Ben Hanley is getting to know the TDS Racing team today, the DragonSeed full-season man stepping in to sub for the injured Mathieu Vaxivière in the #28 Oreca alongside 2016 GTE Am Drivers’ Champions Francois Perrodo and Manu Collard.
Aston Martin Racing has an all green fleet for the first time this season, the Valero branding on the #97 car reverting to the regular green, potentially for the rest of the season (though the livery has appeared at CoTA in previous years).
The third Toyota TS050 is here too of course, the first time in the factory team’s WEC history that a third car has been fielded.
The entry also marks Nico Lapierre’s return to the Toyota factory team, with reigning World Champion Roman Dumas filling in for Lapierre at Signatech Alpine. Stephane Sarrazin moves over to the #9 car from his full season seat last year and Yuji Kunimoto makes his FIA WEC debut in the #9.
Jose Maria Lopez is awaiting final medical clearance to race this weekend after his heavy accident at Silverstone, with a decision also due on whether a change will occur in the ruleset surrounding the medical lights on the LMP1s, the system activated for the first time in the WEC after Lopez’s accident, but without the rules in place for an attending doctor to insist a driver does not attempt to continue.
Should he not be cleared to race, DSC understands that the team will proceed with a two-man crew for the weekend.
The #35 Signatech Alpine of Pierre Ragues, WEC debutant André Negrão and Nelson Panciatici makes its first race appearance of the year (with only the Le Mans 24 Hours also planned).
Tockwith Motorsport’s #34 Ligier JS P217 makes the first of what may well be a number of race-by-race WEC appearances this year. The entry, for ELMS regular pairing Nigel Moore and Phil Hanson, plus Le Mans third man Karun Chandhok, is the first in the WEC for the new LMP2 Ligier.
The race this weekend marks Chandhok’s first appearance in a WEC 6-Hour race since 2012 when he raced a full-season in JRM Racing’s LMP1 HPD.
AF Corse’s levels of preparation know few bounds with the team actually laying new cement at the small lip between the pit garages and apron. Before the tarmac surface was a half inch or so lower than the garage surface.
DSC spotted Mentos and Mentos Racing owner Egidio Perfetti in the pit lane, watching Porsche pit stop practice before the worst of the weather returned. He was able to confirm that the grid for the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours is set.
“There is no way to the grid for us this year, either with our own car (the final reserve entry) or with me taking a drive for another team. I will race at Le Mans this year though, in the Carrera Cup support race. I hope to be on the grid for the 24 Hours in 2019.”
