WEC Silverstone: LMP1 preview

LMP1H

Will Porsche be able to dominate again after clinching all titles in 2015 ? To do so, they 'll have to beat Audi and Toyota again, but both challengers are racing with brand new cars this season. Amongst the updates in the regulations are a restricted fuel flow to get to an even higer fuel efficiency, a maximum of three aero packages for the whole season and a maximum amount of time for road and windtunnel testing. Despite those new 'restrictions', the laptimes at the prologue were very impressive and it's beleieved that all factory cars will have a combined power (engine + hybrid) of 1000 hp or even more. 

Defending champions and Le Mans winner Porsche introduced a new 919 Hybrid last year. No new car for Porsche this year but a heavily revised version of the 919.  For the new season, the car has had some significant aero and performance upgrades to take on the competition of both new challengers presented by Audi and Toyota. The powerplant of the 919 is still the impressive 2-litre turbocharged V4, combined with two energy recuperation systems, one at each axle. Porsche stays in the 8 megajoule class just as last year. 

Improvements to the engine are a significant weight and fuel consumption reduction. Also both energy recovery systems of the hybrid drive have been improved in terms of efficiency.  Porsche immediately showed their speed at the Prologue last month and was outright fastest during all sessions. 

No change in the driver squads with Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber in the #1 and Romain Dumas, Neel Jani & Marc Lieb in the #2 car. 

Audi was the first to show its new R18 at the end of last year and immediately started their extentsive test program at Sebring. The all new R18 has been completely redesigned and features new and optimised aerodynamics, more efficiency and a completely new hybrid system. 

The engine is still the 4 litre V6 powerplant, with an increased efficiency, resulting in a much lower fuel consumption. The current V6 TDI consumes a massive 32,4% less fuel than the first generation in 2011. Audi stepped away from their flywheel hybrid system on to an electrochemical storage system with batteries, comparable to the system Porsche uses. With the use of this new technology, Audi steps up to the 6 megajoule class, enabling the energy system to recover 50% more energy. 

No change in the driver line-ups; Marcel Fässler, Benoit Treluyer and Andre Lotterer will race the #7, the #8 will be driven by Lucas Di Grassi, Oliver Jarvis and Loïc Duval. 

At the prologue, Audi's R18 wasn't clear of technical gremlins, will they have had time enough to resolve those and have a reliable machine at the start of the race on Sunday ? 

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Toyota Gazoo Racing struggled last year to keep up with the pace of the Audi's, and more important of the Porsches. Early in the season the decision fell to stop the development of the TS040 and start working on its successor, the TS050. Toyota's new weapon made its debut at the prologue at Paul Ricard last month. 

The TS050 Hybrid is – just as the Audi – a completely new car, with a new engine and new hybrid system. No more screaming V8 in the back of the car but a 2,4 litre twin turbocharged V6 petrol engine and an 8 megajoule Hybrid system, putting Toyota in the same hybrid class as Porsche.  Toyota also switched to a battery operated hybrid system, recovering energy under braking or drawn from the engine though 2 electric motors.  

During the Prologue last month, the TS050 already showed some very fast pace, putting in several (very) quick sector times, but never seemed to push throughout for a whole lap. It's also not clear in which aero configuration the car ran, practice and qualifying at Silverstone will really show how fast the TS050 is. 

The #5 will be in the hands of the 2014 World Champion Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima again. After the retirement of Alex Wurz at the end of last season, Kamui Kobayashi will take his place in the #6, sharing the car with Stéphane Sarrazin and Mike Conway. Wurz has been named Grand Marshall at Le Mans in June, but is also listed as reserve driver for Toyota.

LMP1 (privateers)

Rebellion racing retain their Rebellion R-One, powered by the twin turbo AER P60 V6 engine. As opposed to last year, Rebellion uses an earlier version of the engine, which is less powerful but has proven itself more reliable. 

ByKolles Racing is the final competitor in the LMP1 class, with the CLM P1/01. Kolles worked hard to improve reliability and speed of the car, let's hope they can hook themselves up to the tempo of both Rebellions. Simon Trummer and Oliver James Webb will race the complete WEC season, together with Audi driver Pierre Kaffer. As Kaffer has other racing commitments during Silverstone and Spa, he will be replaced by James Rossiter at the first two races of the season. 

Kristof Vermeulen
Prologue pictures by Lofty.

WEC SIlverstone : LMP2 Preview

11 cars on a very competitive LMP2 grid this year, with a few new teams in the mix with very high ambitions. 4 different chassis will race in the class this year : the Oreca 05 (of which 2 are rebranded into Alpine), SMP's BR01, a Gibson 015S and the Ligier JSP2. LMP2 might be fingerlicking good again, even better than last year. 

First up is the title defenders G-Drive Racing. A major change in the team this year, as it will not be run by OAK racing anymore but by Jota Sport. Also in ELMS, Jota will run under the bright orange G-Drive flag. Roman Rusinov defends his title and will be joined by Frenchman Nathanaël Berthon and Audi factory driver Rene Rast. A very strong line-up again, aiming for no less than a second consecutive title in their Oreca05/Nissan.  

SMP Racing puts 2 of the BR01/Nissans on this years startgrid. They struggled a bit for pace at the prologue, but some good finishes in ELMS last season really showed what this car is capable of. Mikhail Aleshin put the car on pole at the Rolex 24, showing that there's still a lot of potential in this prototype. The #27 will be in the hands of Nicolas Minassian, Maurizio Mediani and David Markozov. In the second car it's a complete Russian line up with former F1 driver Vitaly Petrov, Kirill Ladygin and Victor Shaytar at the wheel.  

Tequila Patron ESM starts the WEC campaign on a high after back to back wins at the Daytona 24 hours and the 12 hours of Sebring, a unique performance which hasn't been done since 1998.  In 2016 the team will operate from the Oreca headquarters in France. 2015 was sometimes hard for the team which sometimes struggled and learned throughout their maiden season in WEC. Most of the tracks were new for the drivers and the Honda engine struggled to be competitive without a BoP adjustment. This season the team will run the Gibson-Nissan engine, which the Ligier chassis was orginally designed around.  Returning drivers Ed Brown, Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek will share the #30 Tequila Patrón ESM Ligier. Pipo Derani, who impressed in Daytona and Sebring, will join Chris Cumming and ESM veteran Ryan Dalziel in the #31 Ligier JSP2/Nissan. 

2 Alpine A460 branded Oreca05/Nissans will be on the grid this season. Both will be run by Signatech Alpine but under a different team banner. The #36 being the Signatech car, recplacing their Oreca03 in which they had a strong end tot the season last year. Gustavo Menezes, former Toyota factory driver Nicolas Lapierre and Stéphane Richelmi driving this car. The #35 will race under the Baxi DC Racing Alpine name, the team owned by David Cheng, winning the LMP3 title in the Asian Le Mans Series earlier this year. David Cheng will drive the car himself, joined by Ho-Pin Tung and Nelson Pantiatici.   

Strakka Racing started last season in the Dome LMP2 but switched to the Gibson chassis after a few races. In 2016, they return with the same Nissan powered Gibson 015S. At the prologue last month, Strakka showed some outright speed, putting in the second fastest time in LMP2 after a trouble-free 2 days of testing. No changes in the #42 driver line-up with Nick Leventis, Jonny Kane and Danny Watts on duty again. 

RGR Sport by Morand is a new team in the LMP2 class, founded by Mexican Ricardo Gonzalez who is also the promotor of the WEC race in Mexico city. The Ligier JSP2/Nissan will be run by the experienced Morand team. Gonzalez has built a very strong driver line-up around him with Bruno Senna returning to the World Endurance Championship and into the prototype class. Filipe Albuquerque, Audi factory driver and racing with Jota the past season completes the driving squad. Although a new team, this is one to keep an eye on this season, they might go all the way in the title race. 

Last, but not least, its another new team entering the WEC with a 2 car effort. Only one car has been entered for Le Mans, as the second was introduced only after the invités for the 24 hour race were announced. After John Booth and Graeme Lowdon left the Manor Formula 1 team, their interest shifted to the WEC season. After buying an Oreca 05/Nissan, the first car was entered in the WEC, including the Le Mans 24 Hours. A few weeks later, they obtained a second chassis which was previously owned by KCMG, giving them the opportunity to field a second car in the WEC. 

A mix of young and experienced drivers will defend the Manor colors. The #44 car, which will also race at Le Mans, will be driven by Tor Graves, former F1 driver Will Stevens and James Jakes who has raced in Indycar lately. Driving duties in the #45 are for Matthew Rao, Richard Bradley who won Le Mans last year with KCMG and was runner up in the championship and Roberto Merhi. 

WEC Silverstone : GTE preview

GTE Pro

Since the announcement of Fords return to Le Mans and the WEC, most of the focus towards the GTE-Pro class has been on the new Ford GT. Ford is aiming for a podium finish at their first race in Europe, but they will face fierce competition from all other manufacturers.

50 years after the first win of the Ford GT40 at Le Mans, Ford returns to endurance racing with a stunning new race car. Chip Ganassi Racing runs both teams in Europe and the USA. The #66 Ford GT will be driven by Olivier Pla and Stefan Mücke, coming over from Aston Martin. They will be joined by American Billy Johnson, who has successfull been racing in IMSA series and was one of the first development drivers of the new Ford GT. In the #67 Andy Priaulx, who left BMW behind after a long and succesfull career at the German brand, leads the driver squad and will be joined by Scotsman Marino Franchitti. In Silverstone, Spa and Le Mans, Harry Tincknell will join the team.

AF Corse fields 2 factory backed brand new Ferrari 488 GTE's. No more atmospheric engines in the Ferrari, as the 488 is turbo engined. Long time Ferrari driver Gianmaria Bruni will drive the #51 again, this year joined by James Calado, who raced in the team's #71 last year. In the 2016 #71 Sam Bird, who raced succesfully in LMP2 last year at G-Drive Racing, is now racing as a Ferrari factory driver and will join Davide Rigon in the 488 GTE. As for both Porsche and Aston Martin, Silverstone will be the first race in Europe for the new Ferrari.

Aston Martin, no longer in the blue/orange Gulf livery but back to their iconic British Racing Green colors, enters two V8 Vantage GTE's. Aston switched from Gulf to Total branding and races on Dunlop tyres instead of Michelin this season. With an updated aero package and a huge rear diffusor, the Vantage seems ready to take on the fight in the GTE-Pro class. The #95 will be driven by Nicki Thiim and Marco Sörensen who will be joined by Darren Turner this season. Fernando Rees, Richie Stanaway and Jonny Adam will race the #97 in blue/yellow livery (except for Silverstone, with Jonny Adam racing at Brands Hatch this weekend in British GT).

No official Porsches this season, as the German team is working on the development of the new for 2017 911 RSR. Dempsey-Proton Racing will race in the Pro class with a 911 RSR for reigning WEC GT champion Richard Lietz and his works driver colleague Michael Christensen.

GTE Am

No SMP racing anymore in GT to defend their title, focussing on their BR01, and a grid of 6 cars in Silverstone.

We'll see 3 Porsches in the GTE-Am class this season. Abu Dhabi – Proton Racing leading the Porsche armada with the #88 911 RSR. In their third season in the WEC, the car will be driven again by Khaled Al Qubaisi. He will be joined by David Heinemeiner Hansson and Porsche factory driver Patrick Long, who raced aside Patrick Dempsey last year. Long however will be replaced by Klaus Bachler in Silverstone, as he has other racing commitments in the USA this weekend.

KCMG returns to the WEC, not in the LMP2 class as last year but in GTE-Am with a Porsche 911 RSR. Proton Competition will run the car in the KCMG colors. The #78 will be driven by Porsche factory driver Wolf Henzler who will contest his first complete season in WEC after racing in the States for 11 years. He will be joined by Proton boss Christian Ried and Joel Camathias.

The third Porsche will be fielded by UK team Gulf Racing Porsche. The team has been active in ELMS the past seasons and now steps up to the WEC. The blue/orange car in Gulf colors will be driven by Adam Caroll, Ben Barker and Mike Wainwright.

There are single entries for 3 other constructors: Corvette, Aston Martin and Ferrari. AF Corse fields one F458 Italia for Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Aguas in #83. After an attempt to step up to GTE Pro that ultimately didn't come through, Larbre Competition is back with their Corvette C7R again. Paulo Ruberti, Yutaka Yamagishi and Pierre Ragues will drive what is probably the best sounding machine on the GTE grid. Finally there's the Aston Martin Vantage V8 of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda, which retains the same drivers as last year. Two major differences though, Dunlop rubbers instead of Michelin and no more Gulf colors, following the switch to Total by Aston Martin.

Kristof Vermeulen