With the GTE Pro class of the WEC picking up the slack of Audi’s departure in LMP1, endurance racing will get two world championships this season.
It’s hard to believe that just two years ago the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) was boasting of four manufacturers in its top LMP1-Hybrid class. With committed campaigns from Toyota, Audi, Porsche and newcomers Nissan, the WEC looked like it was in fine form.
But then first came the disastrous Nissan campaign. It was a result of an overly ambitious approach to building its LMP1 challenger that led to far too many teething troubles. The GTR-LM Nismo didn’t make its WEC debut until Le Mans that year and it went worse than they could have imagined it. Then came the VW Group’s announcements of its exit from both WEC and the WRC, that led to Volkswagen and Audi pulling out, respectively.
Then also came Rebellion Racing’s decision to drop down to the LMP2 class instead of competing as an LMP1 privateer, which essentially made it an also ran in the class, unable to match the might of the factory teams and their blank-cheque budgets.
This leaves the LMP1-H class with just two factory squads in Toyota and defending champions Porsche. The LMP1 class overall sees just three entrants with ByKolles Racing deciding to stick around and use the engine from Nissan’s failed LMP1 campaign.
Thanks to ByKolles there is also the added attraction of seeing Robert Kubica make his return to prototype racing. Fans will be eager to see the former Formula 1 winner, who was set to become one of its biggest stars, and how he fares.
Cup to Championship
Making up for the loss in manufacturers in the LMP1 class is the GT-LM class, in particular GTE-Pro, which will feature four manufacturers this year in Ferrari, Ford, Aston Martin and Porsche. The German sportscar firm will return with a full-fledged manufacturer team after having developed an all-new RSR model of its iconic 911. The car has already done battle in the two American endurance events that precede the start of the WEC season.
Second place in the 24 Hours of Daytona’s GT-LM class and seventh in the Sebring 12 Hours would have given Porsche engineers the chance to fine tune the car in their attempt to best their rivals over the course of the nine round WEC season as well as at Le Mans.
Due to the presence of these four manufacturers and BMW agreeing to enter the GTE Pro class, the FIA has decided to award world championship status to the category. The rumor mill is also rife with talk of McLaren joining the GTE Pro class as well after many years of competing in GT3.
All of this comes as welcome news to fans of endurance sportscar racing who were worried about Audi’s exit leaving a gap too big to fill for the WEC that had managed to attract a lot of positive press.
Although, the LMP2 class could also play a part in this. With a new engine supplier across the category and the cars being three seconds a lap faster than last year in pre-season testing, there is hope of increased competitiveness among the entrants. Former F1 driver Jean Eric-Vergne has linked up with ex-F1 squad Manor to compete in LMP2 this year. The likes of Nelson Piquet Jr, Nicolas Prost and Bruno Senna are also part of the LMP2 drivers’ field.
But ultimately the attention will go towards the fight between Porsche and Toyota in the LMP1-H class. Defending champion Neel Jani will be paired with former Audi driver Andre Lotterer and Nick Tandy in the #1 Porsche, that looks to be the strongest line-up in the field.
Can Toyota regain their WEC crown and end their Le Mans jinx this year? They have one less hurdle in their way.
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