New year, new start
This year’s World Endurance Championship (WEC) season is now under way. Here’s an overview of the most important facts.
Superlatives
The highest speeds are reached on the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans. In 2014, the
By comparison: For the
Driver team
Not only in the top class LMP1, but also in the GT class,
At the opening race at Silverstone on April 12, Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Richard Lietz (Austria) will be sharing the 911 RSR with starting number 91. In the second 911 RSR with starting number 92, Frenchmen Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet will alternate in the cockpit as they did in the second half of the 2014 season. At Le Mans, Wolf Henzler (Germany) in car 92 and Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) in car 91 will join as the third drivers.
Starter field
The FIA World Endurance Championship will field a record 35 cars in 2015. In the top category LMP1, with the entry of Nissan there are now eleven prototypes registered for the entire season. Beyond the two
In the second prototype class, LMP2, twenty cars have registered for Le Mans, but only half of them will compete in the other seven WEC races.
The GT class is broken down into professionals and amateurs, i. e., factory teams and private teams. In the LMGTE Pro class, the two
Savings program
Notwithstanding the desire for unrestricted freedom in the rules, some limitations were brought in for the 2015 season to keep costs under control. First and foremost, a maximum of five engines per season will be allowed in the LMP1 class. This rule ensures that no one will get the notion to develop special engines for the shorter races or for qualifying.
Also for cost reasons, the number of allowed test days was reduced and a maximum number of team members will be allowed on the track.
Dates: 2015
1 6 Hours of Silverstone - April 12
2 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps - May 2
3 24 Hours of Le Mans - June 13/14
4 6 Hours of Nürburgring - August 30
5 6 Hours of Austin - September 19
6 6 Hours of Fuji - October 11
7 6 Hours of Shanghai - November 1
8 6 Hours of Bahrain - November 21