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 LMGTE Am Preview
The GTE-Am category will have seven cars this year, the same as the Pro category, and there will be four cars entered by privateers, as well as three entered by factory outfits. We saw some heroic performances at times by the Am drivers, notably at Le Mans by the 95 crew, and we could well see more of the same this year.
Larbre Competition
Car: Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
Entries: One
- Gianluca Roda (ITA)/Paolo Ruberti (ITA)/Kristian Poulsen (DEN)
Former ELMS LMP2 team Larbre enter the World Endurance Championship for 2015 with the only Corvette in the field. The team formerly entered in the WEC with the previous generation Corvette back in 2012 and 2013.
AF Corse
Car: Ferrari 458 Italia GT2
Entries: One (three for Le Mans)
- Duncan Cameron (GBR)/Alex Mortimer (GBR)/Matt Griffin (ROI)
- Peter Mann (USA)/TBA (TBA)/TBA (TBA)
- Francois Perrodo (FRA)/Emmanuel Collard (FRA)/Rui Aguas (POR)
Ferrari reduce their Am effort down to just one full-time car this year, after running three at Spa last year, and four at Le Mans. Perenco president Francois Perrodo and Emmanuel Collard both move to the team from Prospeed Competition whilst Rui Aguas returns to the team after driving for some privateers.
Scuderia Corsa
Car: Ferrari 458 Italia GT2
Entries: Zero (one for Le Mans)
- Bill Sweedler (USA)/Townsend Bell (USA)/TBA (TBA)
JMW Motorsport
Car: Ferrari 458 Italia GT2
Entries: Zero (one for Le Mans)
- George Richardson (GBR)/TBA (TBA)/TBA (TBA)
Team AAI
Car: Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
Entries: Zero (two for Le Mans)
- Jun-San Chen (TAW)/TBA (TBA)/TBA (TBA)
- Han-Chen Chen (TAW)/TBA (TBA)/TBA (TBA)
SMP Racing
Car: Ferrari 458 Italia GT2
Entries: One
- Viktor Shaitar (RUS)/Aleksey Basov (RUS)/Andrea Bertolini (ITA)
SMP have a GT car for this season as well, with that car being the Ferrari 458. The notable name amongst this line-up is Andrea Bertolini, who won the FIA GT1 title back in 2010. Viktor Shaitar moves down from the LMP2 class whilst Aleksey Basov joins the WEC from the ELMS series, where he finished third in class last year.
Proton Racing
Car: Porsche 911 RSR
Entries: Two
- Patrick Dempsey (USA)/Patrick Long (USA)/Marco Seefried (GER)
- Christian Ried (GER)/Klaus Bachler (AUT)/Khaled Al Qubaisi (UAE)
Proton split into two separate teams last year, albeit with the same suffix. The 77 crew which includes actor Patrick Dempsey join the fun from the USCC, and Patrick Long joins from the same team as well. Marco Seefried is the third driver out of this group. The 88 crew which notched up two class podiums last year remains unchanged.
Aston Martin Racing
Car: Aston Martin Vantage GTE
Entries: Two
- Roald Goethe (GER)/Stuart Hall (GBR)/Francesco Castellacci (ITA)
- Paul Dalla Lana (CAN)/Pedro Lamy (POR)/Mathias Lauda (AUT)
The assault on the Pro category wasn’t as successful last year, but Aston Martin dominated the Am class, winning all bar one race and the 95 crew taking four wins and four seconds. Following this, Aston Martin has increased their entries to five in total for the WEC, moving the 95 to the Pro class and adding the 96 car. In the 96 are former drivers Roald Goethe and Stuart Hall with the third driver being reigning FIA GT3 Champion Francesco Castellacci, whilst the 98 car features the same line-up bar Mathias Lauda replacing Christoffer Nygaard.
Be sure to read the following:
Part 2: LMGTE Pro (Tomorrow)
Part 3: LMP2 (Tuesday)
Part 4: LMP1 (Wednesday)
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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