ELMS, Silverstone - Race Preview

With the arrival of the FIA WEC, ACO rule racing in Europe needed something to replace the Le Mans Series that had morphed into the World Championship.

It was always going to be a tricky task to compete with the GT3 based series that gave teams and car owners plenty of choice over their racing campaigns with standalone races, national and continental series to choose from and with sprint and/ or endurance racing on offer.

That said 2012 saw a near all time low in grid numbers for any major endurance series and it has taken a new team to regain control of the potential for 2013 and into the future.

WEC boss Gerard Neveu is now in overall charge of the ELMS too and that gives real credibility to the mantra of a 'staircase' in endurance racing.

There have been other major changes too, principally to assist a slashing of running costs for the current and potential future competitors and not all of these have met with universal acclaim.

Race lengths have been cut from 6 to 3 hours, but there are difficulties there for some teams who would like the budget that a third paying driver brings.

ELMS race meetings are now two days in length but that has come too at a cost, the Series now runs alongside other major Series on the same racecard with this weekend's season opener seeing the ELMS alongside the WEC and later rounds sharing billing with the FFSA Super Series and World Series by Renault.

There have been changes too in the class structure for potential entrants.

LMP2 stays as the top class with a single GTE class based on GTE Am rules (cars must have a gentleman driver and be to a spec at least 12 months old).

The one-make Formula Le Mans prototypes are back as the LMPC class once again with the entry list completed by the GTC class for GT3 class cars ( but with a different balance of performance than that doled out by SRO).

What it does signal is that the ELMS has been given plenty of attention and the initial response from potential entrants has been encouraging.

We're promised a 25 car grid for the first race at Silverstone and from there on in it could go either way depending on the success or otherwise of the new format.

Here's hoping that we do see new teams, new cars and new drivers taking their first steps on the ACO ladder.

The entry though sees a healthy number of both prototypes and GT cars with LMP2 continuing its success story

Orex Competition - HPD ARX 03b

A no show for Silverstone, the ex RML AD Group car has been fully upgraded to current cost capped spec.  the team are talking of a later than planned start to their programme, one of several to find the financial waters rather choppy at present.

Greaves Motorsport - Zytek Z11SN - Nissan

Greaves will have a car in both the ELMS and the WEC at Silverstone, but uniquely they'll have two of the same drivers too as Chris Dyson and Michael Marsal do double duty for the weekend. 

Beyond the first round though there are doubts over a further ELMS presence for the team.

Jota - Zytek Z11SN - Nissan

Rather more sure of their ELMS plans are Kent based Jota.

Their #38 Nissan powered Zytek will once again be driven by Simon Dolan but 2013 will see him partnered by a new Pro team-mate as Oliver Turvey gets his first taste of LMP racing.

That's likely to see the Jota car right in the thick of the action and contending for overall wins and the Series title.  Much though will depend on Dolan's consistency and speed in the new race format.

Morand Racing - Morgan Nissan

This is the only example of the Onroak Morgan chassis in the ELMS and, coupled with the Nissan V8 engine it is likely to be amongst the quickest runners if the team can produce a reliable effort.

Ex FIA GT1 racer Natacha Gachnang is partnered by the fast and popular Franck Mailleux for the season.  That duo should make for a well balanced pairing and if the package is anything like the sum of its parts there may well be podiums or better on the horizon for these ELMS newcomers.

There are four other Nissan engined runners in LMP2 and all feature Oreca 03 chassis.

Thiriet by TDS Racing - Oreca 03 Nissan

The reigning ELMS Champions return with the same mechanical package, with Pierre Thiriet still aboard and now bearing the prized #1.

He's joined for the full season by Jonathan Hirschi (who raced for a part season with the team last year) is filling the not inconsiderable shoes of Mathias Beche in 2013.

2012 showed us that the team has the pace and resilience to get the job done, now the 2013 drivers squad has to show that they can help the team 'do the double'.

Boutsen Ginion Racing - Oreca 03 Nissan

The Belgian team have consistently shown pace but have suffered reliability nightmares and some misfortune at the hands of previous drivers in recent seasons.

They are in consolidation mode for 2013 - Bastien Briere, Thomas Dagoneau and John Hartshorne will likely not be familiar to many who are newcomers to the endurance racing scene but this trio should be a safe sextet of hands.

If the 3 hour format proves to produce a more aggressive battle at the front of the field car and driver reliability might just prove to be a trump card.

Murphy Prototypes - Oreca 03 Nissan

Team Principal Greg Murphy has built up his own team to run his very green Oreca 03 Nissan in 2013 after a season with the car run by Team RLR.

Mercedes F1 tester Brendan Hartley stays aboard and will again show his raw speed and developing strategic nous, the Kiwi will be joined by experienced genntleman driver Mark Patterson.

If things go well for 'Murphy's Men' (and there is every reason to believe that they might) then this is likely to be the happiest and most fun team in the paddfock - Even if they don't Then they are still up for the craic!

Signatech Alpine - Alpine A450 (Oreca03) Nissan

Whatever the hype (and there has been plenty!) the return of the famous french Alpine marque to endurance racing is, for now courtesy of a rebadged Oreca and a coat or two of evocative (and very pretty) blue paint.  The glory of France is further upheld with the eqipment at each corner of the #36 car, this the only full season ELMS LMP2 to commit to Michelin rubber.

There is talk of a factory effort to come, potentially involving a racing version of a future roadgoing sportscar  but no promises yet.

Success for the team in 2013 won't do any harm of course to that possible outcome, neither will it hurt the recovery plan after a terrible 2012 of the Signatech outfit that are running the car.

Pierre Ragues and Nelson Panciatici are tasked with adding results to the story so far and if Signatech's appalling luck changes they could very easily do just that.

Race Performance - Oreca 03 Judd (BMW)

The Swiss Race Performance squad will again campaign their uniquely Judd engined Oreca 03 in the ELMS and will be looking for perhaps more speed and consistency than they have produced in recent outings.

The team though will have had a busy couple of weeks after a sizeable shunt at the pre season test.

Michel Frey returns for the team and is joined by Patrick Niederhauser.

DKR Engineering - Lola B11/40 Judd

The only other Judd engined contender, and the only other non-Nissan engined confirmed entry) is the ex Pecom Racing Lola entered by Luxembourg based DKR Engineering and prepared by ex LMS LMP2 entrants Ibanez Racing Services.

Olivier Porta and Romain Brandela are the confirmed drivers for this effort, and provide very welcome evidence of the ability of the rejuvenated Series to attract new teams.  If that good news is to translate to meaningful results however the team will need to find a lot more speed than they have displayed in pre-season testing.

LMPC

Team Endurance Challenge - Oreca FLM09

Oreca moved fast to support the new look ELMS with heavy promotion of arrive and drive packages for the LMPC class Oreca FLM09s.

No fewer than three cars are promised for the season with a variety of gentleman drivers, the pick of the bunch though is probably the #48 car which features successful Porsche Carrera Cup France Gentleman Anthony Pons and experienced endurance racer Soheil Ayari.

GTE

If there is one class that tells a story of a convincing recovery for the ELMS it is the GTE class.

The decision was made, fairly late in the day, to restrict the class to GTE Am only and whilst that had some mildly irritating effects for at least one of the teams (RAM Racing who had to convert their brand new 2013 Ferraris back to 2012 spec!) it has produced a much healthier field than we saw in the Series last year.

It is five Ferrari 458s against three Porsche 997 GT3 RSRs for the season and there are some high quality efforts to review.

Four of the five Ferraris are fielded by two, two car teams, the first of which, very happily, is new to the sport for 2013

Ram Racing - Ferrari 458 Italia GT

Silverstone based Ram Racing are precisely the kind of outfit that Gerard Neveu and co need to attract to endurance racing if the health of the sport is to be guaranteed.

Well funded and highly professional this is a team thinking in the long term with realistic aims for their first full season.

Their #52 Ferrari has the potent pairing of Johnny Mowlem and Matt Griffin aboard, the Irishman counts as the required Silver rated driver here courtesy of some heads up planning and driving throughout 2012. That might well serve him, and the team, very well over the 2013 ELMS season.

Mowlem has driven just about everything everywhere and will be very keen indeed to build a new shelf for the trophy cabinet!

The #53 Ram 458 meanwhile sees American pairing Gunnar Jeannette and Frankie Montecalvo reunited after the pair's 2012 season plans were derailed as a result of the collapse of Luxury Racing.

Jeannette is quick and his coaching of Montecalvo is producing results too, an error-free run or two might see this pairing scoring reasonable points.

AF Corse - Ferrari 458 Italia GT

AF Corse are, perhaps predictably, the second two car Ferrari effort.

Their #54 car sees youth to the fore whilst the #55 is the more experienced trio with Marco Cioci charged with bringing the very best out of AF customers Pierguiseppe Perazzini and 2012 International GT Open Champion Federico Leo.

There are probably too many commercially enforced compromises in both line- ups to see them as a genuine threat for overall honours.

JMW Motorsport - Ferrari 458 Italia GT

The only Dunlop shod GT car in the field will again sport a bright yellow livery to recognise that fact.

A very late deal sees Ferrari factory driver Andrea Bertolini join Joel Camathias, a pairing which is capable of seeing the British team retain their ELMS GTE title.

Bertolini was finding pace as the year went on in the 2012 WEC whilst Camathias will likely enjoy racing closer to the sharp end than he could achieve in the same Championship aboard a privateer Porsche.

The Porsche pack features a trio of high quality teams and some very high quality drivers

IMSA Performance Matmut  - Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

The #67 car sees a classic Pro-Am pairing with Patrice Milesi joined by Porsche factory hotshoe Wolf Henzler.

Take a look at the Pro talent on display in this class and its clear that races and titles are likely to be determined by which team has the fastest, most consistent and most error-free Ams!

Prospeed Competition - Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

Belgian Porsche specialists Prospeed are back in the  ELMS with their #75 911 RSR.  Emmanuele 'Manu' Collard is their hotshoe, he'll be joined at Silverstone by gentleman driver Francois Perrodo with Sébastien Crubilé joining the duo at round 2.

Proton Competition - Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

Proton field two of their three WEC drivers in the ELMS too with Christian Ried and Gianluca Roda joined in the #77 car by the latest addition to the Porsche factory rota, the mercurial Nick Tandy.

If the Porsche is anywhere near the pace of the Ferraris this is a team to watch.

GTC

The new for 2013 GTC class numbers five cars for the season with a pair of Porsches joined by singleton Ferrari, Audi and BMW efforts.  The class features an ELMS specific Balance of Performance.

Autorlando - Porsche 911 GT3-R

The only two car team in the class features a pair of well prepped Porsches and some names to conjure with.

The #64 car sees quick and ambitious young Brit Archie Hamilton paired with ex Tech 9 FIA GT3 Champion Dimitris Deverikos and gentleman driver Gianluca Carboni whilst the sister #84 car has Autorlando regular customer Emilio Di Guida paired with none other than Jeroen Bleekemolen - Both crews should be real class contenders.

AF Corse - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3

This car makes it an astounding eight cars that are being fielded by AF Corse across the WEC and ELMS, the GTC effort here will have to rely omn some young talent to make the grade.

MOMO Megatron DF1 - Audi R8 LMS Ultra

Will they, won't they produce a full season entry - After several false starts this effort carries the credibility of the Downforce 1 outfit squarely on its shoulders.  Here's hoping they deliver for the only Audi in the ELMS.

Ecurie Ecosse - BMW Z4 GT3

This could just be one of the more significant entries for this year's ELMS.  Why? Because it is the package offered, including an auto entry in GTE for the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours for the GTC class winning team, that jas attracted this team from the alternative delights of the Blancpain Endurance Series.

Ollie Millroy, Andrew Smith and "too fast for British GT" Alasdair McCaig should see the Brwell Motorsport prepped BMW in the thick of things, and the Z4 will be a popular sight and sound in the midst of the ELMS field.