With the first race of the 2014 FIA WEC under a month away, finally everything for the up coming season has been unveiled. We have new cars, and new drivers to look forward to, along with the established race calendar that we have had for the last few years. Below is details on each class and the 2014 race calendar is at the bottom of the page.
LMP1
For the first time we have 3 manufactures entering the LMP1 field, Audi, Porsche and Toyota. Audi and Toyota have been with us since the dawn of the WEC but it’s good to see Porsche fitting back up at the top. With Porsche comes a new crop of drivers, and the big name here is Mark Webber. The all new LMP1 cars for this year have gone the same route as F1 with the hybrid layout mandatory for manufactures. Audi has kept to the diesel idea with another V6 TDI engine powering there new R18, they are running just 1 of 2 possible hybrid systems. Porsche with the new 919 are running a V4 turbo, something which has not been seen in a long time, and 2 hybrid systems. Toyota with the TS040 has stuck to the v8 route, but with 2 hybrid systems. All cars are four wheel drive and can produce near enough 1000BHP (according to Toyota).
We also have LMP1 Privateer’s Lotus is stepping up with a T129 LMP1 which is being powered by an AER V6 Turbo. Rebellion is back as well with there own car which is been built by Oreca the Rebellion R-ONE, its will be powered by a Toyota V8 like the old Lola’s which could be used at the first Round if the new car hasn’t been tested. Neither privateer is running a hybrid system this year, but can if they want.
LMP2
In LMP2 we have Strakka returning back to the ranks with an all new Strakka Dome S103 which for now is being powered by the LMP2 Nissan engine. The Strakka dome is one of the new breed of LMP2 cars, like the Lotus T128 of last year. There will be a lot of change in this class of the year as Oak racing have a new coupe the Ligier JS P2, which is being readied for Le Mans this year. Oreca has also confirmed that it is working on a new coupe along with HPD, but these won’t be seen till late this year or next year at the earliest.
LM GTE Pro/Am
In GT we have the 3 main stay manufactures, Aston Martin Racing, Ferrari, and Porsche. But we have new teams, there is Bamboo Racing partnering up with AMR to field a Pro car. There is also ELMS GT champions RAM Racing, who are fielding one Pro Ferrari and one Am Ferrari. Unfortunately we have lost the Corvettes of Larbre but hopefully we will see them back next year with a C7R or two.
2104 Calendar:
6 Hours of Silverstone, UK 20/April
6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium 03/May
24 Heures du Mans, France 14-15/June
6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, USA 20/September
6 Hours of Fuji, Japan 12/October
6 Hours of Shanghai, China 02/November
6 Hours of Bahrain, Bahrain 15/November
6 Hours of Sao Paulo, Brazil 30/November