2017 saw a Titanic Le Mans GTE Pro battle dominate the headlines, this time it was another historic rivalry renewed. In 2016 it was Ford vs Ferrari, in 2017 it was Aston Martin vs Corvette took the spotlight.
The Le Mans 24 Hours never fails to produce drama and 2017’s edition was action-packed, particularly at the end when Jonny Adam fought past Jordan Taylor to claim a last-gasp victory for Aston Martin Racing. It would be AMR’s first GTE Pro win at La Sarthe and provided a fitting result in the final season of the V8 Vantage GTE platform.
Elsewhere it was a title win for the Ferrari 488 in WEC competition, with James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi bettering Porsche’s Richard Lietz and Frederic Makowiecki. Despite missing out on the title it was still a significant year for Porsche, which debuted the 911 RSR, a car that would go on to have a hugely successful and noisy run as a factory and privateer chariot.
It was Ferrari on top in ELMS competition too, with JMW Motorsport switching from the 458 Italia to the 488 mid-season, winning GTE Am at Le Mans, before going on a run of four consecutive podiums to finish the season with its new car.
Corvette took the GTLM title once again in IMSA, the highlight for Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen coming early in the season at Sebring. The Rolex 24 win though, would go the way of Ford, with Joey Hand, Dirk Muller and Sebastien Bourdais adding to the GT’s legacy with a spectacular performance.
2017 – European Le Mans Series – LMGTE – Larbre Competition – #50 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
2017 – European Le Mans Series – LMGTE – Spirit of Race – #51 Ferrari 488 GTE
2017 – European Le Mans Series – LMGTE – Spirit of Race – #55 Ferrari 488 GTE
2017 – European Le Mans Series – LMGTE – JMW Motorsport – #66 Ferrari 458 Italia GT2
2017 – European Le Mans Series – LMGTE – JMW Motorsport – #66 Ferrari 488 GTE – Jody Fanin, Robert Smith
2017 – European Le Mans Series – LMGTE – Proton Competition – #77 Porsche 911 RSR
2017 – European Le Mans Series – LMGTE – Proton Competition – #88 Porsche 911 RSR
2017 – European Le Mans Series – LMGTE – TF Sport – #90 Aston Martin Vantage GTE
2017 – European Le Mans Series – LMGTE – Beechdean AMR – #99 Aston Martin Vantage GTE
2017 – IMSA – GTLM – Corvette Racing – #3 Corvette C7.R – Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen
