28 Entries for WEC Season

Photo: Porsche

A total of 28 cars are set to take part in the FIA World Endurance Championship, following the release of the full-season entry list by the ACO on Thursday.

It marks a decrease from the 32 entries that were registered for the entire nine-round championship last year.

The LMP1 class sees a five-car entry, following the termination of Audi’s factory program at the end of last year and Rebellion Racing’s move to LMP2 competition.

Porsche and Toyota will head into the season as the lone factory prototype squads, joined by a single ByKolles CLM P1/01 Nissan, as the only LMP1 Privateer entrant, but with ex-Formula One star Robert Kubica as the nominated driver.

The new-look LMP2 class, which is open to four constructors, sees a field entirely made up of Oreca 07 machinery, including the two re-badged Alpine A470 Gibsons, fielded by defending class champions Signatech Alpine.

Signatech is joined by two-car teams from Rebellion, Manor, Jackie Chan DC Racing, as well as the two TDS Racing entries, one fielded under the G-Drive Racing banner.

Eight cars are set to do battle in GTE-Pro, between four different manufacturers, including the return of Porsche as a factory entrant with its new mid-engined 911 RSR.

Porsche will be joined by Ferrari, Ford and Aston Martin in the category, all with factory or works-supported entries.

GTE-Am, meanwhile, will see a five-car grid, with AF Corse fielding a pair of Ferrari 488 GTE cars for Spirit of Race and Clearwater Racing, joined by returning efforts from Aston Martin Racing, Proton Competition and Gulf Racing UK.

One team notably absent is Larbre Competition, which had made a last-ditch effort to field a GTE-Pro class Corvette C7.R, but fell through at the 11th hour.

“We approach our sixth WEC season in a very good position, with a solid base of manufacturer and stakeholder support, world-class partners and teams, and the best sports car drivers in the world,” said WEC CEO Gerard Neveu.

“The stability of our calendar offers relevance to the manufacturers in terms of their key markets outside Europe, such as North and Central America, China, Japan and the Middle East.

“It also allows us to continue growing our fan base around the world, as witnessed already by the number of fans who have already purchased tickets in advance of the season.

“Motorsport enthusiasts know there will be entertainment for the whole family, great access to the cars and drivers and that, no matter where in the world they are, they will witness non-stop drama and competition on track.”

The 2017 season kicks off with the Six Hours of Silverstone in April.

LMP1 (6 Entries)
1 – Porsche Team – Porsche 919 Hybrid – Neel Jani
2 – Porsche Team – Porsche 919 Hybrid – Timo Bernhard
4 – Team ByKolles – ENSO CLM P1/01 NISMO – Robert Kubica
7 – Toyota Gazoo Racing – Toyota TS050 Hybrid – Mike Conway
8 – Toyota Gazoo Racing – Toyota TS050 Hybrid – Sebastien Buemi

LMP2 (10 Entries)
13 – Vaillante Rebellion – Oreca 07 – Nelson Piquet Jr.
24 – CEFC Manor TRS Racing – Oreca 07 – Tor Graves
25 – CEFC Manor TRS Racing – Oreca 07 – Roberto Gonzalez
26 – G-Drive Racing – Oreca 07 – Roman Rusinov
28 – TDS Racing – Oreca 07 – Francois Perrodo
31 – Vaillante Rebellion – Oreca 07 – Nicolas Prost
35 – Signatech Alpine Matmut – Alpine A470 – Stephane Richelmi
36 – Signatech Alpine Matmut – Alpine A470 – Nicolas Lapierre
37 – Jackie Chan DC Racing – Oreca 07 – David Cheng
38 – Jackie Chan DC Racing – Oreca 07 – Ho-Pin Tung

GTE-Pro (8 Entries)
51 – AF Corse – Ferrari 488 GTE – James Calado
66 – Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Team UK – Ford GT – Stefan Muecke
67 – Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Team UK – Ford GT – Andy Priaulx
71 – AF Corse – Ferrari 488 GTE – Davide Rigon
91 – Porsche GT Team – Porsche 911 RSR – Richard Lietz
92 – Porsche GT Team – Porsche 911 RSR – Michael Christensen
95 – Aston Martin Racing – Aston Martin Vantage – Nicki Thiim
97 – Aston Martin Racing – Aston Martin Vantage – Darren Turner

GTE-Am (5 Entries)
54 – Spirit of Race –Ferrari 488 GTE – Thomas Flohr
61 – Clearwater Racing –Ferrari 488 GTE – Weng Sun Mok
77 – Dempsey Proton Racing –Porsche 911 RSR – Christian Ried
86 – Gulf Racing UK –Porsche 911 RSR – Michael Wainwright
98 – Aston Martin Racing –Aston Martin Vantage GTE – Paul Dalla Lana

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John