Jump to content

2021 FIA World Endurance Championship

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by The359 (talk | contribs) at 22:05, 4 February 2021 (Undid revision 1004861902 by 2A00:23C4:8C83:8001:F4:F0E3:DDD7:E4D4 (talk) Again, this is misleading. All LMP2 cars compete for all championships. Cars not competing in the LMP2 Pro-Am Cup are not in a separate class.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship will be the ninth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series is open to prototype and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into four categories. World Championship titles will be awarded to the leading manufacturers and drivers in both the prototype and grand tourer divisions.

The 2021 championship is due to see a significant overhaul of the technical regulations in the top class of competition. The LMP1 Prototypes used in the top class for the first eight years of the championship will be phased out and replaced by a new class known as Le Mans Hypercars. However, current specification LMP1 cars will be permitted to be "grandfathered" for use in the season.

The 2021 championship will also mark the return to an annual calendar for the World Endurance Championship, switching back to a summer calendar after the late running of the previous season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Schedule

A schedule was revealed in December 2019 at the 8 Hours of Bahrain.[2] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous season was extended into November 2020. However, the 2021 season will return to an annual calendar entirely instead of a winter calendar.[3] A calendar for the 2021 season was announced during the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans event. The calendar featured six rounds as opposed to eight and saw the removal of the 6 Hours of Silverstone, 6 Hours of Shanghai and Lone Star Le Mans when compared with the 2020-21 calendar as well as the addition of the 6 Hours of Monza.[4] The decision to run a six-round series was made to save on costs due to the financial impact of the pandemic.[5] The 1000 Miles of Sebring was initially scheduled for 19 March 2021 as the first round of the season, but was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and replaced by a race of the same length at Portimão on 4 April 2021.[6]

Rnd Race Circuit Location Date
1 8 Hours of Portimão Portugal Algarve International Circuit Portimão, Algarve, Portugal 4 April
2 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps Belgium Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Spa, Belgium 1 May
3 24 Hours of Le Mans France Circuit de la Sarthe Le Mans, France 12–13 June
4 6 Hours of Monza Italy Autodromo Nazionale di Monza Monza, Italy 18 July
5 6 Hours of Fuji Japan Fuji Speedway Oyama, Shizuoka, Japan 26 September
6 8 Hours of Bahrain Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit Sakhir, Bahrain 20 November
Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Race Circuit Location Original Date
1000 Miles of Sebring United States Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida, United States 19 March

Regulation changes

The championship will introduce the Le Mans Hypercar category as a replacement for the Le Mans Prototype 1 class.[7][8] Manufacturers will be free to build and enter bespoke designs without homologation requirement or cars based on existing road-going models subject to a homologation requirement of building at least twenty road-legal models over a two-year period.[9] The cars will have a minimum weight of 1,030 kg (2,270 lb), and power output will be capped at 680 hp (510 kW) in order achieve a benchmark lap time of three minutes and thirty seconds at the Circuit de la Sarthe.[9] Hybrid energy-recovery systems are allowed on the front axle only, and cars can derive up to 272 hp (203 kW) of their total power output from those systems. A Balance of Performance system modelled on the system used by the GTE class will be applied to ensure parity between hybrid and non-hybrid models.[9] Manufacturers will be given greater freedoms in designing the bodywork of Hypercars compared to Le Mans Prototypes provided that bodywork styling does not affect safety standards.[9] LMP2 cars will receive a power decrease of 40 horsepower, to 560 horsepower, in order to maintain the performance gap between the new top class and LMP2. A specification tyre will be introduced in LMP2, produced by Goodyear, ending the tyre war between Goodyear and Michelin.[10]

Entries

Toyota announced plans to enter the championship under the Hypercar regulations with a bespoke car based on the GR Super Sport Concept.[11] Toyota launched their GR010 Hybrid on 15 January 2021.[12] In June 2020, boutique car manufacturer Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus committed to a two-car effort with the Glickenhaus 007 LMH, in partnership with 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Sauber Motorsport, 15-time Le Mans winners Joest Racing, and engine specialists Pipo Moteurs.[13][14][15] [16] At the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans, LMP1 competitors ByKolles Racing Team committed to a hypercar programme with its own car, the PMC Project LMH, but the team were not present on the entry list announced ahead of the 2021 season.[17][18][19] Aston Martin initially planned to enter a car based on the Valkyrie road-going model.[11] However, the British manufacturer later decided to put its Le Mans Hypercar program on hold.[20][21] Long-time LMP1 privateer team Rebellion Racing will end its racing operations at the end of the 2019-20 season,[22] despite having previously announced the joint development of a Hypercar with Peugeot.[23] Peugeot itself has announce plans to compete from 2022 onwards, and announced Ligier Automotive as a partner in its project.[24][25][26][27] Alpine announced that it will enter the championship using a single rebadged Rebellion R13 LMP1, run by Signatech Alpine.[28][29][30] In LMGTE Pro, Aston Martin Racing ended its factory GTE Pro program run by Prodrive.[31]

Hypercar

Entrant Car Engine Tyre No. Drivers Rounds
Japan Toyota Gazoo Racing[32] Toyota GR010 Hybrid Toyota 3.5 L Turbo V6 M 7 United Kingdom Mike Conway[33] TBA
Japan Kamui Kobayashi[33] TBA
Argentina José María López[33] TBA
8 Switzerland Sébastien Buemi[33] TBA
New Zealand Brendon Hartley[33] TBA
Japan Kazuki Nakajima[33] TBA
France Alpine Elf Matmut[34] Alpine A480 Gibson GL458 4.5 L V8 M 36 France Nicolas Lapierre[35] TBA
Brazil André Negrão[34] TBA
France Matthieu Vaxivière[35] TBA
United States Glickenhaus Racing[34] Glickenhaus 007 LMH Pipo Moteurs 3.5 L Turbo V8 M 708 United States Gustavo Menezes[34] TBA
France Olivier Pla[36][N 1] TBA
United Kingdom Richard Westbrook[36][N 1] TBA
709 Australia Ryan Briscoe[34] TBA
Brazil Pipo Derani[36][N 1] TBA
France Romain Dumas[36][N 1] TBA
France Franck Mailleux[36][N 1] TBA
  1. ^ a b c d e Although Glickenhaus has named which drivers will be with the team in 2021, the specific car they will be driving have yet to be announced.[36]

LMP2

In accordance with the 2017 LMP2 regulations, all cars in the LMP2 class use the Gibson GK428 V8 engine. Entries in the LMP2 Pro-Am Cup, set aside for teams with a Bronze-rated driver in their line-up, are denoted with a dark background.

Entrant Car No. Tyre Drivers Rounds
France Richard Mille Racing Team[37] Oreca 07 1 G Colombia Tatiana Calderón[37] TBA
Germany Sophia Flörsch[37] TBA
Netherlands Beitske Visser[37] TBA
Denmark High Class Racing[38] Oreca 07 20 G Denmark Dennis Andersen[38] TBA
Denmark Anders Fjordbach[38] TBA
Denmark Jan Magnussen[38] TBA
United States DragonSpeed USA[39] Oreca 07 21 G United Kingdom Ben Hanley[34] TBA
Sweden Henrik Hedman[34] TBA
Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya[39] TBA
United States United Autosports USA[34] Oreca 07 22 G Portugal Filipe Albuquerque[34] TBA
United Kingdom Philip Hanson[34] TBA
Switzerland Fabio Scherer[34] TBA
United Kingdom Jota[40][41] Oreca 07 28 G United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist[41] TBA
Indonesia Sean Gelael[41] TBA
Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne[41] TBA
38 G United Kingdom Anthony Davidson[40] TBA
Portugal António Félix da Costa[40] TBA
Mexico Roberto González[40] TBA
Netherlands Racing Team Nederland[42] Oreca 07 29 G Netherlands Frits van Eerd[42] TBA
Netherlands Giedo van der Garde[42] TBA
Netherlands Job van Uitert[42] TBA
Belgium Team WRT[43] Oreca 07 31 G Netherlands Robin Frijns[43] TBA
TBA TBA
TBA TBA
Poland Inter Europol Competition[44] Oreca 07 34 G United Kingdom Alex Brundle[44] TBA
Poland Kuba Śmiechowski[44] TBA
Netherlands Renger van der Zande[44] TBA
Slovakia ARC Bratislava[34] Ligier JS P217 44 G Slovakia Miro Konôpka[34] TBA
TBA TBA
TBA TBA
Switzerland Realteam Racing[45] Oreca 07 70 G France Loïc Duval[45] TBA
Switzerland Esteban Garcia[45] TBA
France Norman Nato[45] TBA

LMGTE Pro

Entrant Car Engine Tyre No. Drivers Rounds
Italy AF Corse[34] Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 M 51 United Kingdom James Calado[34] TBA
Italy Alessandro Pier Guidi[34] TBA
TBA TBA
52 Spain Miguel Molina[34] TBA
Brazil Daniel Serra[34] TBA
TBA TBA
Germany Porsche GT Team[34] Porsche 911 RSR-19 Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 M 91 Italy Gianmaria Bruni[34] TBA
Austria Richard Lietz[34] TBA
TBA TBA
92 France Kévin Estre[34] TBA
Switzerland Neel Jani[34] TBA
TBA TBA

LMGTE Am

Entrant Car Engine Tyre No. Drivers Rounds
United Kingdom TF Sport[46] Aston Martin Vantage AMR Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 M 33 Brazil Felipe Fraga[46] TBA
United States Ben Keating[46] TBA
Luxembourg Dylan Pereira[46] TBA
Japan D'station Racing[47] M 777 Japan Tomonobu Fujii[47] TBA
Japan Satoshi Hoshino[47] TBA
TBA[47] TBA
Germany Team Project 1[34] Porsche 911 RSR-19 Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 M 46 Germany Jörg Bergmeister[34] TBA
TBA TBA
TBA TBA
56 Italy Matteo Cairoli[34] TBA
Norway Egidio Perfetti[34] TBA
TBA TBA
Italy Cetilar Racing[48] Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 M 47 Italy Roberto Lacorte[48] TBA
TBA[48] TBA
TBA[48] TBA
Italy AF Corse[48] Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 M 54 Italy Francesco Castellacci[48] TBA
Italy Giancarlo Fisichella[48] TBA
Switzerland Thomas Flohr[48] TBA
83 Denmark Nicklas Nielsen[48] TBA
France François Perrodo[48] TBA
Italy Alessio Rovera[48] TBA
Italy Iron Lynx[48] Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 M 60 Italy Matteo Cressoni[48] TBA
Italy Claudio Schiavoni[48] TBA
Italy Andrea Piccini[48] TBA
85 Switzerland Rahel Frey[48] TBA
Denmark Michelle Gatting[48] TBA
Italy Manuela Gostner[48] TBA
Germany Dempsey-Proton Racing[34] Porsche 911 RSR-19 Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 M 77 Germany Christian Ried[34] TBA
TBA TBA
TBA TBA
88 France Julien Andlauer[34] TBA
TBA TBA
TBA TBA
United Kingdom GR Racing[34] Porsche 911 RSR-19 Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 M 86 United Kingdom Ben Barker[34] TBA
United Kingdom Michael Wainwright[34] TBA
TBA TBA
United Kingdom Aston Martin Racing[34] Aston Martin Vantage AMR Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 M 98 Canada Paul Dalla Lana[34] TBA
TBA TBA
TBA TBA

References

  1. ^ "WEC shelves winter calendar format for 2021". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Monza and Kyalami on 2020-2021 WEC calendar". GrandPrix247. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  3. ^ "WEC shelves winter calendar format for 2021". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  4. ^ "2021 FIA WEC provisional calendar revealed". www.fiawec.com. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  5. ^ "WEC - Provisional 2021 FIA WEC calendar revealed". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Portimão to replace Sebring for 2021 FIA WEC season-opener". FIA WEC. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  7. ^ Watkins, Gary (7 June 2018). "FIA gives green light to WEC's 'hypercar' LMP1 prototype successor". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  8. ^ Coch, Mat (8 June 2018). "FIA announces 'hypercar' rules for 2020/21 WEC season". speedcafe.com. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  9. ^ a b c d Errington, Tom (15 June 2019). "WEC commits to hypercar rules from 2020/21 and reveals details". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  10. ^ Euwema, Davey. "WEC: LMP2 set for power decrease and single tyre in 2020/21". Motorsport Week. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  11. ^ a b Perrins, Slade (15 June 2019). "Aston Martin, Toyota confirm WEC hypercar programs". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  12. ^ "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing introduces GR010 HYBRID Hypercar". TOYOTA GAZOO Racing introduces GR010 HYBRID Hypercar. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  13. ^ Goodwin, Graham (5 November 2018). "Glickenhaus confirms 2020/21 'Hypercar' program". racer.com. Racer. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  14. ^ Lloyd, Daniel. "Glickenhaus Enlists Joest, Sauber to Support LMH Program – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  15. ^ Lloyd, Daniel. "Glickenhaus to Use Pipo Moteurs Engine for Le Mans Hypercar – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  16. ^ Dagys, John (13 December 2019). "ByKolles Planning Hypercar for 2020". sportscar365.com. Sportscar365. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  17. ^ "24 Hours of Le Mans – ByKOLLES Racing confirms participation in Le Mans Hypercar". 24h-lemans.com. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  18. ^ Dagys, John. "ByKolles Reveals PMC Project LMH – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  19. ^ "33 Car Entry For 2021 FIA WEC | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  20. ^ Dagys, John (19 February 2020). "Aston Martin Puts LM Hypercar Program "On Hold"". sportscar365.com. sportscar365. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  21. ^ "Redirecting to https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/statement-in-response-to-aston-martin-release-on-valkyrie-race-programme-53423". www.lemans.org. Retrieved 27 January 2021. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  22. ^ "Rebellion Racing To Stop Racing Activities After Le Mans – dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  23. ^ "Peugeot announces Rebellion tie-up for hypercar". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  24. ^ "Peugeot WEC Programme At "Full Speed" Despite Rebellion Withdrawal – dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  25. ^ "24 Hours of Le Mans - Peugeot Sport reveals its Hypercar design". 24h-lemans.com. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  26. ^ "WEC - Peugeot Confirms FIA WEC Le Mans Hypercar Entry". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  27. ^ Dagys, John. "Report: Peugeot to Partner with Ligier for WEC Project – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  28. ^ "Signatech Alpine Confirm 2021 LMP1 Programme – dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  29. ^ "Alpine Endurance Team s'engage en LMP1 en 2021 – alpinecars.com". www.alpinecars.com. Alpine. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  30. ^ "Alpine Endurance Team confirms LMP1 entry for 2021 FIA WEC season". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  31. ^ Watkins, Gary. "Aston Martin exits WEC and ends GTE Pro programme". Autosport.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  32. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (14 January 2021). "Toyota Launches GR010 Hybrid; Technical Details Revealed". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  33. ^ a b c d e f Lloyd, Daniel (14 January 2021). "Unchanged Driver Lineup for Toyota in 2021". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  34. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai Lloyd, Daniel (21 January 2021). "WEC Reveals 33-Car Season Entry for 2021". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  35. ^ a b Watkins, Glen (26 January 2021). "Alpine confirms WEC driver line-up". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  36. ^ a b c d e f Goodwin, Graham (29 January 2021). "Glickenhaus Racing Confirms 2021 WEC Drivers". DailySportsCar. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  37. ^ a b c d Lloyd, Daniel (20 December 2020). "Richard Mille Racing Moves Up to WEC LMP2 Ranks". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  38. ^ a b c d Lloyd, Daniel (2 December 2020). "Jan Magnussen Named in High Class' All-Danish LMP2 Lineup". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  39. ^ a b Holloway, Alice (17 November 2020). "DragonSpeed Make WEC Return with Montoya". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  40. ^ a b c d "JOTA Re-Signs Gonzalez, Davidson & Da Costa For 2021 FIA WEC Campaign". Dailysportscar. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  41. ^ a b c d Lloyd, Daniel (7 January 2021). "JOTA Announces First LMP2 Lineup with Two FE Drivers". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  42. ^ a b c d Lloyd, Daniel (10 December 2020). "Nederland Confirms WEC Continuation, Rolex 24 Entry". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  43. ^ a b "WRT Set To Confirm LMP2 Entry For 2021 FIA WEC". Dailysportscar. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  44. ^ a b c d Lloyd, Daniel (5 January 2021). "Inter Europol Finalizes Lineup; Castroneves in for Sebring". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  45. ^ a b c d Lloyd, Daniel (18 January 2021). "Realteam Recruits Duval, Nato for Step Up to LMP2". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  46. ^ a b c d Lloyd, Daniel (19 January 2021). "Keating Switches to Aston Martin for GTE-Am Program". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  47. ^ a b c d Lloyd, Daniel (19 January 2021). "D'station to Make GTE-Am Debut with TF Sporty". sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  48. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "2021 FIA WEC Am Entry Set To Welcome Five Ferrari Entries". Dailysportscar. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

External links