Sportscar racing is well and truly having its best spell since the era of the monstrous Group C cars of the 1980s and early 1990s. With a championship worthy of some of the fastest cars and drivers in the world on some of the greatest racing facilities in the world, the World Endurance Championship has only grown stronger and stronger ever since it first burst onto the scene in 2012. Since then, the entry list has grown so much that the maximum entry limit has been increased for 2015 to cater the ever-growing demand to run a sportscar team. Fans of sportscar and endurance racing will be treated to no less than 35 cars for the full season, with 56 planned for Le Mans – pretty incredible compared to the lacklustre grid that F1 is boasting at the moment. All 35 full-time entries are noted, as well as the 56 entered for Le Mans, although I will go into detail on the further 21 entries (all marked in red) closer to the time of the big event.
2015 WEC LMP1 Preview
This is one of, if not, the most interesting championships in the world. With no less than four different solutions to the hybrid question, and the class being merged into one once again (it ran as LMP1-Hybrid and LMP1-Lightweight last year), 11 P1 cars (eight of which are hybrid) will take to the grid for majority of the whole season.
Toyota Racing
Car: Toyota TS040 Hybrid
Entries: Two
- Anthony Davidson (GBR)/Sebastien Buemi (SUI)/Kazuki Nakajima (JPN)
- Alexander Wurz (AUT)/Stephane Sarrazin (FRA)/Mike Conway (GBR)
Toyota’s phenomenal TS040 Hybrid which boasted 1000PS last year dominated the championship, taking their first drivers’ and manufacturers’ title in the World Endurance Championship. Although they failed to win Le Mans, they still secured victory by over fifty points ahead of arch rivals Audi. Their driver line-up has one or two notable changes with Kazuki Nakajima taking Nicolas Lapierre’s place in what will now be the #1 car. Replacing Nakajima in what will be the #2 car is former test driver and IndyCar race winner Mike Conway, who leaves his role in the American series.
Team ByKolles
Car: CLM P1/01-AER
Entries: One
- Simon Trummer (SUI)/Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA)/Pierre Kaffer (GER)
The team which were ‘Lotus’ last season which appeared for the second half of the year moves into the pure LMP1 class following the end of the LMP1-L category. They will be turning up with the same machine which guided the team to two podiums in class last season. GP2 runner Simon Trummer is joined by former Red Bull Racing F1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi and by former Audi driver Pierre Kaffer.
Audi Sport Team Joest
Car: Audi R18 e-tron quattro (Hybrid)
Entries: Two (three for Le Mans)
- Andre Lotterer (GER)/Benoit Treluyer (FRA)/Marcel Fassler (SUI)
- Oliver Jarvis (GBR)/Lucas di Grassi (BRA)/ Loic Duval (FRA)
- Marco Bonanomi (ITA)/ Filipe Albuquerque (POR)/ Rene Rast (GER)
Audi will be desperate to bounce back from last season’s calamities. After being outclassed by quite some way in terms of power by Toyota, this hints towards a new engine coming in. By the end of the season, Porsche were getting the upper hand on the German squad as well. The team which was the #2 crew last year remains the same in what will now be the #7 car, whilst Oliver Jarvis comes in to try and fill the massive void left by Tom Kristensen, who retired last season.
Rebellion Racing
Car: Rebellion R-One-AER
Entries: Two
- Nicolas Prost (FRA)/Nick Heidfeld (GER)/Mathias Beche (SUI)
- Dominik Kraihamer (AUT)/Alexandre Imperatori (SUI)/Daniel Abt (GER)
The ever-popular Swiss team returns as promised in 2015. The biggest change is the movement from Toyota V8 engines to turbocharged V6 AER engines in an attempt to close up to the other P1 cars, which will be tricky. The 12 car remains the same as last year whilst Dominik Kraihamer is the only returning driver in the 13 car. GP2 and Formula e star Daniel Abt moves to the series with Rebellion, whilst former KCMG driver Alexandre Imperatori moves up a class. As a result of the engine change however, Rebellion will miss the Silverstone and Spa rounds.
Porsche Team
Car: Porsche 919 Hybrid
Entries: Two (three for Le Mans)
- Timo Bernhard (GER)/Mark Webber (AUS)/Brendon Hartley (NZL)
- Romain Dumas (FRA)/Neel Jani (SUI)/Marc Lieb (GER)
- Nico Hülkenberg (GER)/Earl Bamber (NZL)/Nick Tandy (GBR)
With all of this talk about Nissan coming in, many have forgotten about the team which won the final race of the season last year: Porsche. As the only top manufacturer to be running with an identical line-up to last season, I would expect them to hit the ground running far better than last season, where they proved to be quick but not necessarily reliable nor strong on tyres. With as many poles as Toyotas last season, with the #14 crew taking more poles than any other, the speed is certainly there in the 919.
Nissan Motorsports
Car: Nissan GT-R LM Nismo (Hybrid)
Entries: Two (three for Le Mans)
- Tsugio Matsuda (JPN)/Lucas Ordonez (SPA)/Alex Buncombe (GBR)
- Harry Tinknell (GBR)/Olivier Pla (FRA)/Michael Krumm (GER)
- Marc Gene (SPA)/Jann Mardenborough (GBR)/Max Chilton (GBR)
Nissan’s front-engined, front-wheel drive car has already made many people raise an eyebrow. With a driver line-up ranging from former F1 drivers to a gamer with seemingly everything in between, with youth and experience in abundance, expect a lot of fireworks from this squad. Nissan are very serious about their assault on the WEC despite their odd car, and that is clear with their third car for Le Mans. Nissan could well surprise many, including myself this season. One concern however is the fact that the team failed a crash test, and will not be ready until the 24 Hour event.
Be sure to read the following:
Part 1: LMGTE Am
Part 2: LMGTE Pro
Part 3: LMP2
And be sure to request to meet up with me at the Six Hours of Silverstone! Just send me a tweet.
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