Motorsport News

The GT category of the FIA WEC enters the new season in very good shape. After a successful 2016 season, the class gets an increased car count for 2017, (8 in PRO and 5 in AM), with the return of the works Porsche team in PRO, running the new mid-engined 911. With factory efforts from Aston Martin and Ford joining the established private Ferraris of AF Corse in PRO and newcomers Clearwater Racing in AM, as well as the AM Porsches of Gulf Racing and Dempsey Proton, we will s

There is just under a week to go until the Ardennes will be ‘alive with the sound of WEC’… and we can’t wait! The iconic 4.35 mile circuit of Spa-Francorchamps is sure to provide us with thrills and spills as it always does, and no doubt a good dose of rain somewhere along the way! Race two out of nine on the WEC calendar, Spa is a firm favourite and one of the most picturesque circuits there is (our opinion but I’m sure thousands will agree). If you’ve never been there i

Over 50,000 fans were present as the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship kicked off over the Easter weekend with the 6hrs of Silverstone booming across the Northamptonshire countryside… or in the case of the LMP1’s…whooshing! LMP1 The #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing TS050 - Hybrid of Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima was the first to put points on the Championship board finishing 6.173 seconds ahead of the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Hartley, Bernhard and Bamber

If the inaugural round of the FIA World Endurance Championship 6hrs of Silverstone showed us, it could well be! On their debut race at the former WWII airfield, Clearwater Racing in the Ferrari 488 GTE showed they meant business when their three drivers of Malaysia’s Weng Sun Mok, Japan’s Keita Sawa and Ireland’s own ‘Lucky Charms’ Matt Griffin (a name given to him by Team Managing Director Arj) found themselves on the top step of the podium in a dramatic finish! Prescott

Porsche, the reigning world champion team, will start third and fourth on the grid for the season’s opening race of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Silverstone (GB) with the two 919 Hybrids. Toyota secured a front row lock out for the start of the six-hour race on Sunday. For strategic reasons, Porsche’s Le Mans prototypes approach the fast Formula One circuit in Britain with significantly less aerodynamic downforce than the track layout actually would require. In t

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will start the 6 Hours of Silverstone from pole position after a one-two in qualifying for the first round of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi earned pole position with a combined average lap time of 1min 37.304secs in the #7 TS050 HYBRID they share with José María López. That was achieved via the fastest lap ever recorded by an LMP1 car at Silverstone in WEC. The pole-sitting #7 crew will start next to th

The first round of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship is also the first race for CEFC Manor TRS RACING; this year’s two car entry racing with numbers 24 and 25. Jean-Eric Vergne, Jonathan Hirschi and Tor Graves are driving #24 with Vitaly Petrov, Simon Trummer and Roberto Gonzalez in #25. Silverstone in April is rarely warm and although the sun was shining, there was still a cold wind blowing across the circuit throughout the morning, helping to dry the track which ha

Aston Martin Racing has kicked off the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship in style, after claiming the GTE Am pole ahead of the British marque’s home race; the 6 Hours of Silverstone. With the first qualifying session of the year conducted in dry conditions, the #98 V8 Vantage GTE piloted by Paul Dalla Lana (C) and Pedro Lamy (P) set the benchmark for the GTE Am field with an average of 1m59.562 set between the two. Today’s result delivers a strong message to the rest o

So there we have it, our first qualifying session for the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship is done! Toyota Gazoo Racing locked out the front row with a 1-2 for the Japanese outfit. The #7 TS050-Hybrid of Britain’s Mike Conway, Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi and Argentina’s José Maria Lopez was 0.289 seconds ahead of the sister car with an overall time of 1:37.304. Mike Conway commented in the Drivers Press Conference: “ T9, I felt like I was on the limit, but you never quit

The inaugural round of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship kicks off this Easter weekend at Silverstone in Northamptonshire, England. And what a great start to the weekend it was for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team, finishing on top of the timing screens in both Free Practice 1 and 2 on Friday. The Buemi/Davidson/Nakajima #8 clocked a 1:38.210 in FP2, a mere 0.234 seconds ahead of the sister car of Conway/Kobayashi/Lopez. Anthony Davidson : “Today we ran without any p

The latest forecast has changed to shift the timing of the rain chances a little earlier, into Friday. All the models are in good agreement that a low pressure system will pass to the north of England on Friday and Friday night, and it could bring some light rain to Silverstone on Friday. However, I have kept the chance of rain low because much of the precipitation with this system will be across Scotland and Northern England. If some rain does fall at Silverstone, I expect t

At Racecast Weather, we're excited to be expanding to cover the weather for WEC races this year. I've done forecasts for Le Mans the past few years, but now we'll have forecasts for the entire WEC schedule. Our coverage will be a bit different from our races in North America. Normally we have the radar link at the top of our website to provide a track-centered view of rain at the track, but since we don't have a source for international radars, we will not be able to provide

With only 70 days to go until the 85th running of the Grand Prix d'endurance we launch our dedicated Le Mans page where you will find all the latest updates relating to the race! You can find the page by clicking here

The 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship kicks off at Silverstone on Easter Sunday in what is seen as a transitional year in the big class. The news over the winter was all about the withdrawal of Audi after 18 successful seasons, including five in the WEC proper. This leaves just six P1 cars on the grid at Le Mans, less than half of the 2015 count. On the face of it this can been seen as a major blow as we lose not only a very successful manufacturer, but also their mark

The eagle eyed fan may have noticed a change in livery on the 97 Aston Martin GT car between day 1 and 2 during last weekends FIA WEC Prologue. This took the for of a full body panel change from the distinctive Valero blue and yellow to the Aston Martin Green. As yet we are not sure why, sponsorship, setup change ro just because...?! Before During After Images from Darren Turner

Mark Atkins takes a look at the new LMP2 cars for 2017, pictures from the FIA WEC/Adrenal Media Introduction The new-look LMP2 season kicks off in both the World and European championship formats at Silverstone over the Easter weekend. The FIA WEC will run its 6-hour race on the Sunday, with the ELMS holding the 4-hour version on Saturday. Both races mark the dawn of a new era in the LMP2 class, as you will see for the first time the new generation of cars racing for the

The Le Mans prototype, that delivers a system output of around 900 PS (662 kW), was comprehensively reworked. Porsche aims for a hat-trick with it: Target is to win the Le Mans 24-hours race (June 17/18) as well as the FIA World Endurance Championship titles for Manufacturers and Drivers respectively for the third consecutive time after 2015 and 2016. Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP, faces the season with a great deal of respect: “Each and every one of the nine endurance

BMW replaces Audi, which held a longstanding partnership with the Le Mans, as well as the FIA World Endurance Championship. According to Automobile Club de l’Ouest, BMW has become the new official vehicle supplier for Circuit de la Sarthe, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The German manufacturer will supply up to 26 vehicles, ranging from medical and extraction vehicles to safety cars, for the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic, with five set to be used for year-ro

Every year, work is carried out around the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the goal of improving safety. This year is no exception with the construction of an additional means of access at the paddock for emergency vehicles. In order to allow faster access to firefighting vehicles, a new paddock access way located at the back of the first pits is being built and will be operational before the 85th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Until now, there have been two gates sufficientl

With just a fews days to go to the announcement of the complete list of teams selected for the 85th Le Mans 24 Hours on 17-18 June, 14 teams have already won an invitation to participate in qualifying for the 2017 Sarthe Classic. These have been awarded taking into account the results of the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours, European Le Mans Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Asian Le Mans Series, the last round of which took place this Sunday, and the Michelin GT3 Le Mans