2021 WEC Full Season Entry List Revealed

The entry list for the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship includes 33 full-season entrants from 12 different countries plus a record number of teams competing in both the LMP2 and LMGTE.

There is a sense of intrigue around the new entry of Glickenhaus Racing who have promised “big names for their first season.” The announcement of a further five drivers for Glickenhaus is expected sometime at the end of this week.

Elsewhere WRT has made the step-up to the LMP2 having previously raced in Audi GT3 Machinery. Formula E driver Robin Frijns who is no longer part of Audi’s set up has been confirmed as the first driver for WRT’s solo Oreca 07.

Team boss Vincent Vosse said: “Robin has been driving for WRT since 2015 and we picked him out of single-seaters and he won the Blancpain GT Series in his first season.”  “He’s just pure talent, who is very calm in the car and doesn’t make mistakes, so he will have no problem adapting to LMP2.”

This will be the first time in WEC history that two all-female line-ups are entered in Iron Lynx and Richard Mille Racing. In the new Hypercar category for season 9, defending world champions Toyota Gazoo Racing will field two brand new Toyota GR10 Hybrids but will remain with the same driver line-up as they had in 2020. The future is bright for WEC’s highest category with Peugeot Sport confirmed for 2022 and Porsche and Audi confirmed for the years thereafter.

This year’s LMP2 category is the largest ever in WEC history, with a total of 11 entries from nine different nations. Both Chassis manufacturers Orega and Ligier are represented and four teams are moving up from the European Le Mans Series – DragonSpeed USA, Inter Europol Competition, RealTeam Racing and Richard Mille Racing Team.

In the LMGTE Pro category it will be a two way battle between Ferrari and Porsche. For Ferrari their Number 51 car line-up remains unchanged however in the newly rebranded Number 52 car Daniel Serra replaces Davide Rigon and Serra will drive alongside Miguel Molina. At Porsche the Number 19 car line-up remains unchanged whilst in the Number 92 car Neel Jani will replace Michael Christensen.

Over in the LMGTE Am category there is another record breaking number of 13 entries comprising of Five Ferrari’s, Five Porsche’s, and three Aston Martin’s. For the first time in WEC history there will be an all female line-up in LMGTE Am in the Number 85 Iron Lynx car.

Pierre Fillon who is the president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest is looking forward to the new age of the Hypercar telling the WEC website : “Hypercar marks a turning point for endurance racing. This new top class is the dawn of a bright future for the discipline with Toyota, Glickenhaus and Alpine ready to engage in thrilling battles on the track.”

Fillon is also optimistic that the popularity of the WEC series will remain at its high level even in the current circumstances : “Despite today’s adverse conditions, the grid remains impressive, and our championship as popular as ever.”

Richard Mille who is the president of the FIA Endurance Comission continued on the same theme as Fillon, stating how great it was to have such a large entry list : “I’m pleased looking at this season’s entry list. The FIA WEC managed to attract a strong and diverse grid, which is something particularly impressive in the wake of the current health and economic climate.”

Mille is anticipating a highly competitive field in WEC this year : “There are several strong line-ups entered into the LMP2 and the LMGTE machinery and we can expect fierce competition in these category’s.”

Frédéric Lequien, CEO of the FIA WEC Championship is also very optimistic about the future of the WEC going forward : “There is no doubt that the future of endurance racing looks very bright and this is perfectly demonstrated by the strength and variety of teams on the list. To have six females on the gird highlights the diversity in our championship and endurance racing as a whole. The 2021 WEC season will definitely be one to watch.”