2025 Random Sportscar & GT Racing news

[erwin greven]

WEC

WEC Entry list 2025

[erwin greven]

WEC

36 Cars Feature on Provisional 2025 Entry List

Field split evenly between Hypercar, LMGT3 as 2025 grid falls short of 40-car maximum…

by Jamie Klein November 22, 2024


The FIA World Endurance Championship has published a provisional entry list for the 2025 season featuring 36 cars.

Released on Friday, four days after entries for the new season closed, the list features an even split between Hypercar and LMGT3 entries, marking a reduction of one from last year’s full-season entry – but maintaining the same number of cars seen in the final three rounds of 2024 following the mid-season withdrawal of Isotta Fraschini.

That’s despite the WEC having previously set out a target for the field to reach as many as 40 cars, including the potential for a 22-car field in Hypercar.

The entry list confirms the withdrawal of Lamborghini, with the remaining eight manufacturers, including newcomer Aston Martin, each fielding two works cars each.

These will be joined by just two non-factory entries, the third-string No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P and a sole Porsche 963 from Proton Competition, which had been aiming to expand to a second customer entry but finally will stick with one car.

Toyota, Ferrari and Porsche have their full driver lineups named on the entry list in line with each manufacturer’s respective previous announcements, while AF Corse’s full trio, including the recently-confirmed Robert Kubica, is also present.

For Porsche, only the primary two drivers for each of its works cars, Julien Andlauer/Michael Christensen in the No. 5 and Laurens Vanthoor/Kevin Estre in the No. 6, are named, but Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet have been confirmed as additional drivers for selected races including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The remaining manufacturers in Hypercar only have a single driver named for each car, despite Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA and Peugeot’s full driver rosters for the upcoming season – although not the exact crews – already being known.

Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber are listed separately as the respective first drivers for the No. 12 and No. 38 Cadillacs, with Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne fulfilling the same role for Peugeot’s No. 93 and No. 94 cars.

Harry Tincknell and Alex Riberas are named for Aston Martin’s two entries in line with the British manufacturer’s announcement made on Thursday.

Elsewhere, BMW has named Dries Vanthoor and Rene Rast as the first drivers for the No. 15 and No. 20 entries respectively, while Alpine has nominated Paul-Loup Chatin for the No. 35 car and Charles Milesi for the sister No. 36.

Neel Jani is the sole driver named for the No. 99 Proton Porsche.

Racing Spirit of Leman Replaces D’station Racing in LMGT3

The LMGT3 portion of the entry list features two-car entries from each of the nine participating manufacturers, also reflecting Iron Lynx’s switch from Lamborghini to Mercedes-AMG machinery as announced on Wednesday.

It also confirms the withdrawal of D’station Racing, with the Japanese outfit being replaced as one of Aston Martin’s two partner squads alongside Heart of Racing Team by European Le Mans Series outfit Racing Spirit of Leman.

American Derek DeBoer, who drove for the Swiss-flagged team in the European Le Mans Series this year, is the sole named driver for what is now the No. 10 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

Only AF Corse has full driver crews named for both cars, with the Ferrari squad maintaining an entirely unchanged lineup across its pair of Ferrari 296 GT3s, although Manthey has also confirmed the crews for its pair of Porsche 911 GT3 Rs.

The remaining teams all have single drivers per crew named, in all but one case (Ben Barnicoat in the No. 78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3) featuring an existing member of the car from the 2024 season.

Interestingly, BMW Team WRT’s second entry is now the No. 32, not the No. 46. When approached by Sportscar365 about what this means for Valentino Rossi’s future in the series, a BMW spokesperson stated that the brand will ‘release its driver lineups later.’

The 2025 WEC season is due to begin with the season-opening Qatar 1812km on Feb. 28, with the two-day Prologue test taking place just prior on Feb. 21-22.

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/36- ... ntry-list/

[Cheeveer]

Fuck Lamborghini, never gonna buy one

[MonteCristo]

Fuck Lamborghini, never gonna buy one

I've decided to boycott them too .

[erwin greven]

WEC/IMSA

Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH Set for Qatar Race Debut

Aston Martin The Heart of Racing to forgo Rolex 24; Sebring set for North American debut…

by John Dagys November 21, 2024


Photo: Drew Gibson/AMR

The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH will make its global race debut in February’s FIA World Endurance Championship season-opener in Qatar, with Aston Martin Racing and The Heart of Racing Team electing to skip the Rolex 24 at Daytona in favor of additional development time for the car.

As previously hinted by team principal Ian James to Sportscar365, the Le Mans Hypercar will instead make its WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March.

Confirmation of the launch schedule was made on Thursday, alongside the naming of Alex Riberas and Harry Tincknell as its first two WEC drivers.

The Valkyrie is nearing the end of its test and development program, having covered more than 12,500 kms (7,700 miles) to date, including a recent Michelin tire test in Bahrain and last weekend’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway.

“We are reaching a critical juncture in the development of the Aston Martin Valkyrie, and to this point the car has passed all of the objectives and benchmarks we have set for it,” said Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport Adam Carter.

“Testing is one thing however, going racing quite another and we do not underestimate the formidable line-up of world class competition in the WEC Hypercar class and in IMSA’s GTP category.”

Drivers for the team’s WeatherTech Championship program have not yet been announced, although Riberas, Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis were at the wheel of the car in the most recent test.

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/qat ... e-amr-lmh/

[Vassago]

McLaughlin & van Gisbergen as teammates in Daytona 24 hours @Everso Biggyballies

[Everso Biggyballies]

Rovanpera to make endurance race debut at Dubai 24 Hours

The two-time WRC champion returns to race circuit racing.....

Kalle Rovanpera will kick off the 2025 season by making his 24 hour endurance racing debut in the Dubai 24 Hours ahead of the World Rally Championship opener in Monte Carlo.

The two-time WRC champion will drive a Porsche 911 GT3 R for the Proton Huber Competition squad alongside fellow Finns Jukka Honkavuori and Jani Kakela, 2012 German rally champion Mark Wallenwein and Joel Monegro.


#969 Huber Racing Porsche GT3 R: Jukka Honkavuori, Jani Kakela, Kalle Rovanpera

The race, held from 10-12 January, will mark Rovanpera’s first endurance event having made his circuit racing debut this year driving in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux and Italy series. The 24-year-old finished fourth in the Benelux championship after recording wins at Imola, Red Bull Ring and Zolder.

“I met my fellow countrymen Jukka Honkavuori and Jani Kakela during the last season of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux. We talked about competing in an endurance race together. Now the three of us, together with Mark Wallenwein and Joel Monegro, will compete in the Dubai 24 Hours before my WRC season begins.

More info https://www.autosport.com/gt/news/rovan ... /10684362/

[erwin greven]

Riley to run Lamborghini GTP program for IMSA endurance rounds

By Marshall Pruett | December 24, 2024 1:36 PM ET

Amid months of speculation over who will run the program, Lamborghini has reaffirmed its commitment to GTP by entering IMSA’s five WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance rounds in 2025.

“Supported by the technical and sporting departments of Lamborghini Squadra Corse, the car will continue its presence in the North American-based championship with the full program for the SC63 to be confirmed in due course,” Lamborghini wrote without offering specifics on its chosen service provider.

Read further at : source

[PTRACER]

2025 WEC Calendar. Seems a bit short and missing some key circuits

Code: Select all

Race	Date	   Circuit
1.	2 Mar	   Losail
2.	21 Apr	   Imola
3.	11 May	   Spa-Francorchamps
4.	15-16 Jun  Le Mans
5.	14 Jul	   Sao Paulo
6.	1 Sep	   Austin
7.	15 Sep	   Fuji
8.	2 Nov	   Sakhir

[Cheeveer]

2025 WEC Calendar. Seems a bit short and missing some key circuits

Code: Select all

Race	Date	   Circuit
1.	2 Mar	   Losail
2.	21 Apr	   Imola
3.	11 May	   Spa-Francorchamps
4.	15-16 Jun  Le Mans
5.	14 Jul	   Sao Paulo
6.	1 Sep	   Austin
7.	15 Sep	   Fuji
8.	2 Nov	   Sakhir

As it has been for many years now.

[erwin greven]

[Everso Biggyballies]

Covers come off first Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA Hypercar

I really like the new Jota Cadillac livery just released. Very easy on the eye, if not strange to see the traditional Hertz Gold on a Cadillac rather than a Porsche.....Jota have now moved on from their Porsche customer car arrangement to being part of the Cadillac works programme.

It means for the first time we will have two permanent Cadillac entries on the grid in FIA WEC this season, following the Caddy tie-up with British outfit JOTA Sport to form Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA.

The team has nominated a six-strong line-up on the driving front.....2009 Formula 1 WDC Jenson Button, Will Stevens and Norman Nato – all of whom competed for JOTA in 2024 – alongside Cadillac regulars Alex Lynn, Earl Bamber and four-time Champ Car Champion Sébastien Bourdais. The exact composition of the two pairings will be announced in due course

So here is what will be known as Cadillac Hertz Team Jota will look like.

[erwin greven]

That's the tweet..

[leon_90]

Really beautiful, best looks on the grid so far for me (in HY).