The entry deadline for the 2022 European Le Mans Series is today with grid numbers again looking likely to be very healthy indeed.
LMP2 in particular has boomed in recent seasons and 2022 looks set to be no different on that front with DSC expecting no fewer than 17 full-season entries, and potentially more than that!
Perhaps even more remarkably in a year that has seen a number of 2021 ELMS teams move to the FIA WEC, taking advantage of the relative ‘bargain’ represented by a still constrained, 6 race WEC calendar and with the assurance of a Le Mans entry, almost half of the 2022 ELMS LMP2 grid looks set to be formed of teams that did not contest the class last season in the ELMS.
Looking set to return, and likely the only two-car team in the class entry are G-Drive Racing by Algarve Pro Racing, after fielding a trio of cars last season (2 under the G-Drive racing banner, one under APR) it will be two in 2022 with both looking likely to be branded with G-Drive. There is likely too to be a G-Drive-branded LMP3 effort, most likely from EuroInternational.
Moving from a two-car to a single Oreca entry is United Autosports as the Yorkshire, UK-based outfit boosts its WEC LMP2 effort to a second car.
Also returning for 2022 from the 2021 Series, each with a single Oreca, are IDEC Sport, Cool Racing, BHK Motorsport, Duqueine Team, Panis Racing and Racing Team Turkey.
That’s nine returning cars effectively confirmed.
At present, it looks like that figure will be almost matched by an incoming squadron of Orecas.
Both Prema and AF Corse have confirmed plans to field a single car in both the FIA WEC and ELMS, and the announcement from Inter Europol this week of a parallel ELMS programme to their returning WEC effort makes that three doing double duty.
Nielsen Racing are debuting their newly acquired Oreca in the Asian Le Mans Series later this week and look set to add an ELMS programme to their programme too.
TDS Racing is expected to make a return to the ELMS with at least one LMP2 Oreca for the 2022 season, the team past multiple race winners and 2012 overall Champions.
And there look set to be a trio of team graduating from LMP3 with ELMS LMP3 Champions DKR Engineering plus Muehlner Motorsport and Virage Team all understood to be adding solo entries to the class.
Currently unknown are the plans for Graff Racing, the French team telling DSC at the end of last season that they wanted to return with one or to LMP2s (one is entered in the Asian Le Mans Series).
Also a possibility is an effort from Keo Racing with their ex-High Class Dallara P217, the team have tested over the past two years with the car but with no race entry thus far. Should that emerge it would be the only non-Oreca effort across the ELMS, IMSA and FIA WEC!
Several of the teams have also announced their driver line-ups already. Here’s what we know publicly so far:
AF Corse – Francois Perrodo, Nicklas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco
G-Drive Racing by Algarve Pro Racing – Roman Rusinov
G-Drive Racong by Algarve Pro Racing – John Falb, James Allen, Alex Peroni
BHK Motorsport – Augusto Farfus
Cool Racing – Nicolas Lapierre
DKR Engineering – Laurents Hörr
Duqueine Team – Richard Bradley, Memo Rojas, Reshad De Gerus.
IDEC Sport – Paul Lafargue
Inter Europol Competition – Pietro Fittipaldi, David Heinemeier Hansson, Fabio Scherer
Muehlner Motorsports
Nielsen Racing
Panis Racing
Prema
Racing Team Turkey – Salih Yoluc, Charlie Eastwood, Jack Aitken
TDS Racing
United Autosports – Tom Gamble, Phil Hanson, Duncan Tappy
Virage Team
