LM GTE Pro: 7 Cars
51 | M | AF Corse | Gianmaria Bruni, James Calado | Ferrari 488 GTE
66 | M | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK | Olivier Pla, Stefan Mucke Billy Johnson | Ford GT
67 | M | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK | Marino Franchitti, Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell | Ford GT
71 | M | AF Corse | Davide Rigon, Sam Bird | Ferrari 488 GTE
77 | M | Dempsey Proton | Racing Richard Lietz, Michael Christensen | Porsche 911 RSR (2016)
95 | D | Aston Martin Racing | Nicki Thiim, Darren Turner, Marco Sorensen | Aston Martin Vantage
97 | D | Aston Martin Racing | Richie Stanaway, Fernando Rees, Jonny Adam | Aston Martin Vantage
GTE Pro at Silverstone was dominated by AF Corse and its pair of Ferrari 488s, and the Italian squad will be searching for the same sort of success at Spa; making them odds on favourties for both Le Mans and the title.
Sam Bird and Davide Rigon in the #71 took pole by over 1.3 seconds over the rest of the field in Northampton, and then dominated the opening race of 2016. The #51 meanwhile, had mechanical issues during qualifying and thus were forced to start at the back with a three-minute time penalty.
James Calado and Gianmaria Bruni still managed to climb the order and finish second though, handing the 488 a 1-2 on its competition debut.
If both cars manage to run the entire weekend reliably, then it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a similar result in Belgium, because the pace is clearly already there in the new machine.
Aston Martin Racing on the other hand will be heading to Spa hoping to see progression in its updated Vantages, and to its new Dunlop tyres.
They left Silverstone satisfied with a podium finish, although they felt that second place was on the cards until the #51 charged past at the end.
The #95 of Darren Turner, Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen will only get better after more time competing as a trio and the #97 of Fernando Rees and Richie Stanaway will be hope to rebound from a late retirement in the race. Joining the #97 crew after commitments in British GT on the Silverstone weekend prevented him from competing in the WEC is Jonny Adam, who will drive with Stanaway and Rees for the remainder of the season.
For the Ford Performance boys, a solid points haul at Spa would only add to their confidence ahead of their first trip to La Sarthe.
At Silverstone both the #66 and #67 Ford GTs had a quiet, but promising showing in the race on their way to fourth and fifth in the Pro class. The car is still very much in its infancy in terms of development though, so what we’ve seen so far is very encouraging.
After a troubled global debut for the car in Daytona, running well on its WEC debut was very well received. Both drivers lineups stay the same for the trip to the Ardennes, and again include the third drivers for Le Mans.
Make no mistakes, the final stop on the road to Le Mans for Ford is going to be another very important one.
For Porsche the Silverstone weekend was pretty bleak for its GTE runners and that included the Dempsey Proton Pro car, which failed to make the finish. Richard Lietz and Michael Sorensen drove well all weekend, but mechanical niggles in the race after being in the running for a podium position forced them to retire.
The only way is up for Porsche’s only full-season Pro challenger.
