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2015 FIA WEC Silly Season Update 2: GTE-Pro/GTE-Am

A look at the confirmed and likely GTE entries for FIA WEC in 2015…

Photo: Porsche

Photo: Porsche

With the third season of the globe-trotting sports car racing series now in the books, Sportscar365 takes a look at the confirmed, likely and potential entries in GTE-Pro and GTE-Am for next year’s FIA World Endurance Championship with the second “Silly Season” update for 2015.

GTE-PRO:

Confirmed Entries (5-6 cars):

AF Corse — The Amato Ferrari-led squad will return in defense of its World Title. Driver lineups have yet to be announced for the expected pair of Ferrari F458 Italias, although it would seem logical for Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander, Davide Rigon and James Calado to all continue. (2 cars)

Aston Martin Racing — The factory Prodrive squad will return with at least one Pro class Aston Martin. Darren Turner and Stefan Muecke are expected to continue, with the Craft-Bamboo Racing entry also poised to continue, either under the AMR banner again or potentially on its own. (1-2 cars)

Porsche Team Manthey — Porsche will continue its factory 911 RSR effort for a third consecutive year, with the provisional driver lineup of Patrick Pilet, Fred Makowiecki, Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen. Makowiecki and Christensen, however, could be off to the German manufacturer’s LMP1 effort for Le Mans, which would alter the pairings. (2 cars)

Possible Entry (1 car):

ProSpeed Competition — The Belgian squad, led by Rudi Penders, had been evaluating a possible step up to the Pro class, although it’s unclear at this point if that is any longer feasible. (1 car possible)

Estimated Car Count: 5-7 entries

GTE-AM:

Confirmed Entries (5-7 cars):

Aston Martin Racing  AMR will continue with at least two customer Vantage GTEs, one for Paul Dalla Lana and the other seeing the return of Gulf Racing UK with Roald Goethe and Stuart Hall. It’s believed the championship-winning “Dane Train” will not return, with two of its three drivers having secured programs elsewhere for 2015. (2 cars)

Dempsey Proton Racing — Patrick Dempsey will mount a full-season attack with a Proton Competition-run Porsche 911 RSR, with American Porsche factory driver Patrick Long as his co-driver. The third, likely American, Silver-rated driver has yet to be announced. (1 car)

AF Corse — The Italian squad will continue with at least one customer Ferrari F458 Italia, and as many as three, with an existing Am driver poised to take his program to the Prancing Horse. Paolo Ruberti and Gianluca Roda will be in one AF entry, with other customers likely lined up as well. (2-3 cars)

SMP Racing — After two GTE titles in the ELMS, the Russian team will field a Ferrari F458 Italia alongside its two new BR01 Nissans in LMP2. Newly crowned LMP2 World Champion Sergey Zlobin is expected to be one of the drivers. (1 car)

Likely/Possible Entries (1-2 cars):

Proton Competition — Christian Ried is working to again field his Porsche 911 RSR, although the status of 2013 co-drivers Khaled Al Qubaisi and Klaus Bachler are unknown at this stage. (1 car likely)

ProSpeed Competition — The Belgian squad could return next year with its Porsche 911 RSR, although not much news has come from the team as of late. (1 car possible)

Partial-Season (2 cars):

Scuderia Corsa — In addition to its confirmed Le Mans entry, Bill Sweelder and Townsend Bell could contest additional early season FIA WEC rounds in preparation for the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic in their Ferrari F458 Italia. (1 car)

GB Autosport — The Michael Avenatti-led GB Autosport squad could be taking a similar path, with a limited season FIA WEC program being evaluated for the Tully’s Coffee-sponsored effort. Multiple car options are understood to be under consideration. (1 car)

Estimated Car Count: 5-10 full-season entries

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

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