FIA WORLD ENDURANCE DEBUTS AT SILVERSTONE

There are no BRSCC ‘club’ meetings this Bank Holiday Weekend, but marshals & officials from the BRSCC Midland Centre and BRSCC HQ will be busy at Silverstone where the inaugural visit to UK soil of the new FIA World Endurance Championship takes centre stage for a 6-hour race.

The FIA WEC continues the tradition of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, and revives the historical thread of the “World Championship of Brands” of the 50s, 60s and 70s, the World Endurance Group C Championship of the 80s, and the World Sports Car Championship of the 90s.

Driven by both professionals and ‘gentleman’ drivers, the FIA WEC presents a mixed grid of Prototypes and GTs. As they race to secure vital points in their own championships, anything can happen during these long and challenging races.

The FIA WEC includes four classes, two for prototypes (LMP for Le Mans Prototype) and two for GTs (LM GTE for Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance).

LM P1 prototypes – driven by professional drivers and fighting for overall victory. Among the manufacturers expected are Audi, Toyota, Honda and Lola. These cars are identified by RED stickers and race numbers will be between 1 and 22.

LM P2 prototypes – powered by engines derived from road cars and driven by professional and gentleman drivers. Teams buy chassis from the likes of Lola, British Zytek and Pescarolo. These cars are identified by BLUE stickers and race numbers will be between 23 and 49.

LM GTE Pro – reserved for sports and touring cars with major manufacturers such as Ferrari, Porsche and Corvette, and driven by professionals only. These cars are identified by GREEN stickers.

LM GTE Am – consists of gentleman and professional drivers, but limited to one professional driver per team. These cars are identified by ORANGE stickers.

The LM GTE competitors will carry numbers between 50 and 99.

The action starts today with two 90-minute ‘Free Practice’ sessions. There is a third ‘Free Practice’ session on Saturday morning, before qualifying in the afternoon. There are support races for CER and Formula Renault 3.5.