LMP2: 12 Cars
26 | D | G-Drive Racing | Roman Rusinov, Nathanaël Berthon, Rene Rast | Oreca 05 Nissan
27 |D |SMP Racing |Nicolas Minassian, David Markozov, Maurizio Mediani |BR01 Nissan
30 | D | Extreme Speed Motorsports | Scott Sharp, Johannes van Overbeek, Ed Brown |Ligier JS P2 Nissan
31 | D | Extreme Speed Motorsports | Ryan Dalziel, Pipo Derani, Chris Cumming |Ligier JS P2 Nissan
35 | D | Baxi DC Racing Alpine | David Cheng, Ho-Pin Tung, Nelson Panciatici |Alpine A460 Nissan
36 | D | Signatech Alpine | Gustavo Menezes, Nicolas Lapierre, Stephane Richelmi | Alpine A460 Nissan
37 | D | SMP Racing | Vitaly Petrov, Viktor Shaytar, Kirill Ladygin | BR01 Nissan
38 | D | G-Drive Racing | Simon Dolan, Jake Dennis, Giedo Van Der Garde | Gibson 015S Nissan
42 | D | Strakka Racing | Nick Leventis, Jonny Kane, Danny Watts: Gibson 015S Nissan
43 | D | RGR Sport by Morand | Ricardo Gonzalez, Bruno Senna, Filipe Albuquerque | Ligier JS P2 Nissan
44 | D | Manor WEC | Tor Graves, Will Stevens, James Jakes | Oreca 05 Nissan
45 | D | Manor WEC | Matt Rao, Richard Bradley, Roberto Merhi | Oreca 05 Nissan
After round one last month at Silverstone the points sit like this:
1, #43 RGR Sport by Morand 25
2, #31 Extreme Speed Motorsports 18
3, #26 G-Drive Racing 16
4, #36 Signatech Alpine 12
5, #42 Strakka Racing 10
6, #45 Manor 8
7, #35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine 6
8, #37 SMP Racing 4
9, #30 Extreme Speed Motorsports 2
10, #27 SMP Racing 1
11, #44 Manor 0
There’s a single addition to the entry for round two at Spa Francorchamps with the now regular Le Mans warm-up session from the #38 G-Drive (nee Jota Sport) Gibson Nissan, this the car that has left bruised WEC egos in its wake for several seasons at this race finishing on the podium in every season of FIA WEC competition. The team twice a winner (in 2012 and 2015), with third in class in 2013 and second in 2014.
That’s quite a record for the ELMS front runners, and for each of those efforts the driving squad has featured ‘Super-Silver’ Simon Dolan, supported by a galaxy of talented Pros – and always in the same chassis!
2016’s effort is no exception and with team regular Harry Tincknell on Ford GTE Pro duty the race marks the LMP2 debut of young Jake Dennis, the ex-F3 racer, bound for a season in GP3 with Arden International, and set to contest both Spa and Le Mans with the #38 squad.
Giedo van der Garde is the new ‘big’ name for the 2016 season, and he completes the trio after a very convincing run at the front of the pack to help take the win at the opening ELMS race of the season. No doubt whatsoever of either his credentials, or his speed; though it was perhaps a little surprising to see the overall pace sustained to the degree that it was at Silverstone when no threat remained from behind. We’d expect perhaps a different approach as the season progresses if the same situation reoccurs.
The Gibson joins the team’s regular full-season WEC effort on the entry, this the team’s new #26 Oreca 05 Nissan, 2015 WEC class Champion Roman Rusinov joined by Nathanaël Berthon for the season, and by Rene Rast up to and including the Nurburgring.
This trio are definite contenders both for the race, and for the season. Team tactics between the two orange cars are highly unlikely and the driver squad for the #26 should, in any case need no assistance to be in contention here.
The only variable to consider is the team’s expansion to a two car effort, and a necessary reshuffling of the backroom pack. The team though are as well-drilled as any in the LMP2 paddock.
Rusinov remains a controversial Silver-ranked driver with Berthon having proven pace in LMP2 and single seater machinery. Audi factory man Rast meanwhile is simply world class! The car took pole position at Silverstone.
The #26 though does not lead the Championship, as that bragging right at present belongs to the #43 RGR Sport by Morand Ligier JS P2 Nissan.
Ricardo Gonzales looked a different driver to that we have seen previously at Silverstone, the Mexican putting in a great effort in support of the two team pros, Bruno Senna seemed to enjoy his LMP2 debut, scoring a win in a third different class in the FIA WEC.
Filipe Albuquerque meanwhile brought another dash of Audi factory class to the LMP2 field, no doubt he and Herr Rast will be privately comparing data traces (as well as trophies!)
The #43 had an impressively controlled and effective afternoon at Round 1, adding ‘trouble-free’ to the pace of others, and grabbing the good luck when it came courtesy of a full-course caution, to grab an on-track edge that they wouldn’t lose. The chasing pack will be looking to show that their pace is the equal of the Mexican-flagged Oreca.
Perhaps interestingly, with the arrival here of the #38, the #43 Ligier and #42 Strakka Gibson are the only two cars entered by single car efforts in the 12 car class.
So lets deal with the other singleton entry first. The #42 Strakka Racing Gibson ran very well indeed at Silverstone, the car troubling the leaders for a period. Strakka have had an opportunity to dial themselves into their ‘new’ car now and Jonny Kane, in particular, was mightily impressive.
Spa is another track where all three of the all-British crew have plenty of experience, and on a notoriously tricky track that could be invaluable. Nick Leventis (as was discussed in the team’s first DSC column is becoming a rare breed in the WEC, a true Silver, as the teams continue to exploit loopholes in the rulebook, that puts pressure on the Strakka team owner to perform, but like most non-Pros at this level it’s part of the appeal!
As with each and every other entry in this class the relative performance of the non-Pro ranked driver will be key.
Tequila Patron ESM sit second in the Championship standings after Silverstone in what has been a stellar start to their season. With the WEC effort featuring Nissan power rather than the Honda engines that powered the team’s Ligier for the wins at Daytona and Sebring, Pipo Derani now sits as a standout emerging talent in this company. Add to that the known quality of Ryan ‘Razzle Dazzle’ Dalziel and there’s pressure aplenty for Chris Cumming as the non-Pro in a very ‘Nick Leventis’ sort of way.
Cumming was finding pace at Silverstone and will be looking to do likewise at Spa.
The sister #30 car had a rather more taxing Sunday in April. There’s work to do for team principal Scott Sharp, and his team-mates Johannes van Overbeek and Ed Brown to make up ground.
The pair of Alpine (Oreca) Nissans both showed some real speed at Silverstone too. In the #36 car it’s clear that young Gustavo Menezes’ time ranked as a Silver will go no further than 2016, Nivo Lapierre is another, yet another, in this class that is of real class, and Stephane Richelmi provided ample support too as he learns the LMP2 ropes. There’s more to come though from this combo.
The Baxi DC-entered #35 Alpine finished close behind their team car with Nelson Panciatici typically effective, Ho-Pin Tung typically press-on and David Cheng finding pace too. This effort could be something of a ‘sleeper’ both here and throughout the remainder of the season.
The remaining two teams both had difficult starts to their 2016 FIA WEC campaigns, neither SMP Racing BR01 ran without issues, and the same was true also for the debuting Manor WEC two car Oreca effort.
The Russian-flagged team remain eager to grab race wins, but need to find reliability from both of their new-build BR01s before that is even a remote possibility. We know already that the package has pace, even more so since the arrival at each corner of the cars last season of Dunlop rubber, but the step up to the WEC is a big one in terms of driver squad depth. Spa may well be an important weekend for the team in determining their strategy for the big one in June!
Manor WEC meanwhile also need to find reliability after both of the new to FIA WEC team’s Oreca Nissans spent time in the garage at Silverstone’s season opener. There was no shortage of pace from either car when the opportunity arose, but all in all it was a downbeat debut as niggles intervened.
Their star-studded lineup will be super keen to make their mark on the points standings in Belgium.
