Ready to Race: Revs rise as season speeds into view

A high-calibre field has been assembled for the upcoming eight rounds, with 18 cars in each category – Hypercar and LMGT3 – and an impressive 13 major global automotive brands represented across the grid, as the world’s premier endurance racing series continues to go from strength-to-strength.

In evidence of that, alongside returning Hypercar manufacturers Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota, Aston Martin is also throwing its hat into the ring in the championship’s headlining division in 2025, with a pair of eagerly-anticipated Valkyries.

At LMGT3 level, meanwhile, joining Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Lexus, McLaren and Porsche will be Mercedes-AMG. The renowned German marque will be making its FIA WEC debut, as it prepares to tackle – for the first time in more than two-and-a-half decades – the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a race it won outright in both 1952 and 1989.

The entry list for the Qatar curtain-raiser later this month is now complete – and amongst the 108 drivers getting set for battle, there are a number of heavy-hitters. Former Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button teams up with four-time Champ Car Champion Sébastien Bourdais at the rebaptised Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA outfit. Fellow grand prix-winner Robert Kubica returns in AF Corse’s privately-run Ferrari 499P, as Kevin Magnussen swaps single-seaters for prototypes with BMW M Team WRT. Two other sons of ex-F1 heroes will take to the track in the shape of Mick Schumacher and Eduardo Barrichello, while seven-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi continues his endurance racing apprenticeship with Team WRT in LMGT3.

View the opening round entry list here

The action will get underway with the Qatar 1812km on 26-28 February, preceded by the customary ‘Prologue’ group test at the same circuit on 21-22 February. The Middle Eastern encounter will be the first of eight races on the schedule – varying in duration from six hours to 24 – as the calendar mirrors the successful format used in 2024.

Like the Qatari contest, round two – the 6 Hours of Imola at the iconic Italian circuit – popularly debuted in the championship last year, while Spa-Francorchamps is an FIA WEC staple and the 24 Hours of Le Mans needs no introduction.

Interlagos in Brazil and Austin’s Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Texas add an American flavour to proceedings mid-season, before the campaign concludes with outings at Fuji in Japan – in the shadow of the famous mountain that lends the circuit its name – and the traditional finale in Bahrain, taking competitors to five global regions once again.

2025 FIA WEC Calendar

February 21-22 Official Prologue (QAT)
February 26-28 Qatar 1812km (QAT)
April 18-20 6 Hours of Imola (ITA)
May 8-10 TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL)
June 11-15 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA)
July 11-13 Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo (BRA)
September 5-7 Lone Star Le Mans (USA)
September 26-28 6 Hours of Fuji (JPN)
November 6-8 Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain (BAH)   

Key Facts and Figures

• 36 entries across both classes (18 in Hypercar; 18 in LMGT3)
• 108 drivers representing 28 different nations: Angola, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA. France and the UK lead the way with 16 drivers apiece, closely followed by Italy on 14
• Aston Martin joins the Hypercar category for the first time with two Valkyrie prototypes, running under the Aston Martin THOR Team banner
• Mercedes-AMG makes its FIA WEC bow in partnership with Iron Lynx in LMGT3; the three-pointed star will return to Le Mans for the first time in 26 years
• The grid features no fewer than 13 major automotive brands: Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota

Hypercar

• Reigning Manufacturers’ title-winner Toyota is targeting continued world championship glory with its pair of GR010 Hybrids. The #7 will be piloted by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, with Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa sharing the cockpit of the #8
• Defending Drivers’ champions Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor continue in the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, joined for the longer races by Matt Campbell. In the sister #5 car, Michael Christensen is flanked by Frenchmen Julien Andlauer – the 2024 FIA WEC ‘Revelation of the Year’ – and Mathieu Jaminet, the latter like Campbell participating in selected events
• Ferrari is chasing a hat-trick of triumphs at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an unchanged driver line-up in its brace of 499Ps: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen in the #50 and Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51
• Frédéric Makowiecki moves from Porsche to Alpine, partnering Jules Gounon and Mick Schumacher in the podium-finishing #36 A424, with Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi piloting the #35 car
• BMW M Team WRT has recruited ex-Formula 1 ace Kevin Magnussen to join Dries Vanthoor and Raffaele Marciello in its #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, as René Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde remain on-board the #20 entry
• Familiar faces Paul di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Jean-Éric Vergne, Loïc Duval and Stoffel Vandoorne return for Team Peugeot TotalEnergies, alongside FIA WEC rookie Malthe Jakobsen
• American manufacturer Cadillac expands to a two-car effort following its tie-up with giant-killing British privateer JOTA Sport. Alex Lynn, Norman Nato, Will Stevens, Earl Bamber, Sébastien Bourdais and Jenson Button form the all-star driver crews in Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s V-Series.Rs
• Aston Martin’s keenly-awaited Valkyries will make their global competition debut in Qatar. The #007 line-up will be an all-British affair – composed of Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble and Ross Gunn – with Alex Riberas, Marco Sørenson and Roman De Angelis sharing the sister #009 machine
• The independently-entered #83 AF Corse Ferrari (Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and ex-JOTA racer Philip Hanson) will do battle with the #99 Proton Competition Porsche (Neel Jani, Nicolas Pino and Nicolas Varrone) for FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams honours, as well as outright race wins and podium places 

LMGT3

• Reigning champion Manthey Racing is chasing back-to-back crowns, having joined forces over the winter with the pioneering Iron Dames project, as the all-female trio returns to Porsche power for the first time since 2023
• Vista AF Corse is bidding to maintain momentum from its fast finish to last season, with a victory apiece for its pair of Ferrari 296 GT3s in the final two races
• Team WRT continues with a dual BMW effort, as motorcycling legend Valentino Rossi seeks to build upon the podium-finishing promise of his rookie campaign by challenging for race wins
• Heart of Racing Team is joined by FIA WEC newcomer Racing Spirit of Léman in the Aston Martin fold, the latter’s line-up including Eduardo Barrichello, son of two-time Formula 1 World Championship runner-up, Rubens Barrichello
• Endurance specialist United Autosports fields a pair of potent McLaren 720S GT3 Evos, with a new look on the driving front
• Successful GT squad TF Sport flies the Anglo-American flag once more with its Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs
• Proton Competition bolsters the class’ American presence with a brace of Ford Mustangs
• Akkodis ASP Team is back for a second season with the Lexus RC F, counting two-time world champion and former Le Mans winner José María López on its driving strength
• Multiple podium-finisher Iron Lynx teams up with Mercedes-AMG, as the legendary German brand enters the fray and returns to La Sarthe for the first time in over 25 years

Frédéric Lequien, CEO, FIA World Endurance Championship, said: “The scene is set for another stellar season of top-drawer endurance racing action. It has as ever been a busy winter putting all the building-blocks in place for continued growth and success, and the entry list for 2025 is testament to those efforts, with star-studded grids in both categories. We welcome Aston Martin to the Hypercar ranks for the first time, and Mercedes-AMG to the LMGT3 field. I have no doubt that both brands will contribute to the high quality of competition that has become a hallmark of FIA WEC over the years, and that will continue to thrill fans all around the world throughout the forthcoming campaign.”