Photo Credit: FIA-ACO
Just like the prototypes that will be present at Circuit de la Sarthe for the 84th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans later this month, the grand touring classes of GTE-Pro and GTE-Amateur should be extremely competitive, as was evidenced at least in terms of the upper professional group battle that went down to the last couple of hours in last year’s event. Also with new regulations and cars in place look for faster speeds on the Mulsanne Straight and overall in terms of qualifying and in the race itself. With a new set of Balance of Performance settings introduced on Thursday, the result of their influence should be seen in full on Sunday as weather conditions should be as close to perfect as possible, with only a slight chance of rain arriving at the 8.45 mile mix of permanent road course and public roads.
In GTE-Pro, the biggest news for 2016 is the return of Ford Motor Company to Le Mans for the first since 2010 race when their pair of Matech Competition entries each failed to make the finish. There will be four examples of the new Ford GT challenger at La Sarthe this month, with the program being guided by multi-time Rolex 24 at Daytona overall winners Chip Ganassi Racing. The project got off to a rough start as new car reliability issues derailed their debut in January at Daytona and also limited their performance at Sebring in March. However, once the sprint race slate in North America began, Ford improved greatly and managed to pocket their first win at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca last month. The FIA WEC half of the effort, run by George Howard-Chappell, posted a runner-up finish at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium after lacking pace in the season opener at Silverstone, England.
Although Ganassi has yet to try his luck at the granddaddy of all the endurance races, his success in both Grand-Am and IMSA competition makes him far from a sports car novice. Add to that, his driving teams are loaded featuring talents such as ex-Aston Martin racer Stefan Mucke, prototype ace Olivier Pla, GT stars Joey Hand, Dirk Muller, and Richard Westbrook, as well as 2008 Indianapolis 500 champion Scott Dixon. Throw in for good measure a weight reduction of 20 kilograms for the twin-turbo V6-propelled super car and the chances for victory look good… except for the fact that the Daytona disaster still hangs over them. Even though the strength in numbers is in their favor, even having four cars does not mean a locked-in shot at the win.
Another team getting 20 kgs cut off their car is the aforementioned Prodrive Aston Martin Racing, who have proven to be tough to beat in years past at La Sarthe. The team’s V8 Vantage has been the thorn in the side of their GTE rivals, the only problem is they have lacked one major key; luck. If the breaks go in their favor, a win in 2016 is certainly possible. Darren Turner and Richie Stanaway are the most experienced of the returning drivers, while Fernando Rees, Nicki Thiim, and Jonny Adam have all flashed big talent in recent action.
Of course, in order to win in GT endurance racing topping the American juggernauts from Corvette Racing is part of the deal. The Chevrolet runners, have not lost in each of their last five endurance races that have lasted 12 hours or longer, with the streak extending through the 2015 Rolex 24 at Daytona. It also features a victory in last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans where the team’s Chevrolet Corvette C7.R hit the top step of the podium, despite the fact they lost one of their two entries before the race started due to a qualifying crash at the Porsche Curves. Assuming the team is at full strength this time around, their challenge should be just as stout, even with the fact their horsepower has been cut for this year’s event. Technically though, the limits equal themselves out when compared to the rules the Doug Fehan-run squad has to deal with in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship. Although the air restrictor on their 5.5 liter V8 engine is smaller, the car will run ten kilos lighter at Le Mans than it currently does in IMSA.
The main core of the Corvette team is back with Jan Mangussen and Antonio Garcia in the lead car and Oliver Gavin paired with Tommy Milner in the second. The lineups are rounded out with the Taylor brothers Ricky and Jordan taking a break from their duties from driving a Chevrolet Corvette DP in IMSA to compete. IMSA races the day before the Le Mans test in Detroit, Michigan, however both siblings should be present to get some track time on Sunday.
Porsche North America takes over running the 911 RSR challenge at Le Mans this year, as the German marque surprisingly elected not to enter a team in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2016. Still, Porsche has three chances to win GTE-Pro this month with Porsche North America’s pair of entrants and Dempsey-Proton Competition fielding the third 911. As always, the straight six engine should last the full distance, the question now though is based on pace, which is where the team could have an issue in terms of being competitive, particularly on the Mulsanne Straight.
Despite that potential handicap, the list of Porsche-backed drivers is stocked in full. Overall winners from last year’s race Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber return to the GTE-Pro division in 2016, with Patrick Pilet, Jorg Bergmeister, Kevin Estre, and Fred Makowiecki providing solid support. Dempsey-Proton also is solid in the driving department with Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen having previous factory team experience at Le Mans.
However, the new turbocharged Ferrari 488 GTE could be the car to beat in terms of pace this year. Factory squad AF Corse has dominated the first two races of the FIA World Endurance Championship and while Risi Competizione has yet to win in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship with the car, they have made significant improvements since its Daytona debut. Of course, winning does come with a price; the Ferraris will run ten kilograms heavier at Le Mans than they did at Silverstone or Spa.
AF Corse’s two teams are strong with Gianmaria Bruni, James Calado, and Alessandro Pier Guidi in the lead car, and Davide Rigon, Sam Bird, and Andrea Bertolini in the secondary machine. Risi’s trio is also decent but the team has brought back into the fold Matteo Malucelli to pair with Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander. Malucelli is fast, but also has a knack for poor decisions that eliminated the team from both Daytona and Sebring in 2014. If he can control his bravery, Malucelli could lead the Houston-based squad to a surprising result.
As for GTE-Amateur, the year-old car and semi-pro drivers division is likely to once again feature a duel between AF Corse and Aston Martin Racing for the victory. With SMP Racing not back to defend their Le Mans title from a year ago, AF Corse regains the throne as the top Ferrari challenger in Amateur with the older Ferrari 458 Italia. The talents of Matt Griffin, Emmanuel Collard, and Rui Aguas will be featured among their two-car assault. In terms of AMR, the star triumvirate of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy, and Mathias Lauda is back hoping to make up for a late crash at the Ford Chicane that denied them victory in last year’s event.
Among the chasers, there are multiple options to consider. One of Proton Competition’s two Porsche 911s features an all-American driving team with Cooper MacNeil, Leh Keen, and Marc Miller. After placing third in their Le Mans debut last year, Scuderia Corsa Ferrari returns all three of its 2015 Le Mans drivers with Bill Sweedler joining professionals Townsend Bell and Jeff Segal.
Porsche factory drivers Patrick Long and Wolf Henzler lead Proton’s second entry and KCMG’s Porsche teams respectively, while former Corvette Racing pilot Johnny O’Connell leads the way for Team AAI, who has acquired an ex-factory run Chevrolet Corvette C7.R for their second attempt at La Sarthe.
Regardless of who leads the way during the Sunday tests among the grand touring runners, two things are already set in stone. They will be fast and they will be closely competitive, factors that will transfer over to the race itself in a couple weeks time.
Stay tuned to OnPitRoad.com for continued news and updates from the world of sports car racing. To see our preview of the prototype divisions at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, refer to part one of our preview posted earlier this week.
