FIA WEC: 2019/2020 season entry list updates

With the final race of the FIA WEC "Super Season" right around the corner, more news and updates about the forthcoming 2019/2020 season is being released in the past days/hours.  Some teams will leave the championship unfortunately others return or will make their debut on the world stage of endurance racing. 

Ginetta files request for 2 cars in LMP1

Ginetta Chairman Lawrence Tomlinson has confirmed that, following an intensive development and testing programme with the Ginetta LMP1 car, the Yorkshire, UK-based company has submitted a request for two entries with the intent to rejoin the FIA World Endurance Championship next season in the premier LMP1 class.

“I’m pleased to confirm that two entry requests have been submitted to the FIA WEC for our Ginetta G60-LT-P1 cars to contest the 2019/20 FIA World Endurance Championship. If the entries are accepted, both cars will be powered by the AER P60B turbocharged V6 engine that we have been testing in recent months in a developed version of the Ginetta. Details of the team, drivers and other parts of the package will be released in due course.”

Ginetta has been testing at Spa-Francorchamps this week, as did Toyota and other teams preparing for Le Mans.  Following the statement made by the team, they have filed an entry request for 2 cars but haven’t found any customer to enter the cars for them so far.  If Ginetta would run the cars under their own flag, they actually would be a factory team and not eligible to run in the non-hybrid class.

Dragonspeed ends LMP1 program, returns to LMP2 on race-by-race basis

Dragonspeed decided to cut down on their sportscar efforts, confirming the ‘retirement’ of their LMP1 program after next months 24 Hours of Le Mans and a reduced LMP2 presence in the World Endurance Championship.

Elton Julian said “The Le Mans 24 Hours next month will be our final LMP1 and regular WEC outing, allowing us to ramp up our IndyCar efforts on both the technical and marketing fronts. We’re not leaving the WEC entirely, as we plan to enter our #21 LMP2 ORECA O7-Gibson in individual rounds, including Spa, Brazil, and Le Mans, with Le Mans, of course, subject to us earning or being granted an invitation. We’re also considering running Daytona and Sebring with IMSA again.”

The team will however stay active in the European Le Mans Series, which for Julian offers the best sportscar racing on the planet: “We’ll definitely continue in the ELMS, which we think offers the best sportscar racing on the planet and remains the ideal series for the top gentleman drivers. With the kind of competition you get from 19 regular LMP2 entries, we take pride in the fact that the last two ELMS victories with a Bronze driver, in 2016 and 2019, have been ours.”

The American team had a successful attempt to qualify for the Indy 500 last weekend, Ben Hanley securing 27th place on the grid for Sundays race.

We got a car 3 months ago, 2 races under our belt, doing it without alliance, driver is a rookie, no oval experience, we have less budget for the race than some teams catering budget, we don’t care, we do what we do, WE RACE!!!! @IndyCar @IMS @benhanley85 #oneteamonedream pic.twitter.com/33OXNUW9yy

— DragonSpeed (@DragonSpeedLLC) 20 mei 2019

Signatech Alpine Matmut continues in WEC

Current championship leaders in LMP2 Signatech Alpine Matmut have confirmed their entry in the 2019/2020 FIA World Endurance Championship.  Present in sportscar racing since 2013, the team will announce its driver line-up after the Le Mans 24 Hours next month.

“We are very proud to represent the sports programme of Alpine” said Régis Fricotté, commercial director of the Alpine competition division. “Our engagement in LMP2 gives us a global visibility , with great results since 2013.  The Alpine community supports our approach, and it’s just by going to Le Mans to realize what endurance racing means for Alpine and vice versa”.

It’s a fantastic opportunity to be able to work with a constructor which is active on track and in rally” added Philippe Sinault, manager of Signatech. We are proud to be representing Alpine in the FIA World Endurance Championship, working towards podiums, victories and world titles”.

Racing Team Nederland switches to Oreca next season 

Dutch Racing Team Nederland presented their 2019 Le Mans livery last week, a tribute to the Minardi F1 team which used to be Frits Van Eerd’s favorite team. Giancarlo Minardi, founder of the late F1 team attended the unveiling of the car.  The team also announced that Le Mans will be its last race with the Dallara P217 and Davytec.  As from next season they will switch to an Oreca 07 which will be run by French team TDS Racing.  Frits Van Eerd, Giedo van der Garde and Nyck De Vries will continue to race in the World Endurance Championship. 

Team owner and driver Frits Van Eerd explained why they will change to the Oreca next season: “We’ve been racing with the Dallara since our debut in 2017.  First in the European Le Mans Series, now in the FIA WEC. The Davytec crew has worked day and night for 2 years to improve the Dallara, and I’m very grateful for that as they have done a terrific job: we’ve been at the finish for 14 consecutive races.  The Oreca however has been the dominant car in the LMP2 class, which is why we decided to race an Oreca 07 in the world championship as from next season. This also implies we had to choose for a new technical partner which has experience with the car. With TDS we’ve managed to sign one of the best Oreca teams in the paddock.  But first we will focus fully on the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans where we’ll be out to give it our best and end our cooperation with Davytech in the best possible way. 

“I’ve got a special friendship with Frits Van Eerd” said Giancarlo Minardi “and I’m very honoured the Minardi team has always inspired him. It’s fantastic to see the colours of my Formula 1 cars back on the Racing Team Nederland car.  Frits and I will continue to see how we can intensify the connection with Minardi, and it will be a pleasure for me to keep guiding him - as a kind of godfather - with his raceteam, new talents and new projects”. 

Nyck De Vries added: “This will be my first 24 Hours of Le Mans, so I’m very curious about it. I really like to be able to combine my F2 programme with the races of Racing Team Nederland, of which Le Mans will definitely be a highlight. Continuing to race in 2019/2020 is also fantastic, since we’ve only grown stronger as a team in the past year. 

BMW ends WEC program

BMW announced this morning that they will bid farewell to the WEC at the end of the Super Season.  The upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans will be the final race of the BMW M8 GTE in the championship.

BMW Group Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt talks about the strategy going forward of BMW’s Motorsport division. “Motorsport has always been an important pacesetter for the BMW Group, and a relevant testing ground for future development in the automobile industry as a whole – and that will remain the case.

“We will not compete in WEC going forward. Therefore, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June will be another highlight for us in drawing to a close – just like in 2018, when we celebrated the successful world premiere of the BMW 8 Series Coupe there. But in light of us sharpening our focus as part of our strategy for the future, continuing our WEC involvement in the coming years does not fit with our direction. 

The global presence of BMW M Motorsport is safeguarded by customer racing and the DTM in Asia and Europe, as well as the IMSA series in North America, even without competing in a world championship. We would like to thank BMW Team MTEK for its dedication over recent years and we wish WEC all the best and hope that it makes good progress.”

The Munich based manufacturer will however keep on racing in the IMSA series:  “The IMSA series plays a central role for us in North America and is developing well. The USA is the most important market for BMW M cars, so it is very fitting to build a direct bridge to our production models there with the BMW M8 GTE.” Said Jens Marquardt.

TF Sport to continue their effort WEC in GTE Am

TF Sport confirmed today they have submitted its entry for the forthcoming WEC season which gets underway at Silverstone in September.  The British team intends to enter the championship in the new Aston Martin Vantage GTE, which would be the first in the GTE Am class.

The 2018/19 Super Season is the team’s first in the Championship, having moved through the sportscar ranks with title-winning success in the Michelin Le Mans Cup and then the European Le Mans Series, before stepping up to the World Endurance Championship.

The Super Season has also been a successful one for TF Sport, with podiums in the #90 Aston Martin Vantage GTE at Spa Francorchamps, Silverstone, Fuji and again in Belgium heading to the conclusion of the current championship at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Further details of the programme and the driver line-up will be announced in due course. 

Tom Ferrier, TF Sport Director said:  “It has always been our intention to continue in the FIA World Endurance Championship and we have worked hard behind the scenes to ensure that we remain at the highest level of GT racing. We have high hopes that our entry will be accepted and that we can return to Silverstone in the new Aston Martin Vantage GTE.”

Kristof Vermeulen. 

ELMS: Monza update > TDS Racing loses pole position, Dragonspeed now on P1

A few hours after the end of the qualifying sessions for the 4 Hours of Monza tomorrow, several decisions of the race stewards have seriously affected the grid for tomorrow's race. 

TDS Racing who were fastest in LMP2 with Matthieu Vaxiviere at the wheel have lost their pole position for tomorrow's race due to the car not being in compliance to the technical regulations.  This means the #21 Dragonspeed Oreca of Ben Hanley, Henrik Hedman and Nicolas Lapierre inherits pole position. Apparently there was tape on the bodywork which is not allowed. All qualifying times of the car have been cancelled.  The #33 will start the race from the back of the LMP2 grid.  

The #31 APR - Rebellion which qualified third also saw its qualifying times cancelled due to the height of the front splitter not in compliance with the technical regulation.  This car will also start from the back of the LMP2 grid tomorrow. 

Same story for the #9 AT Racing Ligier in LMP3, that also saw his qualifying times cancelled due to the height of the front splitter.  They will have to start from the back of the grid tomorrow.   Mikkel Jensen qualified on third place, which now will be taken by the #2 United Autosports of John Falb and Sean Rayhall.  

James Swift in the #6 360 RACING Ligier JS P3 has been denied to start the race tomorrow.  Swift didn't comply with the minimum of qualifying laptimes (110% of the best time set by the fastest time in the group).  Terrence Woodward and Ross Kaiser will have to complete the race with the two of them and Kaiser has to be the starting driver. 

It's not all bad news that came from the stewards: the #66 JMW Ferrari have been given permission to race tomorrow, despite not taking part in qualifying. 

Text: Kristof Vermeulen
Pictures: JellyBaby.Media

FIA WEC: Spa-Francorchamps pre-race updates

#7 Toyota lost pole position 

The #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing lost its pole position yesterday afternoon due to an incorrect identification number for the car's fuel flow meter.  The decision saw the cancellation of all lap times in the qualifying session, ensuring that the car will start from the pit lane only after the last car in the field has covered the first lap and following directions from the Race Director.  Toyota declared "they accept full responsibility for the error, which had no impact whatsoever on car performance. The fuel flow meter which was used in the #7 was fully homologated and calibrated."

This means that the #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid of Fernando Alonso, Kazyuki Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi will start from pole position. The #1 Rebellion R13 of Neel Jani, Andre Lotterer and Bruno Senna now joins the Toyota on the front row of the grid. 

#86 Gulf Racing Porsche to the back of the grid

The #86 Gulf Racing Porsche has been set back to the grid due to a pitlane infringement during qualifying. Michael Wainwright exceeded the pitlane speed limit and saw all his qualifying times cancelled.

Both Ginetta's withdrawn from the race

Yesterday evening, Ginetta released the following statement confirming that both G60-LT-P1 cars will not start for the opening round of the FIA WEC Super season at Spa-Francorchamps:

It is with great disappointment that we have to announce that Ginetta will no be releasing the two LMP1 cars that successfully ran at the FIA WEC Prologue at Paul Ricard earlier this month.

Unfortunately, funds promised have not arrived from TRS (China) to CEFC TRSM Racing (UK).

The required funds for Ginetta were due some time ago and whilst we understand that TRS (China) has been working with its sponsors to sort the issues, without payment, Ginetta cannot allow the cars to race.  Ginetta remains committed to working with CEFC TRSM Racing (UK) on this programme.

We are aware that CEFC TRSM Racing has visited TRS many times in China and can also confirm that TRS have visited Ginetta three times recently, the last time to attend a Royal visit. We have been informed by TRS that the current situation is a short-term cash flow problem and that the main funds are in place for payment before Le Mans.

Chairman of Ginetta, Lawrence Tomlinson said:“We’ve got to a situation where a UK-based team with excellent ability, kit and personnel, plus a pair of the latest LMP1 cars with confirmed and fully paid up entries for the 2018/19 FIA WEC (including two entries at Le Mans in both 2018 & 2019) are unable to race simply due to funds not flowing."

Rumours about financial woes have been going round the paddock all weekend, both Ginetta's only completing an installation lap at the practice sessions and staying in the garages during qualifying.  Apparently Manor's main sponsor CEFC China has been under investigation by the Chinese government concerning financial fraude.  How this will affect Ginetta's further involvement in the World Endurance Championship and the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans is still uncertain.  

Dragonspeed's tub damaged after Fittipaldi's shunt

The Dragonspeed BR1/Gibson in which Pietro Fittipaldi had a big shunt on the Raidillon has - as expected - been withdrawn from the race.  The car suffered from substantial damage on its tub.  

The FIA has published a new bulletin this morning stating Fittipaldi is well and his condition is stable.  He was operated on last nights for fractures to both his legs, and the operation went well. He remains under observation at the hospital.  The left leg, which suffered a complex fracture, has been satisfactorily operated upon. Pietro was completely conscious on exiting the Operating Suite and was able to describe what happened to him.  At 10.30h today he left intensive care.  His father was with him throughout the night.  

Busy pit walk and autograph session

Glorious sunshine this morning at Spa-Francorchamps and a good coming into the track for the opening race of the FIA WEC Super season.  The traditional pitwalk and autograph session was really packed, especially at the Toyota Gazoo Racing pitboxes where Fernando Alonso had his first taste of the fan-friendly and open atmosphere of the WEC paddock. 

The green flag for the 6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps will be waived at 13.30h local time here Belgium. 

6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps start grid

Text: Kristof Vermeulen

Pictures: JellyBaby.Media

24h Le Mans: news update with 50 days to go

With exactly 50 days to go to the "Big one", we've made a small round-up of some of the latest news about driver line-ups, collaborations and new liveries for this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

Corvette Drivers confirmed for Le Mans

Corvette Racing has announced its driver line-up for their 19th consecutive Le Mans next month. Mike Rockenfeller and Marcel Fässler will join the crew of the #63 and #64 Corvettes, as they do in the IMSA North American Endurance Cup. 

Rockenfeller joins Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the #63 Corvette C7.R, a return to La Sarthe since his last race with Audi in 2012.  The German driver won Le Mans in 2005 and 2010.  Fässler, another ex-Audi factory driver, has three Le Mans wins on his name (2011, 2012 and 2014) and will join Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the #63 Corvette.  

With eight victories and eight additional runner-up finishes at Le Mans, Corvette has been the most succesfull GT brand in the past 2 decades. They'll be out to score that 9th victory this year ! 

Alonso passes simulator test

As every rookie driver at the Le Mans 24 Hours, Fernando Alonso had to take on the obligated "test day" in the ACO simulator in Paris two weeks ago.

© Lemans.org

During this test, the driver gets to learn the track and its traps, location of the marshal posts and gets an initiation about safety procedures with slow zones and safety car deployment, both during day and night.  Simulations with (slower) traffic and suddenly changing track conditions are also on the "menu" during the test.  As expected, Alonso passed the test faultlessly and is now allowed to take part in the testday and raceweek. 

At least five other (ex-)Formula 1 drivers who will also make their debut at Le Mans in June, also have to complete the simulator test prior to the testday: Jenson Button (SMP Racing), Paul Di Resta & Juan Pablo Montoya (United Autosports) and Pastor Maldonado. 

Exit Fernando Rees at Larbre Competition 

Fernando Rees won't compete with Larbre Competition in the FIA WEC Super season and Le Mans this year.  Due to the loss of a main sponsor, the French team are in need of a pay driver to complete their budget. 

Edit: Thomas Dagoneau has been announced as the third driver for Le Mans.  The Frenchman will join Romano Ricci and Erwin Creed in the #50 Ligier JSP217. It will be his second outing at Le Mans after his debut in 2013 with Boutsen Ginion Racing.  Surprisingly - according to franceracing.fr - Dagoneau signed his contract with Larbre one week ahead of the prologue.

Julien Canal, the reigning LMP2 champion will race with the team at Spa next week. 

Risi Competizione presents livery for Le Mans

Texas based Risi Competizione teams up with Ben Keating for this years' Le Mans, and revealed their livery for the 24 Hour race.  

The #85 Ferrari F488 GTE will be driven by Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen who are joined by Luca Stolz.  The young German raced with Keating & Bleekemolen during the Rolex24 in Januari, finishing fourth in the GTD class, and scored a podium finish at the 12 Hours of Bathurst with Bleekemolen. This will be his Le Mans 24 Hours.  

JMW teams up with Weathertech Racing 

JMW Motorsport will run its 10th Le Mans with support from Weathertech and two American drivers. Cooper MacNeil and Jeff Segal will join Liam Griffin behind the wheel of the #84 Ferrari F488 GTE in the GTE-Am class.



The British team won its class at Le Mans last year and is now joined by 2 experenced drivers. Cooper MacNeil is off for his fifth start and finished third in the AM class last year in the Scuderia Corse Ferrari.  Jeff Segal will start for the third time in Le Mans, after claiming a podium finish in his first one and a win in the GTE-Am class in 2016.

Felipe Nasr replaces Andrea Belicchi at Cetilar Villorba Corse

Cetilar Villorba Corse announced Felipe Nasr as replacement driver for Andrea Belicchi, as from the ELMS race in Monza, at Le Mans and the remainder of the 2018 ELMS season. Nasr joins Roberto Lacorte and Giorgio Sernagiotto behind the wheel of the #47 Cetilar Villorba Corse Dallara P217/Gibson. The Brazilian driver has been hired by the Italian team since Belicchi who suffered from back problems during the 4 Hours of Le Castellet that forced him to stop racing on the LMP2 prototype. 

Nasr is no stranger to the Italian team as he already tested the Dallara earlier this year at the Paul Ricard track, covering about 500 kilometers. He is also active in the IMSA Weathertech Championship in the Whelen Cadillac Dpi.  “There are so many reasons that makes this moment special that is difficult to talk about only one of them: 1) I am really happy to be driving for Cetilar Villorba Corse with whom I tested in Paul Ricard last year, it is great to be back to an Italian team for me that started my racing career in single seaters driving for an Italian team; 2) I am really thrilled to drive this LMP2 Dallara, the same chassis that I am driving in the US, in tracks that I know and like so much: Monza, Spa, Silverstone and Red Bull Ring; and 3) I am excited to have the opportunity to be in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it is a dream that I have! Let’s go racing!” said the Brazilian driver.

Team Principal Amadio added: “It's with great pleasure that we welcome Felipe back in our team. Not only testing, but for an entire season and a 24-hour race which is really important for us all. We really appreciate his talent and will do everything to make him feel part of the team immediately. Such a talented and experienced driver will be great new energy to keep on improving. I am sure that with him we are going to face all the challenges at our best”.

Kristof Vermeulen
Pictures: JellyBaby.Media & kristofvermeulen.com

European Le Mans Series 2017: LMP2 news roundup

Less than three weeks of the presentation of the 2017 entry lists in FIA WEC, ELMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, let's take a look at what we know so far.

First up is the LMP2 class in the European Le Mans Series. With the entry of the all new 2017 regulations and Gibson powered cars, the era of open top prototype racing now has come to an end. No more Gibson, Morgan or Oreca03 on the starting grids, but all closed cockpit coupes. Initially a sub class for older LMP2 proto's has been announced in which they would be "grandfathered" (but remain uncompetitive for an overall victory) in the championship, but all teams are switching for new LMP2 prototypes immediately.

Looking at the confirmed/expected entries, this will be a very varied field with a healthy mix of Ligier, Oreca and Dallara prototypes. The only manufacturer not on the list today is Riley-Ave, although there still might be a chance we'll see all four new LMP2 cars on the ELMS grid. At this moment there's a possible entry list of a very healthy 12 to 16 cars.

Jota Sport should be set to defend its 2016 ELMS title with an Oreca 07 (the Oreca05 which will be upgraded to the new 2017 specs). Whether this will be under the flag of G-Drive Racing remains unclear. Following the release of the new driver ratings in which Roman Rusinov was upgraded to Gold rating, the Russian driver threatened to leave the WEC and ELMS championships with his G-Drive sponsorship. Given recent reports, it seems very likely though that Rusinov will stay in endurance racing. Simon Dolan & co will be back for sure, with or without Rusinov's support.

© Dragonspeed

After an impressive first season in the European Le Mans Series this year (4 podium finishes, 1 win, 3 pole positions), Dragonspeed announced the acquisition of 2 Oreca07's in June last year. Both cars have recently been delivered; one brand new Oreca07, the second is the upgraded Oreca05 in which they raced last year. Nicolas Lapierre, Ben Hanley and Hendrik Hedman are already confirmed for the first car in this seasons ELMS. The team is now working on a driver line-up to field a second car in the European Le Mans Series. They will start their season in the Daytona Rolex24 at the end of January. Lapierre has also been confirmed at Alpine in the FIA WEC, so if Dragonspeed gets an invite for Le Mans, they'll have to find a replacement driver for Lapierre.

© United Autosports

Winning the 2016 LMP3 championship granted United Autosports an invite for the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team took it up and purchased a Ligier JSP217 to race in the LMP2 class. The car will also be fielded in the European Le Mans Series, in addition to both LMP3 cars in the championship.  The first 2 drivers have been confirmed at the Autosport show last week: American Will Owen and Swiss-born Hugo de Sadeleer.

© Villorba Corse

Italian team Villorba Corse continues to work on its "Road to Le Mans" next season and steps up to the LMP2 class. They will race a brand new Dallara LMP2 in the ELMS, driven by Andrea Belicchi, Roberto Lacorte and Giorgio Sernagiotto. The team will also apply for an entry in the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans.

© Graff Racing

LMP3 vice champions Graff Racing are moving up to the LMP2 class next season with 2 Oreca 07's. Initially a one car effort was announced last september, but recently the addition of a second car has been confirmed (depending on budget and drivers). An application to enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans will also be filed. The team has already participated 11 times in the 24 Hours between 1980 and 1993 and aims to return with 1 car. Graff Racing has also the intention to race one Ligier JSP3 in the ELMS this season.

Olivier Pla will race with IDEC Sport in the LMP2 class next season. He will be the leading driver in the Ligier JSP217/Gibson, alongside Paul and Patrice Lafargue. Pla will combine the ELMS championship with his factory drive for Ford in the WEC. If IDEC gets an invite for Le Mans, Pla won't be able to race with the French team, as in the first race of the season in Silverstone. The team is also looking into the LMP3 class, with a possible entry of one car.

Greaves Motorsport is expected to be back in the championship this season, either with a car of their own or running customer team(s). The future of Krohn Racing which was run by Greaves last year remains unclear up untill now. We expected Krohn to acquire a new Ligier JSP217, but he's also been linked to Dallara recently. With Olivier Pla leaving for IDEC, Krohn now lost his lead driver from the last ELMS campaign. The team has confirmed working on their plans for 2017, so expect an announcement by the end of the month.

No news about the future of Murphy Prototypes so far. Murphy's men gave young talent a chance in LMP2 throughout last season and teamed up with Ben Keating & Bill Riley for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Running an Ave-Riley LMP3 was planned for last season but the debut of the car being delayed several times postponed those plans. Will Murphy return in LMP2 or will they eventually enter the Riley LMP3 (for which they already had been assigned as agents for the European market) ? Rumours were spreading about Ben Keating showing interest in LMP2 to return to Le Mans also, with a possible full season entry in ELMS. 

© Racing Team Nederland

A new team in the top class of the European Le Mans Series next season will be Racing Team Nederland. An ambitious Dutch team running a Dallara/Gibson, supported by Davytech. This is a very ambitious project, funded by Jumbo boss Frits Van Eerd who will be sharing the car with former Le Mans winner Jan Lammers and Rubens Barichello joining in for Le Mans (if they get an invite). An intense testing program has been completed up until now, including the Dunlop tire tests at Sebring last December.

Panis Barthez Competition has bought a new Ligier JSP217 for their second season in the ELMS. No news on drivers yet, but Fabien Barthez will surely be back at the wheel. The French team will also continue to race in the LMP3 class.

Eurasia will apply for a Le Mans entry again, but their future in the European Le Mans Series is unclear. Losing Jo Pin Tung and his sponsoring funds last season forces them to work with a tighter budget and it's not certain a full ELMS campaign will fit for 2017. The team is now active in the Asian Le Mans Series, winning the last race at Buriram.

RLR M-Sport who have been active in LMP3 in the past 2 years also bought a Ligier JSP217 to run in LMP2 this season, and will apply for an invite at Le Mans. They are into the market for (paying) drivers at the moment. 

Tockwith Motorsports impressed in LMP3 last year when they stepped up from the Michelin GT3 Cup. Very strong performances in the 4 hours of Le Castellet and Spa-Francorchamps made the them quickly order a Ligier JSP217 and step up again to LMP2. Nigel Moore and Philip Hansen will be the drivers of red/white Gibson powered Ligier. 

A return of Thiriet by TDS Racing this season is unlikely, the team already confirming to step up to the FIA WEC in an Oreca07. LMGTE Am champions Emmanuel Collard and François Perrodo will drive the car together with Matthieu Vaxivière.  Pierre Thiriet also has been linked to a possible Alpine drive in the WEC this season. Last year, the team quite early employed plans to run a Norma LMP3 in the ELMS, whether that's still on the table is unclear.

The future of SMP Racing in LMP2 is still in doubt. Their BR01 now outdated with the arrival of the new generation LMP2's. Running the BR01 is still possible in the ELMS, but as a "grandfathered car" & way off the pace of the new prototypes. Ambitious plans were announced back in November with the development of a new LMP1-L for 2018 in a joint venture with Dallara. Recent rumours about hitting troubles early on might . There might be a chance SMP running a Dallara LMP2 this season, or will they solely focus on the GTE class ?

WRT made an impressive one-off appearance at the 4 hours of Spa-Francorchamps last September, finishing second in the debut race with an LMP2 prototype. Rumours of the team going into LMP2 have now been denied by team boss Vincent Vosse. They have been looking into a FIA WEC campaign next year but a possible LMP2 entry is on stand by at the moment. If WRT goes into LMP2 it has to be with a sufficient budget at the resources to compete for the win. The project isn't off the table completely, this might be one to watch for 2018.

2 teams who are also active in the Asian Le Mans Series haven't confirmed any plans for this year in the ELMS. Both Algarve Pro Racing and Race Performance race in Asia with their current LMP2 machinery. Algarve Pro Racing is looking into a full season entry in the FIA WEC in 2018, plans for 2017 haven't been announced yet. Race Performance have put their Ligier LMP3 for sale recently and is defending the Asian Le Mans Series title in LMP2. There has been no official announcement so far about the future of the team.  

Pegasus Racing definitely won't return to the LMP2 class as they will switch to LMP3 in 2017 with at least one Ligier JSP217. 

Kristof Vermeulen.

The 83rd LE MANS 24 HOURS 2015 - Club Arnage Guide

(Updated after Silverstone WEC)

Changes this year

Regulations

Various F1 type regulations restricting the amount of testing, engines, tyres , gearboxes, etc, used in the WEC will be introduced this year. These were confirmed in March. The average weight of a crew must be 80 kgs (weight including race wear, etc.) and if the average is less then ballast must be carried.

For Le Mans LMP1 and P2 will be permitted to use a maximum of 7 sets of tyres in Free Practice, Qualifying and the warm-up (almost 12 hours of track time). For GTE Pro and Am they will be permitted 8 sets. Four “Joker” tyres will be additionally authorised for practice in each class. For the race LMP1 cars will be limited to 12 sets + 2 sets for any new prototypes. In LMP2, GTE Pro and Am 16 sets of tyres will be allowed for the race.

Circuit changes

Work to stabilise the sides of the track between Mulsanne Corner and the entrance to the Porsche Curves by tarmacing over some of the grass verges was completed before Christmas at a cost of €425,000.

At the Porsche Curves work has started which will be ongoing for about 3 years. At the first right hand corner the existing gravel trap will be replaced by an abrasive bitumen coating and new tyre barriers. The width of the second left hand part will be expanded by about 3 metres and again grass will be replaced by bitumen. SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers will be installed over a distance of about 220 metres. Phase one of this work started in Feb 2015 and should be completed by mid May.

The new public road branching left before Indianapolis corner will not be started until winter 2015/16. This will mean the stretch from Indy to Arnage will be closed to the public during the rest of the year.

Other

After 14 years as Race Director, Daniel Poissenot is retiring. He will be replaced by his FIA WEC colleague Eduardo Freitas.

Cars and Drivers on the Grid (Confirmed drivers in Black - Possibles in Red)

LMP1 (14 CARS) – (Red number panels and have white headlamps. HY on engine cover depict a hybrid energy system being used. No Bronze rated drivers allowed. All cars are on Michelin tyres.)

#1 Toyota Racing Toyota TS040 Hybrid driven by Sebastien Buemi/ Anthony Davidson/ Kazuki Nakajima (www.toyotahybridracing.com)

The reigning FIA WEC Champions Buemi and Davidson are joined by Nakajima from last year’s other Toyota. Nakajima should be available for the whole season having no clashing commitments in Super Formula in Japan this year. The Toyota will continue to use a 3.7 litre V8 petrol engine and will continue running in the 6mj energy recovery category with it’s unique super capacitor system (which is likely to be replaced for 2016).

@ Silverstone WEC the team finished 3^rd overall.

#2 Toyota Racing Toyota TS040 Hybrid driven by Alexander Wurz/ Stephane Sarrazin/ Mike Conway

Conway replaces Nicolas Lapierre,who is still under contract with the team as a test driver but unlikely to race drive this season having made occasional appearances in 2014 and will drive the #47 KCMG Oreca at Le Mans. Kamui Kobayashi will act as reserve driver 2015.

@ Silverstone WEC the team finished 4^th overall after a stop to remove debris and fit a new nose cone.

#4 Team ByKolles CLM P1/01 – AER driven by Simon Trummer/ Pierre Kaffer/ Vitantonio Luizzi (www.bykolles.at)

All references to “Lotus” now appear to be gone from this team. The team will continue to run the AER P60 V6 Bi-Turbo engine. This year’s car has new suspension for this year and revised aero which will run from Spa onwards. It is also running a Xtrac gearbox instead of last year’s Hewland . Trummer is confirmed for the whole season.

@ Silverstone WEC, where Trummer was joined by Liuzzi and Christian Klein in the 2014 car,the team retired 40 miutes from the end of the race (with an engine water leak) and was not classified.

#7 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron Quattro Hybrid driven by Andre Lotterer/Benoit Treluyer/Marcel Fassler (www.joest-racing.de) (www.audi-motorsport.com)

Audi competes for the 17^th year in succession and last year’s winners return having been given an automatic invitation. The team which has moved in to their new base at Neuberg over the winter will be moving from a 2mj to a 4mj energy recovery system, but will continue to run a 4.0 litre V6 diesel engine.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 1^st overall winning by just over 4 seconds despite a late stop and go penalty for an overtaking infringement. The team ,taking their joint 9^th WEC win, took the RAC Tourist Trophy setting a new record for laps completed and Lotterer setting a new lap record.

#8 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron Quattro Hybrid driven by Oliver Jarvis/Lucas di Grassi/Loic Duval

Oliver Jarvis replaces the retired 9 times winner “Mr Le Mans” Tom Kristensen.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 5^th overall, 4 laps down on the winners having lost time having repairs done to front and rear bodywork.

#9 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron Quattro Hybrid driven by Marco Bonanomi/Filipe Albuquerque/Rene Rast

Rast joins the Audi team for 2 planned appearances at Le Mans and at Spa. He finished 5^th in GTD at the Daytona 24 hours in a Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS. Albuquerque retired from this year’s Daytona 24 hours driving a Starworks Oreca FLM09 PC.

Mike Rockenfeller will act as reserve driver for the team.

#12 Rebellion Racing Rebellion R-One – AER driven by Nicolas Prost/Nick Heidfeld/Mathias Beche(www.rebellion-racing.com)

Rebellion has replaced last year’s Toyota engines with AER engines which ran in last year’s Lotus/CLM. The team missed the Prologue and the 1^st round at Silverstone whilst they complete the car which requires a redesign of the rear axle by car manufacturer Oreca.

#13 Rebellion Racing Rebellion R-One-AER driven by Dominik Kraihamer/Alexandre Imperatori/Daniel Abt

Kraihamer is joined this year by Imperatori, winner of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in 2012. Abt also joins and has previously raced in GP2, GP3 and Formula E.

#17 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Timo Bernhard/Mark Webber/Brendon Hartley (Red ) (www.porsche.com/france/sportsandevents/motorsport/)

The Porsche’s are moving to an 8mj energy recovery system this year and will continue to use their 2.0 litre V4 turbo petrol engine. The car was known to be about 30kg overweight last year but is now on the weight limit.

The team conducted successful tests at Abu Dhabi and Bahrain early in the year. Hartley retired from the Daytona 24 hours and the Sebring 12 hours in a Starworks Riley-BMW DP. They were also fastest in the pre season Prologue at Paul Ricard (by more than 4 seconds compared to 2014).

@ Silverstone WEC, the team retired after 44 laps due to a gearbox problem after Hartley being fastest in Qualifying (the 4^th consecutive WEC pole for the Porsche factory team).

#18 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Romain Dumas/Marc Lieb/Neel Jani (Black)

Lieb finished 5^th in GTLM at the Daytona 24 hours.

@ Silverstone WEC the team finished 2^nd overall.

#19 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Nico Hulkenberg/Earl Bamber/Nick Tandy (White)

The Porsche team will run this 3^rd car at Spa and at Le Mans. Current Force India F1 driver Hulkenberg is joined by GTE drivers Bamber and Tandy.

Tandy finished 5^th in GTLM at the Daytona 24 hours and again at Sebring with Bamber.

#21 Nissan Motorsports Nissan GT-R LM Nismo Hybrid driven by Tsugio Matsuda/Lucas Ordonez/Alex Buncombe (www.nissan-motorsports.com) (www.nismo.co.jp)

Nissan re-enter at the top level of Sports Car Racing after 16 years, with a radical front engine (V6 3 litre twin turbo petrol) and front wheel drive car, which was exclusively previewed in an advertisement during the half time break at this year’s Superbowl in February.

The team is based in Indianapolis at the former Forsythe Racing premises and assembled at All-American Racers in Santa Ana California.

The team missed the Prologue, Silverstone and Spa to sort out development after failing their original crash test. It is likely to run a 2mj energy recovery system which it will retrieve from the front axle, and has been tested thoroughly at Austin in the USA.

The #21 will only run at Le Mans. Matsuda is the reigning Super GT champion in Japan.

#22 Nissan Motorsports Nissan GT-R LM Nismo Hybrid driven by Harry Tincknell/Olivier Pla/Michael Krumm.

Pla joins from LMP2 team G-Drive Racing. Michael Krumm (who is only confirmed for Le Mans) has been undertaking much of the early testing for the team. Pla retired from this year’s Daytona 24 hours in Tracy Krohn’s Ligier P2 but finished 6^th at Sebring.

Tincknell joins from the winning LMP2 Jota team of last year.

#23 Nissan Motorsports Nissan GT-R LM Nismo Hybrid driven by Jann Mardenborough/Marc Gene/Max Chilton

Chilton joins after having driven in F1 for Marussia and drives with ex Audi driver and Le Mans winner Gene and Playstation Academy winner Mardenborough.

LMP2 (20 CARS) – (Blue number panels and Yellow headlamps. Teams must include one bronze or silver rated driver).

#26 G-Drive Racing Ligier JS P2-Nissan Coupe driven by Roman Rusinov/Julien Canal/Sam Bird (www.oak-racing.com) (www.onroak.com)

The Ligier is constructed by Onroak Automotive, as are the Morgans.

@ Silverstone WEC the team won LM P2 by a lap from their team mates.

#27 SMP Racing BR Engineering BR01-Nissan Coupe driven by Maurizio Mediani/David Markasov/Nicolas Minassian (www.smpracing.ru)

The SMP cars were formerly run under the AF Corse banner, but this year from Le Mans will be run in house.

@ Silverstone ELMS, the team used Oreca 03s run by AF Corse (running as No 32) and finished 7^th in LM P2 after spinning into the gravel with 20 minutes remaining.

#28 G-Drive Racing Ligier JS P2-Nissan Coupe driven by Gustavo Yacaman/Ricardo Gonzalez/Luis Felipe (Pipo) Derani

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 2^nd overall in LM P2 (hampered by a late steering issue) after being fastest in Qualifying.

#29 Pegasus Racing Morgan LMP2-Nissan driven by Leo Roussel/David Cheng/Ho-Pin Tung(www.pegasus-racing.com)

The team are racing the older “non EVO” Morgan. Cheng finished 7^th in PC at Sebring.

@ Silverstone ELMS, where Roussel and Cheng were joined by Jonathan Coleman, they retired after 64 laps.

#30 Extreme Speed Motorsports Ligier JS P2- Honda Coupe driven by Scott Sharp/Ryan Dalziel/David Heinemeier Hansson (www.esmracing.com)

The US team enter this year’s WEC after one appearance in China last year. The driving team retired from this year’s Daytona 24 hours and again at Sebring. The team has decided to delay the homologation of the HPD ARX 04-b and used the older HPD ARX-03b chassis at Sebring and Silverstone. The Ligier will be used at Spa and Le Mans but will still use the Honda HR28TT V6 engine.

@ Silcerstone WEC, the team finished 3^rd in LM P2 but were subsequently disqualified at post event scrutineering for having a badly worn underfloor skid plank.

#31 Extreme Speed Motorsports Ligier JS P2-Honda Coupe driven by Ed Brown/Johannes van Overbeek/Jonathon Fogarty

The team retired from this year’s Daytona 24 hours and finished 8^th in the Prototype class at Sebring.

@ Silverdsone WEC, Van Overbeek missed the race due to a cracked rib and was replaced by former Le Mans winner David Brabham and finished 6^th in LM P2 after their team mates were disqualified, despite suffering gearbox problems and an oil leak.

#34 OAK Racing Ligier JS P2-Nissan Coupe driven by Kevin Estre/Laurens Vanthoor/Chris Cumming (www.oakracing.com)

The team received an automatic invitation after winning the LM P2 class in last year’s Asian Le Mans Series. Cumming retired at Daytona but finished 6^th in PC at Sebring. Estre finished 16^th in GTD in a 911 Porsche America at Dytona.

Estre will drive the #91 GTE Pro Porsche at Spa.

#35 OAK Racing Ligier JS P2-Nissan Coupe driven by Jacques Nicolet/Jean-Marc Merlin/Erik Maris

The all gentleman driver crew are led by Jacques Nicolet, the boss of Onroak Automotive and Oak Racing.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 5^th in LM P2 after having a throttle problem.

#36 Signatech Alpine Alpine A450b-Nissan driven by Nelson Panciatici/Paul-Loup Chatin/Vincent Capillaire (www.signature-team.com)

The team received an automatic invitation after winning the LMP2 class in last year’s European Le Mans Series (and indeed in 2013). The car is an Oreca 03R but homologated as an Alpine.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team retired after Chatin crashed out after 20 laps.

#37 SMP Racing BR Engineering BR01-Nissan Coupe driven by Mikhail Aleshin/Kirill Ladygin/Anton Ladygin

@ Silverstone ELMS, the team used an Oreca 03 run by AF Corse (Running as No 34) and finished 8^th in LM P2.

#38 Jota Sport Gibson 015S-Nissan driven by Simon Dolan/Mitch Evans/? (www.jotagroup.com)

The team received an automatic invitation after winning LMP2 in last year’s race. The Gibson is an updated version of last year’s Zytek.

@ Silverstone ELMS, where Dolan was joined by Felipe Albuquerque and Harry Tincknell the team finished 2^nd in LM P2, despite a late spin by Tincknell.

#40 Krohn Racing Ligier JS P2-Nissan Coupe driven by Tracy Krohn/Niclas Jonsson/Ozz Negri Jnr (www.krohnracing.net)

Krohn and Jonsson (with Alex Brundle and Olivier Pla) retired from this year’s Daytona 24 hours and finished 6^th overall at Sebring (with Olivier Pla). Negri retired from the Sebring 12 hours in a HPD Ligier JS P2.

@ Silverstone ELMS, the team finished 4^th in LM P2.

#41 Greaves Motorsport Gibson 015S-Nissan driven by Bjorn Wirdheim/ Jon Lancaster/Gary Hirsch (www.greavesmotorsport.com)

@ Silverstone ELMS, the team finished 1^st overall in LM P2 after being on pole position.

#42 Strakka Racing Strakka Dome S103-Nissan Coupe driven by Nick Leventis/Danny Watts/Jonny Kane (www.strakkaracing.com)

The car missed 2014 due to the need for a major redesign.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 3^rd in LM P2 (despite an early spin into the gravel) after the disqualification of No 30 ESM.

#43 Team SARD-Morand Morgan LMP2 Evo-SARD (Judd) driven by Oliver Webb/Pierre Ragues/Reality TV Show Winner

One driver will be chosen from 24 drivers on a reality TV programme “Raceto24” (www.raceto24.com). 24 drivers from 17 countries have been selected to take part over a period of 12 weeks, to produce a winner.

The team missed Silverstone after a late withdrawal due to contractual problems after agreement for a deal with Kairos Technologies was not completed on time.

#45 Ibanez Racing Oreca 03R-Nissan driven by Jose Ibanez/Pierre Perret/Ivan Bellarosa

@ Silverstone ELMS, the team finished 6^th in LM P2.

#46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca 05-Nissan Coupe driven by Pierre Thiriet/Ludovic Badey/Tristan Gommendy

@ Silverstone ELMS, the team finished 3^rd in LM P2 after Gommendy spun off late on after a touch by Lancaster.

#47 KCMG Oreca 05-Nissan Coupe driven by Matthew Howson/Richard Bradley/Nicolas Lapierre (www.kcmg.com.hk)

Toyota factory reserve driver Lapierre joins the team for Spa and Le Mans.

@ Silverstone WEC, Porsche P1 driver Nick Tandy drove for the team and they finished 4^th in LM P2 after suffering a radiator failure.

#48 Murphy Prototypes Oreca 03R-Nissan driven by Nathanael Berthon/Mark Patterson/Karun Chandhok

@ Silverstone ELMS, Berthon and Patterson joined by Michael Lyons, retired with mechanical problems after 83 laps.

LMGTE Pro (9 CARS) – (Green number panels and Yellow headlamps. No restrictions on drivers. All cars are on Michelin tyres).

#51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 driven by Gianmaria Bruni/Toni Vilander/Giancarlo Fisichella (www.afcorse.it)

Almost certainly the last Le Mans for the quasi works 458 before it is replaced by the Ferrari F488 in 2016. The team received an automatic invitation after winning GTE Pro in 2014. Bruni and Vilander retired from this year’s Daytona 24 hours. Fisichella finished 2^nd in GTLM at Sebring.

@ Silverstone WEC, Bruni and Vilander were 1^st in GTE Pro.

#63 Corvette Racing-GM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R driven by Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe (www.corvetteracing.com)

The works Corvette team will probably only race at Le Mans in this year’s WEC.

The driving team finished 3^rd overall and won GTLM at the Daytona 24 hours in January and won GTLM at Sebring finishing 10 th overall.

#64 Corvette Racing-GM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R driven by Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Jordan Taylor

Gavin and Milner with Simon Pagenaud finished 3rd in GTLM at the Daytona 24 hours and 9^th at Sebring. Taylor retired from this year’s Daytona 24 hours in Corvette DP but finished 2^nd at Sebring.

#71 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 driven by Davide Rigon/James Calado/Olivier Beretta

Rigon retired from this year’s Daytona 24 Hours in a Risi Competizione Ferrari 458.

@ Silverstone WEC, Rigon and Calado finished 3^rd in GTE Pro.

#91 Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 911 RSR (991) driven by Richard Lietz/Michael Christensen/Jorg Bergmeister (www.porsche.com/motorsport)

The Porsches have revised front aero this year and also a new refuelling system which may save up to 10 seconds per stop.

Christensen with Pilet (with Nick Tandy and Marc Lieb) finished 5^th in GTLM at the Daytona 24 hours. Lietz finished 5^th in GTLM at Sebring with Nick Tandy, Patrick Pilet and Earl Bamber.

@ Silverstone WEC, Lietz and Christensen finished 2^nd overall in GTE Pro.

@ Spa, Porsche junior driver Sven Muller will drive this car with Kevin Estre.

#92 Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 911 RSR (991) driven by Patrick Pilet/Frederic Makowiecki/Wolf Henzler

Pilet with Christensen finished 5^th in GTLM at the Daytona 24 hours and also 5^th at Sebring. Makowiecki with Jorg Bergmeister and Earl Bamber finished 7^th in GTLM at the Daytona 24 hours earlier this year. Henzler retired from the Daytona 24 hours in a Team Falken Porsche 991 but finished 3^rd in GTLM at Sebring. Bergmeister with Makowiecki and Bamber finished 7^th in GTLM at Sebring.

@ Silverstone WEC, Pilet and Makowiecki finished 7^th in GTE Pro after front suspension trouble.

@ Spa, Makowiecki and Lietz will drive this car.

#95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage GTE driven by Nicki Thiim/Christoffer Nygaard/Marco Sorensen (www.astonmartinracing.com)

This year may see the swansong of the current Vantage before it is replaced by it’s successor next year. The diameter of the Aston’s air intake restrictors has increased by 0.8mm this year.

The “Dane Train” moves up to GTE Pro this year. Nygaard finished 13^th in GTD at the Daytona 24 Hours earlier this year. Sorensen joins the team this year having been a winner in GP2 and Renault 3.5.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 4^th in GTE Pro after being in pole position.

#97 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage GTE driven by Darren Turner/Stefan Mucke/Rob Bell

@ Silverstone WEC, Turner and Mucke finished 5^th in GTE Pro.

#99 Aston Martin Racing V8 Aston Martin Vantage GTE driven by Fernando Rees/Alex MacDowall/Richie Stanaway

No longer having a link with Craft-Bamboo the car this year runs with Valero sponsorship.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 6^th in GTE Pro.

LMGTE Am (13 CARS) –(Orange number panels and Yellow headlamps. At least one bronze and one bronze or silver rated driver. All cars are on Michelin tyres except #66 Ferrari running on Dunlops).

#50 Larbre Competition Chevrolet Corvette C7.R driven by Gianluca Roda/Paolo Ruberti/Kristian Poulsen (www.larbre-competition.com)

Roda and Ruberti move over from the 8 Star/AF Corse Ferrari team.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 7^th in GTE Am despite a puncture and a one minute stopa and go for a pit stop violation.

Poulsen retired from the ELMS race driving the #68 Massive Motorsport GTC Aston Martin Vantage with Casper Elgaard and Simon Moller.

#53 Riley Motorsports-TI Automotive Dodge Viper GTS-R driven by Jeroen Bleekemolen/Ben Keating/Marc Miller

The car was originally the first reserve but made it in to the race after the withdrawal of #39 Team Sard-Morand Morgan.

The team finished 9^th in GTD at the Daytona 24 hours and Sebring in a Dodge Viper SRT, Keating also shered the winning GTD Viper. Goossens finished 4^th in GTD at Sebring.

#55 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 driven by Duncan Cameron/Matt Griffin/Alex Mortimer

The team received an automatic invitation after finishing 2^nd in LM GTE in the European Le Mans Series last year. Griffin finished 4^th in GTD at Daytona in a Ferrari 458.

@ Silverstone ELMS, Cameron and Griffin were joined by Aaron Scott and finished 3^rd in LM GTE.

#61 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 driven by Peter Ashley Mann/Raffaele Giammaria/Matteo Cressoni

@ Silverstone ELMS, the team (driving as car No 51) retired after 35 laps.

#62 Scuderia Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 driven by Bill Sweedler/Townsend Bell/Jeff Segal

The team received an automatic invitation after being nominated by the Tudor United Sports Car Championship (the other nominees Wayne Taylor Racing declined their invitation in LM P2).

Sweedler and Bell finished 6^th in GTD at the Daytona 24 hours in a Ferrari 458 and 3^rd at Sebring.

#66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 driven by George Richardson/Kuba Giermaziak/ Abdulaziz Al-Faisal

This is the only GTE Am car running on Dunlop tyres at Le Mans.

Al-Faisal won the Dubai 24 hours in January driving a Black Falcon Mercedes.

@ Silverstone ELMS, Richardson joined by Robert Smith and Sam Tordoff finished 2^nd in LM GTE.

#67 Team AAI Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (997) driven by Han-Chen Chen/Tatsuya Tanigawa/Carlo van Dam

The team received 2 automatic invitations (see #68 below) after finishing 1^st and 2^nd in GTC in last year’s Asian Le Mans Series. The team has sourced their 3 year old 997s from the Belgian Prospeed team.

#68 Team AAI Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (997) driven by Jun-San Chen/Ryohei Sakaguchi/?

#72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 driven by Viktor Shaitar/Aleksey Basov/Andrea Bertolini (www.smpracing.ru)

The team received an automatic invitation after winning LM GTE (and GTC) in the European Le Mans Series last year. Bertolini finished 14^th in GTLM at the Daytona 24 hours for Scuderia Corsa and 2^nd at Sebring.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 3^rd in GTE Am.

#77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR (991) driven by Patrick Dempsey/Patrick Long/Marco Seefried (www.patrickdempsey.com)

Actor/Racer Dempsey finished 3^rd in GTD at the Daytona 24 hours in a Wright Motorsports 911GT America. Long retired from the Daytona 24 hours in a Falken Tire Porsche 991 but finished 3^rd in GTLM at Sebring. Seefried finished 11^th in GTD at Sebring in a 991.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 6^th in GTE Am.

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 driven by Francois Perrodo/Emmanuel Collard/Rui Aguas (www.afcorse.it)

Aguas finished 4^th in GTD at the Daytona 24 hours in a Ferrari 458 and 10^th at Sebring. Perrodo and Collard (with Bruni and Vilander) retired from the race.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 2^nd in GTE Am. Aguas also retired in the ELMS race driving #81 Ferrari 458 with Stephen Wyatt and Michele Rugalo.

#88 Abu Dhabi – Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR (991) driven by Christian Ried/Khaled Al Qubaisi /Klaus Bachler

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 5^th in GTE Am.

#96 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage GTE driven by Roald Goethe/Stuart Hall/Francesco Castellacci

The team received an automatic invitation after winning the GTE Am class at last year’s Le Mans (although the winning “Dane Train” crew will race this year in GTE Pro). The team raced in ELMS in 2014 but Hall and Jamie Campbell-Walter won FIA GTE Am in 2013.

Goethe finished 8^th in the Dubai 24 hours in January driving a Gulf Racing Lamborghini Gallardo.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 4^th in GTE Am. Goethe finished 3^rd in the ELMS race driving the #85 Lamborghini Gallardo LPS60 in GTC with Daniel Brown and Archie Hamilton. Castelacci and Hall retired in the ELMS race driving the #62 AF Corse Ferrari 458 with Thomas Flohr.

#98 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage GTE driven by Paul Dalla Lana/Pedro Lamy/Mathias Lauda

The driving team finished 6^th in GTLM at the Daytona 24 hours (with Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke) and 6^th again at Sebring with Darren Turner. Niki Lauda’s son joins the team this year having previously run in the DTM.

@ Silverstone WEC, the team finished 1^st in GTE AM having started on pole position.

Reserve Entries (in the order that they will be invited to replace drop outs)

1 LMP2 #49 KCMG Oreca 03R (or 05)-Nissan driven by ?/?/?

Will take part in the Test day.

2 GTE-Am #60 Formula Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 driven by Johnny Laursen/Mikkel Mac Jensen/Andrea Rizzoli

Racing in this year’s ELMS Series. The team finished 6^th in GTE at Silverstone. Will take part in the Test day.

3 GTE-Am #86 Gulf Racing UK Porsche 911 RSR (991) driven by Michael Wainwright/Adam Carroll/Phil Keen

Phil Keen fiished 6^th overall in a Corvette DP at Daytona. Racing in this year’s ELMS Series. The team finished 1^st overall in GTE at Silverstone. Will take part in the Test day.

4 GTE-Am #65 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR (991) driven by ?/?/?

Will miss the Test day.

5 LMP2 #44 Ibanez Racing Oreca 03R-Nissan (Wolf GB08) driven by Michele La Rosa/ Yutaka Yamagishi

Racing in this Year’s ELMS Series. The team retired at Silverstone after 99 laps. Will take part in the Test day.

(There is no entry in Garage 56 for Innovative Technologies this year).

Cars appearing at the Test Day on Sunday 31^st May only.

GTE Am #81 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 driven by Pierguiseppe Perazzini/Marco Cioci/

Cioci finished 10^th in GTD at Sebring and retired from the ELMS race at Silverstone driving Ferrari 458s.

GTE Am #82 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 driven by Yannick Mallegol//

LMP3 #74 Team LNT Ginetta-Nissan driven by Michael Simpson/Gaetan Paletou

Paletou is a 2014 winner of the 2014 Europe Nissan Playstation Academy. They finished 2^nd to their team mates at the ELMS race at Silverstone in LMP3.

LMP3 #75 Team LNT Ginetta –Nissan driven by Sir Chris Hoy/Charlie Robertson

Sir Chris (6 times Olympic gold medal winning cyclist) and Robertson won LMP3 at theELMS race at Silverstone by a lap from their team mates.

LMP3 #73 Scuderia Villorba Corse Ginette-Nissan driven by Roberto Lacorte/Giorgio Sernagiotto

Reserve car at the Test day.

Timetable

09.00-18.00 Friday May 29^th Test Day Scrutineering @ the Circuit

08.30-15.00 Saturday May 30^th Test Day Scrutineering @ the Circuit

09.00-13.00 Sunday May 31^st Test Day Session 1

14.00-18.00 “ “ “ Test Day Session 2

14.30-19.00 Sunday June 7^th Scrutineering @ Place de la Republique

10.00-18.00 Monday June 8^th “ “ “

17.00 Tuesday June 9^th Drivers’ Autograph Session @ the Circuit

16.00-20.00 Wednesday June 10^th Free Practice Session

22.00-24.00 “ “ Qualifying Session 1

19.00-21.00 Thursday June 11^th Qualifying Session 2

22.00-24.00 “ “ Qualifying Session 3

17.30-19.00 Friday June 12^th Drivers’ Parade in the City Centre

09.00-09.45 Saturday June 13^th Warm Up

10.00-12.00 “ “ Support Races – Le Mans Legends

- Aston Martin Racing Festival

14.22 “ “ Beginning of starting procedure

15.00 “ “ Start of the 83^rd Le Mans 24 Hours by Grand Marshal Tom Kristensen

15.00 Sunday June 14^th Chequered Flag

FIA WEC & ELMS Events before Le Mans

WEC Prologue March 27^th/28^th Paul Ricard HTTT

April 12^th Silverstone 6 Hours

May 2^nd Spa 6 Hours

ELMS Tests March 23^rd/24^th Paul Ricard HTTT

April 11^th Silverstone 4 Hours

May 17^th Imola 4 Hours

Test Day – Sunday May 31st

Entries must be with the ACO by April 1st and up to 60 cars will be accepted.

Up to 5 drivers may drive in each car and declared by April 18^th.

All new drivers to Le Mans and drivers who haven’t raced at the track for over 5 years must complete a one day simulator test before driving on the circuit.

Anniversaries this year

10 years ago – Last win for the Audi R8 and Tom Kristensen beats Jacky Ickx’s record of 6 wins.

20 years ago – Last win by a “road-going” car at Le Mans – McLaren F1 GTR. First time the Driver Parade was held in the city centre.

Foundation of Club Arnage!

30 years ago – Same Joest Racing Porsche 956 wins for the 2^nd year running.

40 years ago – Derek Bell’s first win, driving a Gulf Mirage –Ford with Jacky Ickx.

50 years ago – Ferrari’s last overall win at Le Mans (Jochen Rindt/Masten Gregory in a 250LM).

60 years ago – First Jaguar “D” Type victory (Mike Hawthorn/Ivor Bueb) following Pierre Levegh’s crash resulting in over 80 fatalities.

80 years ago – Lagonda’s only win at Le Mans (John Hindmarsh/Luis Fontes).

90 years ago - First (and last) award of the Rudge-Whitworth Coupe Triennial to Robert Senechal & Alberic Locqueneux in a Chenard et Walcker (although they finished 13^th in that year’s race!).

SUPPORT RACES

There will be two support races on race day morning of 45 minutes each – the first for the Aston Martin Racing Festival where cars from the last 11 years such as the LMP1 Aston Martin Lola DBR1 and the GT class winning DBR9 will race against current cars such as the Vantage V8 GTE and the V12 Vantage GT3. There will also be demonstration laps from Aston Martin road cars of the future (www.astonmartinracing.com).

The other will be for “Legends” cars dating from 1949 to 1968 (www.motorracinglegends.com) . There will be up to 61 cars such as Ford GT40’s and Porsche 908s and 910s taking part.

Tony Light – Last updated on 17^th April 2015