Drivers Reflect on End of WEC’s GTE-Pro Era

This weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship season finale in Bahrain marks the final race for GTE-Pro, a class renowned for intense competition between manufacturers with their official drivers and teams, as well as the occasional privateer.

For just over a decade since its renaming from GT2 to GTE, the platform has consistently produced tight racing that has at times stolen the show from faster categories.

During the WEC era that started in 2012, GTE-Pro attracted Porsche, Ferrari, Ford, Aston Martin, BMW and Chevrolet.

Only half of those are still present, and next year the class will end as Ferrari and Porsche move up to Hypercar while Chevrolet team Corvette Racing heads to GTE-Am.

Ahead of the category’s eight-hour swan song, drivers who represented each WEC manufacturer provide their reflections on the racing, the technology and the team operations that made GTE-Pro such a highly competitive and popular arena for so long.

Kevin Estre – Porsche driver who won the 2018-19 world title with Michael Christensen

“I replaced Michael in the No. 91 car at Spa in 2015. I was a McLaren driver [at the time] and McLaren let me do this WEC race.

“Porsche needed a driver because of clashes and I did my first race in the 911 RSR. I had no experience in the RSR and we finished third. This was my first taste of this project and of the RSR and it was good.

“After that, I got a contract offer and from there I started. It was an important race with this car for me.

“You have a full factory team and factory drivers, which brings everything to a very good level and you have the cars, which are very close in terms of concept. Much closer than in LMP1, which makes the racing better. Because obviously we never have a huge difference in terms of engine, grip or braking. 

“It’s always very close so that’s why I think it’s bringing this great competition. Plus you have quite big tire wear, bigger than the prototype, which then opens up the strategy and makes it a big part of the racing.

“It’s the best a brand can do with a car that represents the brand. The best drivers which are specific GT drivers and have put in all the effort over three to four decades to win every race in this category without stepping out, always being in this category.

“This makes the category so special.”

Alessandro Pier Guidi – two-time world champion and Le Mans winner with Ferrari

“I think it’s a shame that it’s going to end. I like everything about GTE-Pro. Part of my heart is with the 488 because it gave me a lot of victories and success.

“But let’s see how the future is with the new Hypercars. Maybe something better is starting.

“I remember in my first year in 2017, at Austin, we had a puncture and went out from the box on cold tires, super close with the Porsche, and there was a nice fight.

“Even this year, at Spa for example. We didn’t have the speed in the dry conditions, but the wet made a big difference so we had a nice fight and managed to win. At the end, every race was a battle in GTE-Pro. This is why it’s sad that it’s going to end.

“In the last few years, it has been us against Porsche. We had so many fights every race.

“For me, the competition has always been quite fair between us. Hard fights, but with respect from our side to them. We know they are always doing a very good job.”

Harry Tincknell – Ford Chip Ganassi Racing driver and 2020 Le Mans class winner with Aston Martin

“The Ford project, when it was first announced, captured the imagination with Ford coming back after 50 years. The GT was a very different but cool-looking car.

“With all that history, there was quite a lot of pressure involved. It was the golden period of GTE-Pro, to be honest, when the GTE-Pro class was looked at even more closely than LMP1.

“It was incredibly competitive, racing against all the best GT drivers in the world.

“We were testing all the time. Pre-Le Mans testing was pretty intense. We were taking 60 to 70 people to the track every weekend. It was a high level.

“After the first two-year window, the cars were being upgraded and everyone was bringing new packages. It was very competitive and Ford took it very seriously.

“Nevertheless, when it went down to seven or eight cars when I won with Aston, I think it was still just as hard to win. It was a bit like DPi in the last few years.

“Looking at 2020, there was never a minute between us and the No. 51 Ferrari. That year, Aston didn’t change brakes. That was something we moved forward on a lot, getting it down to one pit stop. All that development was huge.”

Gianmaria Bruni – Most successful driver in WEC GTE-Pro after five seasons with Ferrari and four with Porsche

“Obviously, I was lucky. It’s not easy to get from one big manufacturer to another big manufacturer and compete and fight. Even here [in Bahrain] we are fighting for a championship.

“I was able to do lots of races for Ferrari, winning lots of races and championships and doing the same for Porsche. Obviously, it’s the end of an era.

“It’s like if you are reading a nice book. You hope it never finishes and you never reach the end, because you really enjoyed it. 

“For me, GT endurance racing is natural racing where people have a nice car in the garage and they see their cars running at Le Mans or fighting for a world championship.

“That’s why GT racing is so popular and creates so much interest around it. People can say ‘I’m proud to have a 911, because it just won Le Mans’. It lasts 24 hours with crazy speeds on this French circuit.”

Tommy Milner – 2015 Le Mans winner with Corvette Racing and driver on the team’s full-season program this year

“We do keep having this delayed funeral for this class in some ways. It will still sort of exist next year as well [as GTE-Am]. To me it all seems very temporary. Yes, we’re losing this class in its current guise but over the years it’s obviously morphed from GT2 into GTE-Pro and all of these different classes.

“Certainly having been a part of the full season this year, you see how competitive this class is, as it always has been, but even more so, it seems like every year, Ferrari and Porsche get that little bit better. 

“We, obviously, try to continue and improve every single year and get better as well. 

“To see all of that progress stop is unfortunate but I still think that professional sports car GT racing maybe has a lull here for a year or two but it will come back for sure. 

“I don’t reflect back and think, ‘Oh this is the end of an era.’ It is in some ways but I don’t think it will be too long before we see another pro GT class at Le Mans or whatever. 

“It’s cool to be a part of what is the last GTE-Pro race. I think professional GT racing has been an anchor for sports car racing forever. It should continue and I hope it does very soon.”

Antonio Felix da Costa – Driver in BMW’s brief 2018-19 effort with the M8 GTE

“I think I was lucky enough to participate in GTE-Pro in its last year of the golden era. We raced at Le Mans with four Fords, two Corvettes, four Porsches, two BMWs, three of four Ferraris; it was like 17 cars. 

“It was amazing. I remember going down the Mulsanne Straight side drafting with Scott Dixon and Tommy Milner. It was just a golden era. I had a lot of fun racing. 

“Unfortunately the program wasn’t successful enough, so I was never in a position to produce a good result at Le Mans but we pulled it once or twice that year with the M8 GTE and had a podium or two. 

“Some decent results here and there, but unfortunately not a good enough consistent, strong car to perform overall.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to always be in the bubble where the most competitive cars are.

“I really believe that that year, that GTE-Pro class was the most competitive class. Obviously, that era of GT racing was unbelievable. It was great to be a part of it.”

Nicki Thiim – Two-time world champion with Aston Martin Racing in different types of Vantage GTE

“I’m sure it will go down as the coolest and best-performing GT car that I’ll drive.

“I can only say that the future is not going to have as sparkling a GT car as this. The era will be remembered for many years and I’m just proud to be part of it: winning two world championships, setting up the car and driving it to the limit of what it’s built for.

“In 10 years, everyone is going to talk about it.

“It’s been cool to have tried both generations of Aston, and being part of developing the new one.

“In the past years, people were complaining about not enough Pro cars, but I still think we delivered a show when we were there with six or seven cars on the grid.

“Everyone talks about GT3, but I still think GTE has provided more spectacular racing. Now we’re going into the future and it’s going to be something else with LMDh and LMH.

“I think, from the fan perspective, it’s going to be such an awesome thing to watch.”

WEC GTE-Pro Wins per Manufacturer
Ferrari – 30
Porsche – 20
Aston Martin – 18
Ford – 6
Chevrolet – 2

WEC GTE-Pro Driver Wins
Gianmaria Bruni – 16
James Calado – 12
Alessandro Pier Guidi – 11
Richard Lietz – 10
Toni Vilander – 9
Darren Turner, Stefan Muecke, Kevin Estre, Michael Christensen – 8
Marco Sorensen, Giancarlo Fisichella – 7
Nicki Thiim, Frederic Makowiecki – 6
Harry Tincknell – 5

Statistics exclude 2022 8 Hours of Bahrain

John Dagys, Daniel Lloyd and Davey Euwema contributed to this report