Pierre Fillon, President of the ACO:
“The ACO are very pleased to see a fantastic grid for the third season of the FIA World Endurance championship. These thirty-one cars represent the cream of endurance racing and they are the ambassadors for Le Mans on the world stage. 2014 will see a number of changes for the LMP1 class. We are very happy to welcome Porsche back to the top level of endurance and we are looking forward to seeing the battles on track between Porsche, Audi and Toyota. We also have the new technical rules for LMP1, which brings more real world relevance to our sport as these hybrid systems will be used by the manufacturers on their road cars in years to come. We are also pleased to see three cars entered in the new LMP1 Light category and we are also looking forward to seeing the new cars from Rebellion and Lotus in action.
“However the FIA WEC is more than just about LMP1 and we would like to wish all of the competitors in LMP2 and LMGTE the best of luck in 2014. See you all at Silverstone in April.”
Jean Todt, President of the FIA, said:
“When the FIA and the ACO came together four years ago to formulate the concept for the World Endurance Championship, our shared vision was to return sportscar racing to the prominence and popularity it enjoyed in the past. Then, its prestige was founded on its ability to provide thrilling, heroic racing on a truly international stage in an environment that delivered fascinating technological invention.
“It is therefore a source of great pride to me that as we approach the start of the FIA World Endurance Championship’s third season I can happily say that the competition is meeting all of those goals. With new teams, new drivers and the prospect of even closer competition this year I am sure that the 2014 World Endurance Championship will be a classic.”
Gerard Neveu, CEO of the FIA WEC, said:
“We are very happy with this grid for the third season of the FIA WEC. It has a very good balance between manufacturers and private teams and representatives from over 20 different nationalities. This, along with the eight races in eight countries on four different continents, underlines the FIA WEC’s status as a true world championship.
“The World Endurance Championship also offers stability as we will visit the same eight circuits as we did in 2013, which is important for establishing the brand in these markets. We also welcome our partners – Tudor, Michelin, DHL and Shell – and the manufacturers – Audi, Toyota, Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin – who are competing in this year’s championship.
“2014 is the next step on the road that we started along in 2012 and we are sure you will enjoy the next stage of the evolution of the FIA World Endurance Championship.”
Each team will be represented at ‘The WEC Prologue’ at Paul Ricard on the 28/29 March when the cars will all be together on track in Le Castellet for the first time. The event will be open to the public on the 29 March and more details can be found on the championship website at www.fiawec.com
The 2014 FIA WEC grid sees three major factory LMP1 teams for the first time and the LMP1 class now becomes the most numerous in the Championship.
Nissan powers the entire full season LMP2 field.
The 2014 full season grid sees two new manufacturers join – Rebellion (Oreca) and Strakka Dome.
The Lotus LMP entry is the first ever for the marque in the top class (with the arguable exception of the LMP1 Elise in 1998)
There is no French flagged team in the FIA WEC for the first time – 8 of the 31 are German entered, 7 British.
SMP Racing, KCMG, Prospeed Competition and RAM Racing are all first time full season FIA WEC entries.
AF Corse will prepare and run SEVEN cars over the season ( 2x SMP Racing LMP2, 2 x GTE Pro Ferraris, 2 x AF Corse GTE AM Ferraris, 1 x 8Star GTE AM Ferrari)
