World Endurance Championship 2016

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Duke
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World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by Duke »

I think it's time to start this years topic since it's now 2016.

2016 FIA World Endurance Championship Provisional Calendar**
25/26 March: The Prologue, Circuit Paul Ricard, France
17 April: 6 Hours of Silverstone, GBR
07 May: WEC 6 Hours of Spa, BEL
05 June: 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day
18/19 June: 24 Hours of Le Mans, FRA
24 July: 6 Hours of Nürburgring, DEU
04 September: 6 Hours of Mexico City, MEX (To Be Confirmed)
17 September: 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas (Lone Star Le Mans), USA
16 October: 6 Hours of Fuji, JPN
06 November: 6 Hours of Shanghai, CHN
19 November: 6 Hours of Bahrain, BAH
** Subject to validation by the FIA World Motor Sport Council
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by Duke »

Ford GT Drivers Revealed for World Endurance Battle

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Marino Franchitti, Stefan Mucke, Olivier Pla, and Andy Priaulx will race for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing in the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship, at the wheel of the all-new Ford GT, the team announced in a press conference today.

The radical new Ford GT is making its return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans on what will be the fiftieth anniversary of the Ford GT40's inaugural triumph in the race in 1966, and Chip Ganassi Racing have selected an experienced, veteran quartet of drivers to compete in the full WEC campaign. Ford plans to field four cars at Le Mans, combining their WEC squads with the two Ford teams competing in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship - who will be represented by full-time drivers Ryan Briscoe, Joey Hand, Dirk Müller, and Richard Westbrook.

“Make no mistake, we are racing to win,” said Ford Performance global director Dave Pericak. “To compete at this level you need the best car, the best team and the best drivers, and we have selected Stefan, Olivier, Andy and Marino to drive the Ford GT to take on the best in the world.”

“Just like when we announced the Ford GT drivers for the Weathertech Sportscar Championship last month, we’ve again chosen drivers with heart, speed and proven endurance racing credentials," said team owner Chip Ganassi. "It’s a global team running in two championships and I can’t wait for the racing to begin.”

Marino Franchitti has been a stalwart of endurance racing for over a decade, in 2014 he won the 12 Hours of Sebring driving for Ganassi in a Ford-engined Daytona Prototype. His brother, Dario, is a four-time IndyCar Series champion and three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. A ninth-place finish in the LMP2 class for Highcroft Racing in 2010 is Marino's best Le Mans result to date. "From my first test in the Ford GT I fell in love with it and just wanted to drive it more and more. It’s incredible to be part of Ford’s return to international GT racing and to go to Le Mans 50 years after Ford’s first win there will be extremely special," Franchitti said of his new car and team.

Stefan Mücke joins Ford after spending seven years at Aston Martin Racing, where he finished third in GTE Pro at Le Mans in 2012 and 2013. This year will mark the German's tenth consecutive Le Mans entry. He'll be the first of the four drivers to race the new Ford GT when he teams with Briscoe and Westbrook in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona on 30-31 January.

Long-time LMP2 front-runner Olivier Pla is back in action after a lost season at NISMO in 2015. The Frenchman has entered Le Mans eight times, finishing second in the LMP2 category in 2013. "It's a huge honour for me to represent Ford,- the Ford GT is a very special car and it is a privilege for me to drive it," said Pla. "Personally as a Frenchman, lining up at Le Mans as a Ford GT driver will be something very special."

Andy Priaulx is also beginning a new chapter in racing after a thirteen-year affiliation with BMW. The Guernsey driver is a triple WTCC champion, a winner of the 24 Hours Nürburgring, and last year, Priaulx was a race winner in both the BTCC and European Le Mans Series. This will be Priaulx's first Le Mans entry since he placed third in the GT2 category in 2011, and like Mücke, he'll be in action at Daytona in January, driving for Ganassi's Daytona Prototype team in a car shared with reigning World Endurance Drivers' Champion Brendon Hartley, two-time Le Mans winner Alexander Wurz, and European Formula 3 star Lance Stroll.

Priaulx added: "Any motorsport fan will remember the iconic Ford GT40 cars of the past, and for me to be part of this programme 50 years after Ford’s historic win at Le Mans is such a privilege."

The Ford GT will make its WEC debut on 17 April at the 6 Hours of Silverstone, and its long-anticipated return to Le Mans on 18-19 June.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by r8response »

If F1 doesn't start to make changes in the interest of the fans (Streaming etc), I believe there is a good chance the WEC will overshadow it within 5 years.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by pixelboy »

Great line-up!

It's very exciting in GT-E with Ford and the new Ferrari!

Bring it on!
eek
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by Duke »

And the new BMW & new Aston Martin.
Iirc all GTE cars are new cause of rule changes, especially around safety incl a roof hatch for driver extraction.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by Big Kev »

I'm planning to go to the WEC race at Silverstone again this year. Was good fun last time. Looking forward to seeing the Ford.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by Scottie »

Silverstone was great with those cars, went in 2013 and had a great time. That place is massive though! Heaps of walking!
So much more access than F1, it's ridiculous!

Enjoy! Hope it doesn't rain!
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by Big Kev »

They seem to learn a bit more each year on how to organise it better. They have free buses that you can hop on to and get a ride round to the infield or other parts of the track, but yes it's a real hike.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by pixelboy »

I'm very jealous Kev.. Would be awesome to see WEC sometime.

I'm planning to try and go to Europe in the next few years for Le Mans but that's still a dream.
eek
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

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I have issues with the Ford GT...



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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by pixelboy »

Yeah but you can say that about loads of brands...

It's better than anything Ford's produced in the past 30 years!
eek
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by Jamo »

Sounds like someone ripping a fart.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

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pixelboy wrote:I'm very jealous Kev.. Would be awesome to see WEC sometime.

I'm planning to try and go to Europe in the next few years for Le Mans but that's still a dream.
Stop dreaming, start saving. :yes:
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by Dr. Pain »

pixelboy wrote:Yeah but you can say that about loads of brands...
That's true Pix but you still know a car for it's noise. Like it's easy to tell a Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Corvette ect... Where this sounds bland. It might well very well but it's like current F1, it lacks some fizz.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

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Former Caterham and Sauber Grand Prix driver Giedo van der Garde has confirmed a deal to drive an LMP2 JOTA Sport Gibson 015S-Nissan in the 2016 running of the Le Mans 24 Hour endurance classic. Having spent 2015 sitting on the sidelines following his on off deal to drive for the Swiss Sauber team in Formula One, affable Dutchman van der Garde makes his return to full time competition this season competing in the European Le Mans Series alongside the season opening WEC 6 hours of Spa and the pinnacle of the endurance racing calendar, the Le Mans 24 Hour round the clock classic in June.

Speaking to fans via his official @GvanderGarde Twitter account van der Garde had the following to say:
"the word is out, finally I can say the words every driver wants to say at the beginning of a racing season: I am pleased to announce that the coming year I will be driving ELMS with JOTA Racing, including the WEC 6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps and - here is my dream coming true - the 24 hours of Le Mans! Lets go, hopefully its going to be a successful journey!"
30 year old van de Garde will be partnered by JOTA Sport regulars Simon Dolan and another soon to be announced driver in the LMP 2 spec Gibson 015S-Nissan during his ELMS campaign.
Simon Dolan, JOTA Sport partner, driver “I am very much looking forward to sharing a car with Giedo this season. He has a very strong pedigree in racing and I am sure he will be a great asset to the team. From what I have heard he has already made a good impression at the workshop and it is evident he is hungry to forge a good career in endurance racing.
“2016 is a big year for JOTA Sport with an expanded program, so there is a lot of hard work to come, but also a lot to look forward to. We cannot wait to get started.”
With JOTA Sport expanding its opperations into the World Endurance Championship in 2016 this announcement is surely a stepping stone for the Dutchman to forge a career in Sportscar racing following his shambolic exit from the world of Formula One at the beginning on the 2015 season in Melbourne.
Hoping to join other big name former Grand Prix drivers such as Mark Webber, Giancarlo Fisichella and Anthony Davidson in the ranks of the WEC, this latest announcement will provide a fine shop window for the often underrated driver with an opportunity to show his talents both at the season opening Spa 6 hour and of course the key date in any endurance drivers diary, the Le Mans 24.

JOTA Sport led the majority of the 2015 ELMS before eventually finishing runner up in 2015 and van der Garde will no doubt be looking to go into the new season all guns blazing in order to put his career back on track after his recent troubles in Formula One.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by w00dsy »

for the second year in a row he'll be sharing a car with others.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

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w00dsy wrote:for the second year in a row he'll be sharing a car with others.
He stopped short of saying... I'd like to thank sauber for their contribution to my budget for 2016... :)
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

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Good walking/standing footwear, makes a difference.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by Hz-Lab »

wobblysauce wrote:Good walking/standing footwear, makes a difference.
Also...

Breath oxygen
Walking forwards is more efficient and safer than backwards
Watch the cars with your eyes
Take your hands with you, it's no place to forget your hands
Don't spend too long wondering where to start looking for specialty standing footwear.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

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He's back! haha
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

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We've just booked for Le Mans this year. Leaving on my son's birthday and will be away on my wife's. Does this make me a horrible person?

I hope the FIA realise how much grief they have given me these last couple of years after they moved it back a few weeks.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by Hz-Lab »

I've got a Le-mans trip worked in to my 5 year plan lol. Probably no 1 on my Motorsport bucket list
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

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If you need any info on that then I'd be happy to help.

Who's up for an ARSE meet in France in June 2017? :D
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

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Im in. I'll start saving, for good shoes.
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Re: World Endurance Championship 2016

Post by bengatta »

durbster wrote:We've just booked for Le Mans this year. Leaving on my son's birthday and will be away on my wife's. Does this make me a horrible person?

I hope the FIA realise how much grief they have given me these last couple of years after they moved it back a few weeks.
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