LMGTE Pro Focus: BMW strengthens powerful GT World Championship
Boosted by the FIA World Endurance Championship titles for GTE Drivers and Manufacturers, the competition in the LMGTE Pro class will be hotter and tighter than ever with the addition of BMW to the ranks.
It brings the total for the WEC to 10 in the class, which will rise to an incredible 17 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We take a look at the entrants in more detail.
AF Corse Ferrari
No.51 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO – Alessandro Pier Guidi (ITA), James Calado (GBR)
No.71 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO – Davide Rigon (ITA), Sam Bird (GBR)
Returning to challenge once again for championship victory will be two Ferrari 488 GTEs from AF Corse, looking to repeat the Italian manufacturer’s success of recent years with an unchanged driver line up including 2017 GT World Champions, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado.
Ferrari has taken advantage of the regulations allowing a single-evolution per homologation cycle to update the 488 GTE which is now in its third year of competition. The ‘EVO’ changes focus on optimisation of aerodynamic performance – including new front and rear bumpers and adjustments to the splitter, diffuser and floor – as well as reliability developments including to the 3.9 litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine.
Three Ferrari 488s will be entered for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, all run by AF Corse.
Did you know…To date Ferrari’s most important sporting successes include 15 F1 World Drivers’ Championships, 16 F1 World Constructors’ Championships, 14 Sports Car Manufacturers’ World titles, nine overall wins at 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Gentlemen, start your engines. Four #Ford GTs are going to #LEMANS24!! 17 GTE Pro cars at Le Mans. That is going to be some battle! @andypriaulx @olivierpla @stefanmuecke007 @harrytincknell @rwestbrook1 @joeyhandracing @muellerdirk @Ryan_Briscoe @CGRsportscar pic.twitter.com/4LPlkZRRbk
— Ford Performance (@FordPerformance) February 9, 2018
Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK
No.66 Ford GT – Stefan Mücke (DEU), Olivier Pla (FRA)
No.67 Ford GT – Andy Priaulx (GBR), Harry Tincknell (GBR)
The two Ford GTs from Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK have achieved multiple triumphs in their two seasons in the WEC, and will be challenging for world titles with an unchanged roster of drivers.
The American marque dominated at the Rolex 24 at Daytona at the end of January, and will be hoping to carry this through to the WEC season ahead, with the US Chip Ganassi team returning to Le Mans to join the UK squad for a fortified 4-car entry. Last season the team started and finished well, but had a dip mid-season which ultimately put paid to any championship hopes.
Priaulx is a triple World Touring Car Champion who has won the Nürburgring 24 Hours, the Sebring 12 Hours, and both Mücke and Pla have won Le Mans Series championships in the past. Tincknell, however, is the only one of the four to have won (LMP2) at Le Mans, taking a memorable victory on his debut in 2014.
Did you know…Chip Ganassi likes to tell his drivers there are no such thing as accidents, all are preventable. The veteran team owner says the only true accident is if a meteor falls from the sky and destroys a race car…!
BMW Team MTEK
No.81 BMW M8 GTE – Martin Tomczyk (DEU), Nicky Catsburg (NLD)
No.82 BMW M8 GTE – Augusto Farfus (BRA), Antonio Felix Da Costa (PRT)
The German marque’s new BMW M8 GTE, with an experienced, race-winning but WEC-unproven crew of drivers, made its race debut just weeks ago and will be going head to head from April’s Prologue (Circuit Paul Ricard, 6/7 April) onwards with some of the world’s most prestigious luxury car marques.
Bavarian-based BMW Team MTEK was founded in 2012 by Ernest Knoors and competed for BMW in the DTM from 2012-2016. Augusto Farfus has been with the manufacturer the longest, competing in DTM, IMSA, WTCC, ILMC and Super GT for the brand, including entry at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2010 and 2011.
Tomczyk is a former DTM champion who made the switch to endurance racing in 2016, as did Felix Da Costa, and neither has been to Le Mans before. Equally, Catsburg, will be making his debut at Le Mans although the Dutchman has several years of sportscar experience under his belt, including a win at the 2015 Spa 24 Hours.
Did you know…BMW claims its P63/1 4-litre V8 TwinPower Turbo Technology engine is the most efficient to ever be developed by BMW Motorsport, with the aim being that this efficiency gives the team far greater flexibility with regard to race strategy.
#WEC – Le Mans 2018: Porsche will launch its largest ever GT factory campaign at Le Mans, with four @Porsche #911RSR. The @24hoursoflemans is as uniquely fascinating as it is challenging for drivers and teams. The 86th staging of this ageless classic takes place on June 16-17 pic.twitter.com/0z3DJNjF6r
— Porsche Motorsport (@PorscheRaces) February 10, 2018
Porsche GT Team
No.91 Porsche 911 RSR – Richard Lietz (AUS), Gianmaria Bruni (ITA)
No.92 Porsche 911 RSR – Michael Christensen (DNK), Kevin Estre (FRA)
With 12 months of competition experience behind it, Porsche’s new generation 911 RSR will approach the Super Season with renewed enthusiasm and determination, benefitting from the return of former GTE Pro champion Gianmaria Bruni to the WEC for the first time since he left Ferrari at the end of 2016.
Lietz and former driving partner Fred Makowiecki (who will join the duo for Le Mans and Sebring) came close to championship success in 2017 but never quite managed to climb onto the top step of the podium. They, like Estre and Christensen, will be determined to put 2017’s karma behind them and move the Porsche onwards and upwards.
Did you know…Long-time AF Corse race engineer Luca Massé has joined Porsche GT team to reunite with Bruni, with whom he won so many championship titles.
Aston Martin Racing
No.95 Aston Martin Vantage AMR – Marco Sørensen (DNK), Nicki Thiim (DNK), Darren Turner (GBR)
No.96 Aston Martin Vantage AMR – Alexander Lynn (GBR), Maxime Martin (BEL), Jonny Adam (GBR)
The stunning, all-new Aston Martin Vantage AMR will be in the hands of the established ‘Dane Train’, last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Pro winners Turner and Adam, and two new drivers to the British factory line up, Alex Lynn and Maxime Martin. Lynn has competed in LMP2 but makes his debut in GTE Pro, while Maxime Martin joins Aston Martin Racing from BMW Motorsport.
All six drivers have played a role in the extensive development programme of the new Vantage GTE which has now clocked up more than 10,500 miles of testing over the winter. Durability running has now given way to performance and tyre development ahead of the Prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard on 6/7th April.
Did you know…Darren Turner is now in his 14th season with Aston Martin Racing, and can count two further years with Prodrive (the British company which runs Aston Martin Racing) to that total. The Briton says the new car is a huge step forward from the old Vantage.
