WEC - 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps or the new Battle of the Ardennes
At least 34 racecars will be waiting at the foot of the Raidillon for this first major meeting of the season at Spa-Francorchamps. The start will be at 2 :30 pm on Saturday 7 May for a race which is considered to be general practice before the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The WEC or World Endurance Championship has been experiencing growing success year on year. It has to be said that with 3 big manufacturers officially committed to the premier category (LMP1), these races lack for nothing in terms of suspense or intensity. And the public, present each year in ever-greater numbers, are not mistaken.
During the first round contested at Silverstone, an Audi was first to cross the line, before being downgraded for a technical problem. So Porsche then triumphed on the green carpet ahead of Toyota. Let’s see if the four-ringed make intends to seek its revenge at the world’s most beautiful Circuit.
The LMP1 category prototypes are divided into two classes. The LMP1 Hybrid (Le Mans Prototype 1) has an ERS (Energy Recovery System). This comprises the best-performing cars which come from the official Porsche, Audi and Toyota stables. After that comes the LMP1 category, where most private stables can be found, for cars without an Energy Recovery System.
Other categories accompany these LMP1 racecars with ultra-sophisticated technology :the LMP2 prototypes, technically less developped but very spectacular looking also. This class is more financially affordable and allows private stables to race in the race.
The last category (LMGTE) concerns GT-type cars. These are also based on sport models from prestigious makes like Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin,etc. and also Ford which has made its big return this year with a very spectacular GT.
To tame these wonderful racecars, the WEC has known how to attract internationally-renowned drivers with many coming from Formula 1. Let’s mention Marc Weber for Porsche, André Lotterer for Audi, and Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, Anthony Davidson, Kamui Kobayashi and Stephane Sarrazin for Toyota. But also Nick Heidfeld and Nelson Piquet (Rebellion LMP1), Bruno Senna (Ligier LMP2), Vitaly Petrov (BR01-Nissan LMP2).
In summary, nothing but the very best for a race that already promises to be very exciting and spectacular! And , like they say, not to be missed on any account!
