Silverstone Friday Notebook

Photo: John Dagys

***FIA WEC drivers gathered for the traditional group photo Friday morning, prior to the start of on-track activity at Silverstone. Twenty nine cars are set to take part in Sunday’s season-opener.

***As reported by Sportscar365 on Thursday, look for an announcement on the proposed 2017 LMP2 regulations tomorrow. A press conference involving FIA and ACO officials has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. local time.

***Christian Klien has been a late addition to the ByKolles Racing CLM P1/01 AER as a third driver, joining Vitantonio Liuzzi and Simon Trummer, the latter who arrived late this morning after being stranded in Barcelona due to the French air traffic control strike. Klien was originally due to drive for Team SARD-Morand, which withdrew its two LMP2 entries on Wednesday.

***The third seat in the ByKolles entry was originally due to be taken by Pierre Kaffer, who tested with the team at the Prologue but is on Blancpain Endurance Series duty this weekend in Monza.

***There have been a number of pre-season Balance of Performance adjustments to the GTE classes. Included is a 10 kg weight increase for the Ferrari F458 Italia GT and Aston Martin V8, with the Aston also getting a 0.3 mm smaller air restrictor. The Porsche 911 RSR loses 10 kgs, with no adjustment for the Corvette C7.R. Note that the weight increase for the Ferrari is for GTE-Pro only.

***Following a hectic filming schedule, Patrick Dempsey arrived at Silverstone Friday afternoon, just prior to Free Practice 2. The Hollywood actor/racer completed a total of 20 laps Friday in No. 77 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR he’ll share with Patrick Long and Marco Seefried this weekend and for the entire season.

***Reigning World Endurance Driver’s Champions Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi have pledged their support of the FIA Action for Road Safety, joining F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton as Ambassadors for the campaign. The campaign aims to drastically reduce the number of deaths on the road through education and advocacy programs.

***The European Le Mans Series has launched its long-awaited new website design. Live HD streaming coverage of Saturday’s season-opening Four Hours of Silverstone will be available beginning at 2:30 p.m. local (9:30 a.m. ET).

***Krohn Racing is expected to finalize its third driver for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the next few weeks. Team manager Gary Holland told Sportscar365 that a decision has not yet been made on who will join team regulars Tracy Krohn and Nic Jonsson in the team’s Ligier JS P2 Judd. Ozz Negri is the third driver for the ELMS races, while Olivier Pla took part in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Twelve Hours of Sebring for the team.

***Be sure to download Andy Blackmore’s Spotter Guides for both the FIA WEC and ELMS races this weekend. Always a fan favorite, Andy’s guides features all of the latest liveries and driver/team information for both sports car championships and are a must-have, whether you’re at the track or following from home.

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