Home heroes sure to entertain throughout 6 Hours of Silverstone
The third round of the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship Super Season is almost upon us with Silverstone, the Home of British Motor Racing, this year featuring in a summer slot.
Jenson Button in his first home race since 2016, close competition, more overtakes than you can count, and tight, on-track battles among the 34 competitors are expected in the 6 Hours of Silverstone (17-19 August). The outright winners of the race will lift the coveted Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy, the oldest trophy in motorsport (which has only been won once by a British driver, Anthony Davidson, since the WEC launched in 2012).
All this, plus a packed timetable of entertainment on and off track, has been programmed for the enthusiastic and knowledgeable crowds which traditionally enjoy the world championship’s only visit to Great Britain.
Fans will be able to see not only the WEC, but also the fourth round of the ever-popular European Le Mans Series and three races from the hotbed of junior racing talent, the FIA F3 Championship. A full entry list for the 6 Hours of Silverstone is available to download HERE. Don’t miss a minute of the action!
Practice and qualifying at the 5.901 km circuit which is based in Northamptonshire, approximately 70 miles north west of London, takes place on 17/18 August, with the 6-hour race itself getting underway on Sunday 19 August at 12h00 local time.
For more ticketing information, click HERE.
Return of the home hero, Jenson Button
Four of the drivers in LMP1 are British, but there is only F1 World Champion carrying the famous Union flag: Jenson Button from SMP Racing. Thousands of fans are expected to be at Silverstone to support him. The Frome, Somerset-born driver will be starting his second WEC race and, like all the drivers in the LMP1 privateer teams, Button will no doubt looking forward to the increased performance levels thanks to the recent Equivalence of Technology adjustments. SMP Racing’s BR Engineering BR1-AERs had a tough 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Russian team will be eager to chalk up its first podium of the season – of note is that the No.17 entry will feature just a two-driver line up of Sarrazin and Orudzhev.
The WEC is of course graced by two F1 World Champions this year and Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Fernando Alonso, together with Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, will be planning to build on the dominant two wins from two races achieved so far this season. The immediate fight will be taken to them by the sister Toyota TS050 HYRID, with Britain’s Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José Maria Lopez providing stern competition.
Oliver Webb in the ByKolles Racing Team ENSO CLM P1/01 Nismo – with a new team mate in René Binder, replacing Tom Dillmann and a third team mate yet to be confirmed – and Ben Hanley in the DragonSpeed BR Engineering BR1-Gibson complete the line-up of British drivers in the top category. Due to the work involved for a proposed change of engine partner for its LMP1 programme, while respecting the relevant notice period that this requires under the regulations, there will unfortunately be no CEFC TRSM Racing entries competing at Silverstone, a loss for the numerous fans of the team and its British drivers but a signal of intent in terms of performance.
Anthony Davidson returns to the WEC…in LMP2
2014 World Endurance Champion Anthony Davidson makes a welcome return to the WEC for his first appearance in the Super Season – in the No.31 DragonSpeed ORECA 07 Gibson alongside Roberto Gonzalez and Pastor Maldonado. The formidable trio will be aiming for points and podiums to catch up Signatech Alpine Matmut’s championship-leading line up of Nicolas Lapierre, André Negrão and Pierre Thiriet plus the two Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECAs just ahead of them in the classifications.
Dutch racing legend Jan Lammers has stepped down from the Racing Team Nederland Dallara P217-Gibson and young single-seater hot shot Nyck de Vries (NLD) makes his WEC debut. The only other change to the full-season LMP2 entry list is the addition of Japan’s Yoshiharu Mori to the Larbre Competition Ligier JSP217 Gibson.
Practice and qualifying at the 5.901 km circuit which is based in Northamptonshire, approximately 70 miles north west of London, takes place on 17/18 August, with the 6-hour race itself getting underway on Sunday 19 August at 12h00 local time.
