Following on from our look at the LMP classes for the FIA WEC in 2022 here’s Part 2 which looks at the prospective entries for the GTE classes, GTE Pro, and GTE Am.
GTE Pro
GTE Pro is set to start its final season in 2022 and after a controversial end to the 2021 World Championship, there may be fireworks in store!
Corvette Racing
The biggest news ahead of the 2022 season came just days after the 2021 season finale with Corvette Racing confirming that they will enter the full 2022 FIA WEC with a single-car Corvette C8.R effort.
Nick Tandy will return to the WEC for the first time since 2017 alongside full-season WEC debutant Tommy Milner.
The factory team will request a second class entry for Le Mans with Alexander Sims set to bolster the full-season car at Le Mans
Ferrari
The AF Corse supported factory effort will continue into 2022 as the Italian marque look to defend their 2021 World Championship title to the cessation of the class with a pair of Ferrari 488 GTE Evos.
Porsche
Porsche too will return to field a pair of 911 RSR-19s for the full WEC season. More will be known in a couple of weeks as to the specifics of the programme with regard to drivers in what is now the only outlet for full Pro GTE spec racing after the end of IMSA’s GTLM class after the 2021 season.
Possible
Aston Martin
Efforts are still alive to find the funding package for a final shot at the GTE Pro title for Aston Martin with both TF Sport and AMR keen to make it happen.
Any effort would though rely on finding an investor to buy a GTE spec Aston Martin for the programme with enough of a running budget to field a full Pro line-up, a significant seven-figure challenge.
No deal had been done by the end of the 2021 WEC season, the clock is ticking!
GTE Am
A proposal made by LMEM to increase the maximum grid size for the FIA WEC would have significant impacts for the GTE Am entry, offering more opportunity for growth but with the necessity for the teams to compromise at certain races, doubling up in a single garage amongst the required moves, DSC understands.
That proposal is not yet a certainty but should a way forward be found, the current grid numbers in class could grow by close to 50%
GTE Am meanwhile will continue for the next two seasons before the GT3 era in FIA WEC begins in 2024.
AF Corse
Alongside their two-car factory-backed GTE Pro effort and the already confirmed LMP2 programme for 2022 GTE Am Champions Francois Perrodo, Alessio Rovera and Nicklas Nielsen the Italian GT racing giant is set to field multiple full-season GTE Am efforts.
Cetilar Racing will not return for 2022 (though that may be a one-year WEC sabbatical whilst the Italian team contests the Michelin Endurance Challenge in IMSA, Roberto Lacorte switching his racing stateside as his Cetilar pharma business launches in the North American marketplace.
Thomas Flöhr is likely to return for another season of WEC racing, the #54 an ever present since the 2017 season.
As reported on DSC last month AF Corse are also set to service a new combination to the Championship of Gentleman Driver Christoph Ulrich and fellow full-season WEC debutant (three time Italian GT Pro-Am Champion) Simon Mann. The trio will be completed by the return to the FIA WEC of Finnish ace Toni Vilander.
There’s also a strong likelihood that a squad anchored by Gentleman driver Franck Dezoteux might opt for a full season in the FIA WEC, possibly adding races in the ELMS to the programme. Dezoteux contested the final round of the 2021 ELMS at Portimao with Pierre Ragues and Come Ledogar, either or both could feature in a 2021 programme.
AF Corse is known to be negotiating a fourth customer car for the FIA WEC.
Aston Martin Racing/ Northwest AMR
No confirmation yet but there is a strong probability that Paul Dalla Lana will return for another crack at the FIA WEC with the Prodrive-run squad, he’s been an ever-present since 2014.
Dempsey Proton Racing/ Proton Competition
Christian Ried confirmed to DSC last month that his team would be seeking a pair of FIA WEC entries for the coming season with the team’s Porsche 911 RSR-19s.
Ried is the only ever present driver remaining in the FIA WEC since it’s inception in 2012 and the Proton Competition team have clear plan for the future, including the high likelihood of multiple customer Porsche LMDh cars into the post-GTE era!
Sources suggest though that there could be a third potential customer GTE-Am effort in train.
No news yet of whether the ELMS effort to support the development of Michael Fassbender’s racing skillset will graduate to the WEC for 2022 – The Irish/ German star looks set to feature for the team at Le Mans at the very least.
GR Racing
Sadly it seems that the GR Racing effort will not return for the 2022 season. Mike Wainwright’s team might contest some European races but no full-season plans have been confirmed.
Iron Lynx
There is no indication that Iron Lynx plan to reel in their GTE Am efforts from the two-car squad fielded in 2021, one of which look set to continue the successful ‘Iron Dames’ all-female effort, this in addition to the Prema Powerteam LMP2 effort that Iron Lynx will support in the WEC in 2022
Kessel Racing
The Swiss squad are understood to be close to confirming a deal to run an all-Japanese line-up for Car Guy in the 2022 FIA WEC alongside a possible two-car GTE effort in the ELMS. Some sources suggest that the team are seeking a possible second entry.
See below for other potential opportunities!
Team Project 1
With Egidio Perfetti telling DSC that he will take at least a sabbatical from the FIA WEC in 2022 and the German squad struggled through the 2021 season to field their second car the plans for the team are not yet clear but sources suggest that the team have indicated that they will enter at least a single Porsche in 2022.
TF Sport
The Ben Keating anchored Aston Martin effort is already announced as returning in 2022 but there will need to be a driver reshuffle with Dylan Pereira upgraded to Gold for 2022. Several potential replacements were tested in Bahrain post season.
TF Sport are known to have sought another GTE Am entry for the season – if the proposed increase to grid numbers can be delivered that might still be a possibility.
D’Station Racing
The customer effort run on behalf of successful Japanese GT outfit D’Station Racing by TF Sport is set to return with Satoshi Hoshino and Tomonobu Fujii all but confirmed with an Aston Martin V8 Vantage AMR.
Possible Additions
Valentino Rossi
The now-retired MotoGP legend has made little secret of his wish to go GT racing in 2022 and the FIA WEC is certainly a significantly attractive option with the assurance of a Le Mans 24 Hours entry though the opportunity to attract the global superstar has also caught the attention of SRO and DTM with the ELMS also likely to be considered.
As reported by DSC last month Porsche is understood to have made a play to attract the Rossi programme, a deal that either Team Project 1 or Proton Competition would be seen to fulfil, but Ferrari look to still be the preferred option, with Kessel Racing, Iron Lynx and AF Corse likely to be considered if WEC and/ or ELMS are green-lit.
Inception Racing
There’s every chance that the Inception Racing effort will field a full-season WEC effort if the grid numbers allow.
After a GTE debut at Le Mans last year the effort is set to seek a service partner to run a Ferrari 488 GTE Evo for Brendon Iribe and a supporting pair of Pros.
That might provide a second car for Kessel, a fourth for AF Corse, or an additional effort for Iron Lynx!
Rinaldi Racing
A recasting of the programmes for the German squad have seen the ELMS and FIA WEC evaluated for a switch from GT3 racing to GTE for the remainder of the formula’s lifespan alongside the squads customer LMP3 efforts.
Whilst ELMS is understood to be the favoured option, with the WEC still operating a shorter season, and with the certainty of a Le Mans entry for full-season WEC entrants, there may never be a cheaper point to join!
Porsche Possibles
And then there are three additional teams with access to current spec Porsche 911 RSR-19s – Any or all could opt to submit a full-season entry for the FIA WEC though there is no immediate sign that any of the trio below will choose to do so.
The car owners have all seen their cars race at the Le Mans 24 Hours, may request one-off entries once again, but in any case all have the ‘provenance’ that their cars have a Le Mans start to their names.
Absolute Racing
Absolute Racing raced in GTE for the first time at Le Mans in 2021 after customer (and Porsche 911 RSR-19 owner) Andrew Haryanto brought the effort from Asia with assistance from Proton Competition.
HubAuto Corse
The Taiwanese squad don’t lack ambition and are another Asian-based outfit that has access to a current-spec 911 RSR-19. Their Le Mans entry for 2021 was posted in GTE Pro. If they wish to do that again in the final season for the class then there’s a more than reasonable chance they may be successful, a full season effort would secure that entry, a part season effort would significantly improve their chances of success with the selection committee.
Herberth Motorsport
Again had access to a current-spec RSR, indeed ‘their’ car was an addition to the original build plan.
They will again compete in the Asian Le Mans Series in February 2022 in GT3, they could either win an automatic GTE Am invitation, or request one. A full season in WEC looks very unlikely.
