di Resta.

Ryan Cullen is new to the team but has previously tested a Ligier JS P217 prior to joining them. Last year he raced in the European Le Mans Series for the APR – Rebellion Racing team and has previously raced in the Porsche Supercup and the GP3 Series. Most recently Ryan won the LMP2 class of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Cullen has already totalled four days of testing with United Autosports, most recently attending their Barcelona pre-season test last week alongside Filipe Albuquerque and Phil Hanson. 

© United Autosports

Ryan Cullen, driver, United Autosports:

“I’m delighted to be joining United Autosports for 2019. It’s a team with great structure and experience and the perfect place for me to grow and be competitive in ELMS.  So far everybody has been superb and very welcoming and I’m looking forward to having Alex as a teammate. Le Mans also excites me and pending an entry of course, this year will be my first time racing at Le Mans. After experiencing success last month at Daytona, the prospect of being with a front running team in my second 24-hour race is a fantastic position to be in.”

Alex Brundle, driver, United Autosports:

“I’m very excited and motivated to be racing with United Autosports in LMP2 for 2019, re-joining the team who took me to the championship title in LMP3. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of a Ligier once more, representing a world-class outfit and my longstanding sponsors and friends at Richard Mille.”

Zak Brown, Team Owner and Chairman, United Autosports:

“Alex and Ryan will be a good combination for our LMP2 team. They are both quick and experienced drivers in the ELMS and in the LMP2 class. The competition looks set to be higher than ever in the ELMS this year but I think we have two good line ups so far. Just one more seat left to fill.”

Richard Dean, Team Owner and Managing Director, United Autosports:

“Alex is no stranger to the team and it is good to welcome him back for the 2019 season. He is a previous champion of ours so hopefully he can replicate his season in 2016 once again. Ryan has impressed us in the four days testing he has done with us so far so I am hopeful of good things from him throughout the season. I think him and Alex will make a good line up with their third as yet undecided team mate.”

ELMS: Capacity grid of 41 cars for the 2019 season

No less than 41 cars have been announced by the ACO for the 2019 European Le Mans Series, a championship that seems healthier than ever with this capacity grid.  Lots of new faces, the addition of some very experienced and talented new drivers and several new teams in the championship set the bar high for what should be a very exciting 2019 ! 

No less than 18 LMP2 cars feature on the list, a record amount of full season entries. We’ve already seen 18 (Monza, Red Bull Ring) and 19 (Le Castellet) LMP2 cars on the grid last season, but never before 18 LMP2’s have been committed to a full season entry. The LMGTE class also increases from 6 to 9 cars with the addition of 3 new teams in the class.  The addition of entries in both LMP2 and LMGTE has its effect on the LMP3 class, which loses a few entries and now has 14 cars.  Less cars but several teams with a 2 car effort and what seems an increase in quality for this season. 

LMP2

Last year’s champions G-Drive racing lead the LMP2 field with a single Oreca 07 for Roman Rusinov, Jean-Eric Vergne and LMP3 champion Job Van Uitert. No second entry this year for the Russian team which was run by Graff last year.  United Autosports return with 2 Ligier JSP217’s.  The #22 will be driven by Phil Hanson and Filipe Albuquerque who also step up to the FIA WEC in the 2019/2020 season. The #32 has a new driver line-up with Alex Brundle who returns to team and Ryan Cullen.

Algarve Pro Racing is also set for a two car effort again, although this season without support of Rebellion Racing on the second car. The Portuguese based team now fields 2 Oreca 07’s with 2 new driver line-ups.  Mark Patterson returns to the #25 Oreca and will be joined by 2018 champion Andrea Pizzitola and John Falb, the 2017 LMP3 champion who will make his debut in the LMP2 class. The #31 Oreca has a promising line-up with young and talented drivers Henning Enqvist, James French and Tacksung Kim.     

IDEC Sport returns with 2 cars, an Oreca 07 and a Ligier JSP217. The trio of Oreca drivers  (#28) remains unchanged with Paul Lafargue, Paul-Loup Chatin and Memo Rojas. In the #27 Ligier, Patrice Lafargue and Erik Maris will be joined by Stéphane Adler who has been racing in the French Porsche 911 Cup.  

The third team with a 2 car effort is Panis Barthez Compétition with the addition of a second Ligier. The crew of the #23 has already been announced with Rene Binder, Will Stevens and Julien Canal. Timothé Buret is the only driver confirmed in the #24 so far. 

Dragonspeed  is back with the #21 Oreca.  So far only Henrik Hedman has been confirmed as driver, it’s unclear if Ben Hanley will return for another season in ELMS with his debut in the Indycar series this year.  Nicolas Lapierre won’t return to the team, switching to Cool Racing. Duqueine Engineering is set for its second season in the ELMS top class with their Oreca 07. Pierre Ragues and Nicolas Jamin are still part of the team and will be joined by Richard Bradley in 2019. 

High Class Racing is set for its third season in the championship but changed from Dallara to an Oreca 07 during the winter.  Anders Fjordbach and Dennis Andersen are expected to be back in the #20, and set for a debut at Le Mans, depending on confirmation by the ACO.  Graff Racing are also back in the LMP2 class but down to one car after running the second G-Drive car back in 2018.  No change in the driver line-up for the French team with Alexandre Cougnaud, Jonathan Hirschi and Tristan Gommendy. 

4 teams are moving up the endurance ladder, and are set to make their debut in the LMP2 class, some of them with highly rated drivers. Cool Racing were one of the first to announce their intentions at the end of last season, and immediately announced Nicolas Lapierre as their lead driver. The highly experienced Lapierre will be joined by Cool Racing’s regulars Alexandre Coigny and Antonin Borga in the #37 Oreca. Inter Europol Competition is set for a busy season in the European Le Mans Series, entering not only both LMP3 cars, but for the first time also a Ligier JSP217 in the top class. Jakub Smiechowski has been announced as lead driver for the #34.

Another big name to be seen in the paddock this year is Bruno Senna who has been signed by RLR MSport for their return to the LMP2 class.  Senna will share the #43 Oreca with John Farano and Indian GP2 driver Arjun Maini.  BHK Motorsport is a rather surprising addition to the class, moving up from LMP3 with a new Oreca 07. Francesco Dracone has been announced as lead driver, with Jacopo Barratto also expected at the wheel of the Oreca.  The final team to enter this years championship is Carlin.  A well known name and big player in the motorsport world in single seaters from F4 to Indycar who will field the single Dallara on the grid. A single driver has been confirmed so far: Jack Manchester who has previous experience in Radicals and the Blancpain GT Cup. 

A few teams from last season are missing on the list.  Racing Engineering, who started the season with a win at Le Castellet last year and finished second in the championship decided not to return to the series. They have been testing at Barcelona in January with their Oreca, but seem to shift their focus to a new GT3 program. SMP Racing doesn’t return also, focussing on their LMP1 program in the World Endurance Championship, after already missing out the final 2 races of last season. Spanish team AVF by Adrian Valles also didn’t apply for an entry, after a fairly disappointing first season.  Finally there’s Cetilar Villorba Corse who will race in the FIA WEC as from next season. The Italians will race their Dallara at Monza however, on a single race entry. 

LMP3

The growth of LMP2 and GTE has its reflection on the amount of entries in the LMP3 class this season. The class is down to 14 cars this year, compared to 18 last year. Less cars and also less teams in the paddock, since several teams have doubled up their efforts with a second car. Similar to last season, it’s a battle of Ligier (10 cars) vs Norma (4 cars). 

United Autosports is set for another 2 car entry with the #2 and #3 Ligiers.  The #2 sees the return of 2016 LMP3 champions Mike Guasch and Christian England. In the #3 Canadian Garett Grist is the first confirmed driver so far. 360 Racing expands to a 2 car effort this season. James Dayson, who raced with Eurointernational last year, has been assigned to the #5 car, Terrence Woodward returns to his #6 Ligier. 

Another team doubling up is Nielsen Racing, who also races in the Asian Le Mans Series this winter, now adding a second Ligier to its garage.  The #7 for Anthony Wells and Colin Noble,  the #8 for Nobuya Yamanaka and James Littlejohn.  The fourth and final team with 2 cars on the LMP3 grid is Inter Europol Competition.  It’s going to a busy season, with a Ligier in LMP2 and two in LMP3 and the Asian LMS campaign. Martin Hippe (#13) and Paul Scheuschner (#14) are two familiar faces by now in the ELMS paddock.  

6 teams will have one car on the grid for the first race in April at Le Castellet.  RLR MSport defends its title with a complete new line-up in the #15 (Rich/Olsen/Vedel). Swiss Realteam Racing is new with a Norma (#9), but will be run by Graff Racing don’t have any cars in class under their own banner. 2 drivers have been announced for Realteam: Esteban Garcia and David Droux. Also back is the colourful Norma of Oregon Team (#10) for Damiano Fiorivanti.  

The family-run Ultimate returns with its #17 Norma, which should be driven by Mathieu and Baptiste Lahaye and Francois Heriau again. Yvan Müller’s M.Racing enters just 1 Norma this season (#19), reserved for Laurent Millara and Lucas Légeret, the third driver still to be confirmed.  Another team with 1 car less than last year is Eurointernational which now will have 1 Ligier at the start (#11) for Andrea Dromedari.  

Several teams who were expected do not appear on the list, meaning we’ll probably find them in the Michelin Le Mans Cup this year.  DKR Engineering already announced they would focus on the MLMC again. Cetilar Racing was expected in the ELMS but apparently didn’t make the cut, as Spanish SPV Racing.  Another ELMS regular from the past years which surprisingly isn’t on the list is Austrian AT Racing.   

LMGTE

Not only the LMP2 class increases in numbers, but - and this is a bit of a surprise - the LMGTE class also expands up to 9 cars. It’s a Porsche vs Ferrari battle again with the addition of a few new, but highly experienced teams in the mix the season.  

Last year’s champions Proton Competition are back with two Porsche 911 RSR’s. The #77 under the Dempsey-Proton Racing flag with Porsche factory driver Richard Lietz as designated driver and the #88 under Proton Competition for rising star Matteo Cairoli. They will be joined by 2 other Porsche teams: the #80 Ebimotors of Fabio Babini, now and Project 1 with Egidio Perfetti.  The German team expands its endurance program to the ELMS after a succesful start in their maiden season in the FIA WEC. 

5 Ferrari’s will face the competition against the Porsches. Kessel Racing won last season’s GT3 class in the Michelin Le Mans Cup and steps up to the ELMS with a 2 car effort.  The first Ferrari F488 GTE (#60) has been reserved for MLMC champion Claudio Schiavoni. The #83 will be the first ever full female driver line-up in the ELMS with Manuela Gostner, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting. 

Another newcomer is Luzich Racing. A young team that debuted in the GT Open championship last season, and immediately won it with Mikkel Mac. No drivers have been appointed yet, but the return of Mikkel Mac to the ELMS wouldn’t be surprising. 

The 2 remaining Ferrari’s are familiar faces in the ELMS paddock with the #55 Spirit of Race of Duncan Cameron and the #66 JMW Ferrari who was runner-up last season. The designated driver for the #66 is American Jeff Segal who has been racing in the IMSA Weathertech and Pirelli World Challenge in the past years, raced at Le Mans with JMW last season and won the GTE Am class in 2016 with Scuderia Corsa.  

Just one team from 2018 is missing on this year’s entry list: the bright green Ferrari of Krohn Racing. 

The complete entry list can be found here

ELMS: Richard Bradley returns to the LMP2 class with Duqueine Engineering

After a first season in LMP2 category of the European Le Mans Series, Team Duqueine Engineering will their second year with a new driver line-up.

French drivers Pierre Ragues and Nicolas Jamin are still part of the Team and will be joined by Richard Bradley, winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 (Team KCMG LMP2 category). The 27-year-old British driver, who is used to performing in that category, will make the crew complete, as they are more motivated than ever and look forward to starting the season at the wheel of the Oreca 07 number 29 next April.

Yann Belhomme, Team Manager of Duqueine Engineering said "I'm delighted to see such a quality Team ready to race in LMP2 for the second year in a row. It is with great pride and motivation that Team Duqueine Engineering will start this new season of European Le Mans Series. There is no doubt that we will be a force to be reckoned with in this tough competition!"

FIA WEC: New driver line-up for Jackie Chan DC Racing N°37 Oreca

Jackie Chan DC Racing announced a completely new driver line-up for their #37 Oreca 07 in the FIA World Endurance Championship.  A surprising announcement since the all Malaysian line-up with Nabil Jeffrey, Jazeman Jafaar and Weiron Tan won the 6 Hours of Fuji are currently third in the championship. 

© JellyBaby.Media

According to Jota's press release, "regrettable circumstances beyond the control of any of the drivers" brought and end to their succesful efforts.  The loss of financial backing by the Sepang Circuit is believed to be the reason behind the fallout of the three talented Malaysian drivers. 

As from Sebring, the #37 "Fortune Cat" will be driven by David Heinemeier Hansson, Jordan King and Will Stevens.  For Heinemeier Hansson this is a return to the FIA WEC after winning the GTE Am championship in 2014 with Aston Martin Racing and racing with Rebellion in LMP2 in 2017.    

Jordan King is a 24 year old English driver with a lot of single seater experience. He won the 2013 British F3 title and has since then raced in GP2 from 2015 to 2017 & Indycar (2018).  He was test and development driver for Manor F1 in 2015 and 2016, driving in 2 Friday practice sessions in 2016.  The 1000 miles of Sebring will be his debut in prototype and endurance racing.  

Will Stevens has become a familiar face in the FIA WEC and ELMS paddock in the past years, including a class win in GTE Am at Le Mans in 2017.  In the European Le Mans Series, Stevens goes into his second season with Panis-Barthez Competition in the LMP2 class.  If that team gets an invite for Le Mans, DC Racing will have to find a replacement driver for the 24 Hours. 

David Clark, director of Jackie Chan DC Racing x Jota Sport said “The changes which we are announcing today have been forced upon the team by commercial and business complexities outside of its direct control. We were left in a position where these changes had to be implemented and whilst this was a difficult process, it is in the best interests of the team".

“I would like to go on record in thanking Jazeman, Nabil and Weiron for their professionalism and dedication to the project over the five races that they were with the team. They proved to be a race-winning force and we wish them nothing but the very best for their futures in racing."

FIA WEC: Cetilar Racing enters 2019/2020 season with Dallara in LMP2

Cetilar Racing announced their plans to enter the 2019/2020 World Endurance championship in the LMP2 class.  An new name and an exciting challenge for the team which was known as Cetilar Villorba Corse. 

After competing in the European Le Mans Series for 4 years, with an LMP3 in 2015 and 2016 and the Dallara P217 in the LMP2 class in the past 2 years, the Italian team now steps up to the FIA World Endurance championship in 2019/2020.  

Racing in the WEC is the next “natural” step for Cetilar Racing, which retains its “Italian Spirit of Le Mans”. A full Italian driving crew formed by Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto and Andrea Belicchi.  Belicchi returns to the team in 2019 after recovering from back problems which kept him from racing in the second part of the 2018 season.  An all-Italian team with 3 Italian drivers, supported by an Italian manufacturer (Dallara) and a highy experienced team structure who haven been by the team for several years now. 

Villorba Corse will start its new adventure at the 4 Hours of Silverstone during the first weekend of September at the first round of the 2019/2020 FIA World Endurance Championship.  Pre season tests are scheduled at Le Castellet, Barcelona and Monza.  The team will apply for a “wild card entry” in the European Le Mans Series at Monza in May.  An application has also been entered for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

The entry of Cetilar Racing the second new team in LMP2 for the FIA WEC, after United Autosports confirmed they will race with a Ligier JSP2 next season.

"We are ready for a new challenge and adventure” said Roberto Lacorte, driver of Cetilar Racing. It's an 18 month adventure both intense and very challenging, divided into two steps: the first will end at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year – if we get an invite from the ACO that is. Before that we will race in the ELMS 4 Hours of Monza.  A race we can't miss out because it's the best opportunity to get in touch with our numerous fans. From September we'll head into the WEC, an exceptional challenge for our team. We're very excited for this new challenge and the desire to do well is high. We are also very happy to be able to race again with Andrea Belicchi, who has perfectly recovered from last year's back injury. His presence and his experience are really important for us, both from a technical and human point of view ".

Gerard Neveu, CEO of the WEC, said “We are very pleased to welcome Cetilar Racing to the WEC, and their planned entry to the 2019-2020 season is the perfect demonstration of how a well-established team can move through the formulas to the world stage.  Their presence will reinforce our LMP2 grid for next season, and we congratulate everyone involved for making the move to the WEC.  Welcome Cetilar Racing!”

Kristof Vermeulen
Picture: Jellybaby.Media

ELMS: Algarve Pro Racing signs Pizzitola, Patterson & Falb in LMP2.

Andrea Pizzitola, Mark Patterson and John Falb are set to front Algarve Pro Racing’s assault on the 2019 European Le Mans Series (ELMS).  Pizzitola will enter the 2019 ELMS as reigning LMP2 Champion but hopes he will also kick-off the new European motorsport season as an Asian Le Mans Series title-winner.

In 2016, the French Pro racer from Montpellier made his ELMS and 24 Hours of Le Mans debut and notably contested the 2016-17 Asian Le Mans Series with Algarve Pro Racing. He returned to the fold for a stab at the outright 2018-19 title, which will be decided in the forthcoming season finale at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia (22-24 February), and will remain with the Albufeira-based team to defend his European crown.

“I’m really happy to be extending my association with Algarve Pro Racing,” said Pizzitola. “It’s the team that gave me my first chance in LMP2, so for me it’s more than a team, it’s part of the story of my career and a family. I’m also excited to be racing again in the European Le Mans Series with Mark (Patterson) and John (Falb). It’s going to be an awesome challenge and I think we can figure highly throughout.

© Algarve Pro Racing

“In the ORECA 07 we have a good chance to be out front in qualifying and we can always aim for the podium. The level is high in the ELMS and that will make achieving results even more satisfying. We will do all we can to feature at the top. Last year I had a great season, winning the title. I’m not going into 2019 with the specific aim of defending my crown, as I just want to race. I took the same approach last year and thoughts about the championship always come later.”

Patterson has once again extended his long-standing association with Algarve Pro Racing, which hails back to the 2016-17 Asian Le Mans Series, when he was a regular visitor to the winners’ rostrum.

Since then, the 67-year old Bronze driver from the USA has raced a full season in the ELMS and two 24 Hours of Le Mans’ with Algarve Pro, although he is also currently bidding for the 2018-19 Asian Le Mans LMP2 Amateur Trophy and a coveted invitation to the 2019 edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours with the Portuguese team.

Patterson, whose motor racing résumé encompasses six Le Mans, nine Daytona 24 Hours and two Petit Le Mans starts, said: “I really want to do well and finish regularly inside the top half of the LMP2 field in 2019. With a guy like Andrea (Pizzitola) who has immense skill and rarely makes mistakes and somebody like John (Falb), who is a former Champion and a very fast, diligent driver, we should be very competitive.

“John steps up from LMP3 to LMP2 and with a good test programme he will be a super-quick and reliable Bronze. In fact, we’re both strong, reliable Am drivers capable of withstanding any other Bronze competitor, and this will only be helped by the fact that we will be driving an ORECA 07, which is said to be the most obedient and stable of the current crop of LMP2 cars. It seems easier to find the golden thread on each and every track with the ORECA and I couldn’t be happier to be jumping into this experiment with Algarve Pro Racing.”

Sharing the #25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07 with Pizzitola and Patterson will be 47-year old American John Falb. Falb has been racing in the European Le Mans Series for three seasons in the LMP3 class with United Autosports. 

In those three seasons Falb scored seven podium finishes and an additional podium at each of the five showings of the Michelin Le Mans Cup’s blue riband ‘Road to Le Mans’ race. In 2017 Falb won the ELMS LMP3 title. In 2019, Falb will continue traversing the Atlantic for each and every round of the European Le Mans Series, except he will now line up for Algarve Pro Racing as part of the ELMS’s headlining and ultra-competitive LMP2 field.

“I feel really good and I’m ready to go,” said Falb. “I’ve been methodically stepping up the prototypes ladder over the years and after three seasons on the ELMS LMP3 grid, it’s definitely time to graduate to LMP2.

“Having already tested a P2 car, I’m really excited about this new challenge. LMP2 is a very competitive class and there aren’t many teams with Bronze drivers in their line-ups, so I must keep reasonable expectations and simply concentrate on doing my best. I would certainly like to pop some Champagne on the podium more than once, but the results will be what they are and this is an opportunity to work and improve with a solid team.”