The 2021 FIA WEC entry list will be released tomorrow with 30+ cars expected to be confirmed for the full six-race season.
Here’s a brief run-down of what we expect to see.
Hypercar
The season will see the debut of a new top class, ‘Hypercar’ which will, in 2021, encompass the new LMH cars from Toyota, Glickenhaus and ByKolles and a grandfathered Rebellion LMP1 car to be fielded by Signatech Alpine.
The current expectation is a six-car field with a pair of new Toyota GR 010 HYPERCARs from Toyota Gazoo Racing, a pair of Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 007s and a solo ByKolles joining the re-named Alpine A470.
The cars will be subject to a Balance of Performance process.
LMP2
DSC expects a c.10-11 car entry for the season to be confirmed with two-car efforts from JOTA and from TDS Racing, with the team running the returning Racing Team Nederland and WEC-debuting RealTeam efforts.
Returning Champions United Autosports are set to field a single ORECA, plans to double up in 2021 looking set to be delayed.
There will be single car entries too from returning WEC teams DragonSpeed and High Class Racing with ELMS and Asian Le Mans Series regulars Inter Europol also stepping into the World Championship with their new ORECA.
As revealed by DSC earlier this week we expect a single ORECA to be confirmed too for Belgium’s WRT, this the first full season effort in LMP racing for the successful GT3, DTM and TCR squad.
Also set to step up from the ELMS is the all-female-crewed Richard Mille Racing team, the Signatech-fielded effort may add a dual programme in the ELMS too but look very likely to field their single ORECA in the WEC as their primary programme.
We may well see a confirmed WEC entry for one team fielding something other than an ORECA as the plucky Slovakian ARC Bratislava team are anxiously awaiting news as to whether their entry for a Ligier JS P217 will be accepted.
If all of those cars do emerge on the full-season list it will be the first full season LMP2 entry in double figures since 2017.
GTE Pro
With the withdrawal of the World Championship-winning Aston Martin Racing squad after the 2019/2020 season that is most likely to leave a Ferrari vs Porsche battle for the coming season with two cars apiece confirmed by the two protagonists.
GTE Am
Likely to be the largest class in the 2021 WEC and also the class where the odd surprise might be in the air!
Our expectation is 12-15 cars in the class for 2021
Already known is a five car Ferrari contingent with the WEC season debut of Iron Lynx from Italy, one of their two cars will see the graduation to the WEC of the all-female ‘Iron Dames’ after two seasons in the ELMS.
Add to that pair a pair under the AF Corse banner for the returning #83 Championship-winning squad of Francois Perrodo (who will also race in the ELMS) and the #54 of Thomas Flöhr and the Cetilar Racing team, stepping over from LMP2.
TF Sport have now announced their two-car Aston Martin programme with entries for D’station Racing and Ben Keating.
There is no news as yet from Prodrive/ Aston Martin Racing as to whether a customer Vantage will emerge from there, if not then a long run in the WEC from Paul Dalla Lana would come to an end unless the Canadian emerges elsewhere!
On the Porsche front Proton Competition intend to run a pair of new 911 RSR-19s in the full WEC.
Mike Wainwright’s newly re-monikered GR Racing are set to enter a single car too (with that entry also set to run a double programme in the ELMS).
Egidio Perfetti looks set to return to the WEC with his new Porsche and may do so with a third season with Team Project 1, who reportedly also has a second new car available. The effort was not a happy ship towards the end of the last season though, and there may be some changes afoot.
That’s 12 cars so far but signs are that there may be a newcomer or two, with the final homes of at least three of the 2021 batch of 911 RSR-19 customer cars currently unaccounted for.
Amongst the possibilities are:
Absolute Racing who have eyed Le Mans and the WEC for some while and who are entering the Asian Le Mans Series this season, notably no nomination of car brand for the Asian Series has yet been declared.
Reigning Asian Le Mans Series GT Champions Hub Auto whose team owner bought one of the previous batch of 911 RSRs to the 2017 spec, this the car that contested Le Mans with the all Monegasque APM Sport driver line-up in 2019. The team are another 2021 Asian Le Mans Series entrant, notably also having not yet nominated the make of GT3 car that they will field in Asia.
Senior sources at GPX Racing, Dinamic and Herberth Motorsport have all dismissed suggestions of potential WEC entries in 2021 though the former and the latter are Asian Le Mans Series entries with prospects of earning an auto entry for Le Mans!
