FIA WEC: New entry list for COTA

The latest provisional entry list for the upcoming Lone Star Le Mans at COTA is down to 30 cars after the withdrawal of Ginetta in LMP1 and the addition of Dragonspeed in LMP2. 

Ginetta pulled out both of their G60-LT-P1 cars, which are back on their wa the factory after the Bahrain round in December.  The team released a short statement on their website this morning.  

The WEC calendar is challenging, especially for any team with a new car in it’s first season and we have not had the chassis' back at the factory since before Silverstone in August.  

The cancellation of the earlier WEC race in Brazil and the new race at COTA made it impossible to do the planned work at our facility in Virginia, so the cars were shipped post race back to Ginetta UK, the cars hopefully arrive at the factory today.

This puts the LMP1 class down to just 3 cars for the Lone Star Le Mans race with both Toyota's and a single Rebellion. Although still on the provisional entry list for Sebring, it's not clear whether the Ginetta's will make the trip across the pond for the 1000 mile race in March. 

Dragonspeed is a new addition to the LMP2 class. The American team which has raced in LMP1 in the past Super season has shifted its focus back to the LMP2 class this year, winning the Daytona 24 hours last month in IMSA and planning an assault for the title in the European Le Mans Series.  Ben Hanley (who initially would race with Ginetta in LMP1) will share the car with Henrik Hedman and Colin Braun.  

It's unclear yet if this is a one-off appearance in the WEC, or Dragonspeed will run a double program in Sebring; combining IMSA and WEC.

© Richard Prince for Chevy Racing

In GTE, the brand new Corvette C8.R will make its debut in the World Endurance Championship, facing the competition of Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin.  Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller make an unexpected return to Corvette racing after their contracts with the manufacturer ended at the end of last year.

Magnussen raced with Corvette for 16 years, and has 4 Le Mans wins under his belt.  Rockenfeller was part of the endurance squad but would have been unable to race at Le Mans this year due to a date clash with DTM.  Jan Magnussen should be at the start of the French endurance race this season with Danish team High Class Racing in the LMP2 category.

In GTE Am, so far Thomas Preining is the only confirmed driver so far on the #88 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR.

The updated entry list can be found HERE.


Kristof Vermeulen. 

ELMS: Gustavo Menezes replaces Thomas Laurent at APR Rebellion

Thomas Laurent gives way to another rebel, Gustavo Menezes in the APR REBELLION Racing team for the European Le Mans Series season. Last February, the team announced that it had selected the Portuguese team Algarve Pro Racing to operate a LMP2 car in ELMS for their professionalism and their desire for performance.

Thomas Laurent, initially announced at the wheel of the car, will finally focus on the world endurance championship for his first season in the LMP1 category. The ORECA 07 welcomes Gustavo Menezes for the 2018 season. The American driver joins Harrison Newey and Ryan Cullen, a young team with many ambitions for the upcoming season.  Menezes drove for Alpine last season in the FIA WEC. 

Calim Bouhadra: "Gustavo is an excellent driver, he proved it for several years now. We are delighted to be able to join him to the ELMS program. We have great ambitions for Thomas and we wanted to focus his involvement on the World Endurance Championship with a strong desire for success for his first season in the LMP1 category. We would have liked to have more Rebellion drivers to APR Rebellion Racing but despite all our efforts, the financial constraints prevented it. We are still looking forward to starting the FIA WEC Prologue and the ELMS Test days in the coming days!"

Gustavo Menezes: "I am extremely excited to be joining APR-Rebellion for the 2018 ELMS season. It is a championship I’ve been trying to get into for quite a while as it perfectly aligns alongside FIA WEC. It really came as a surprise to me when the phone rang and I have never said let’s do this so fast. I would like to thank everyone at Algarve and at Rebellion for making this happen and I truly am excited to get on the track now more than ever. I think together with Harrison who comes from a similar background as me and Ryan who also comes from a long junior Motorsports career, we have a very good chance to be fighting at the front every race weekend. The biggest bonus is extending my 2018 calendar from 5 races to 11. Up next we have the FIA WEC Prologue and then immediately after the ELMS one, so I’m looking forward to seeing everyone out there and working with the boys!"

European Le Mans Series announces partnership with Rebellion Timepieces

The European Le Mans Series is proud to announce a three-year partnership agreement with Rebellion Timepieces. The famous Swiss watchmaker will become the Official Timing Partner of the ELMS. 

Rebellion Timepieces has a long history with Motorsports, and especially Endurance Racing, as the watchmaker has its own racing team, REBELLION Racing, the leading private LMP1 team to challenge the works entries from Porsche, Toyota and Audi in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Performance and passion is the shared brand values of both the ELMS and Rebellion Timepieces, so it is then very relevant for the watchmaker to become the Official Timing Partner of the European Le Mans Series.

As the Official Timing Partner, Rebellion Timepieces will scrutinise every second of the six rounds to help to determine who will be the 2017 ELMS champions. The drivers who win the championship will each receive a Rebellion branded watch as well as being called 2017 European Champion. 

The fans will also be able to see one of the Rebellion Racing cars that will be on display in the ELMS Village at each round in 2017. 

The first round of the 2017 European Le Mans Series will be held at Silverstone, the home of British motorsport, on Saturday 15 April. 

Calim Bouhadra, Rebellion Timepieces Senior Vice-President: “We are proud to be the Official Timekeeper and to showcase our brand through the ELMS which is an extremely competitive championship with high level teams. In the Endurance Racing world, we are at home. As the Endurance cars push the limits our watches are doing the same. The T-1000 was the first watch to have more than 1000 hours of power-reserve. We are glad to participate and to collaborate in this new adventure and to make it a success. The partnership will bring a lot of visibility to our brand, we will increase and enhance our reputation and present our product to a well-informed public in various European regions. The high level of competition certifies our timepieces for both technical and design aspects and gives us the opportunity to show our “Swiss precision” side with no compromise.”

Gérard Neveu, CEO of the European Le Mans Series: “It’s with great pleasure that we are welcoming Rebellion Timepieces as Official Timing Partner. Rebellion, already invested in Endurance Racing with its team, bring with this partnership a new dimension to their involvement in Motorsport. The timekeeping in motor racing is a question of accuracy and precision, values that characterise well Rebellion Timepieces. We invite all our fans on the weekend of the 15th April in Silverstone for the first meeting of the ELMS season with Rebellion Timepieces as Official Timing Partner.”