The 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 class brought a wave of competition, with under dogs taking the glory and the introduction of the ProAm classification. TheCheckeredFlag looks at the successes of the class last year when the top category lacked competition and what 2022 needs to deliver.
The LMP2 class has always been the entry point for those aspiring drivers and a place where they can showcase their talents on the global stage. With the LMP2 regulations meaning that the cars are one of four different chassis sharing the same regulations, it leads to much closer competition and the talent of the drivers being more important to the success of a team.
Team WRT started the season quietly in their first full year of competing in the WEC, with a tenth-place class finish in Spa-Francorchamps and a fourth in class at the 8 Hours of Portimao. It was at Monza when the team started to set their sights on the 24 Hours of Le Mans that WRT became a name to be noticed, taking their first podium with a second place finish. The season had been looking to be shaping up as a United Autosports versus JOTA, but class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans suddenly made the rest of the grid sit up and pay attention to WRT.
They remained unbeatable for the rest of the season, coming across the line at the final race of the year to take their third consecutive LMP2 class victory and take home the LMP2 Drivers’ Trophy with a 20 point lead. No matter how hard JOTA tried, they couldn’t seem to beat the WRT team on pace or strategy, and had to settle for the second two steps of the podium. United Autosports fell out of the fight around Le Mans when their qualifying pace greatly outweighed their race pace, and although they started high on the grid they struggled to hold onto podium finishes.
For sure, Team WRT will be ones to watch in 2022, as their progress through the field to claim not only three consecutive class wins, but also the 24 Hours of Le Mans class victory their first time of asking was an impressive feat. The team and driver line-up clearly worked well and in harmony along with their ORECA 07 package. It is expected that JOTA and United Autosports will also be keen competitors if they stay on into 2022 and the fight between the three teams will be greatly anticipated.
The introduction of ProAm to the championship made little difference, only making it a little more complex for fans of the series to keep up with. There was no clear indicator which of the LMP2 cars were ProAm to keep them different to those just part of the LMP2 championship, making it a little unclear as to who was actually racing who. It is of the opinion that the ProAm category was not needed in LMP2. Whereas this works well in other championship, with four different races already going on on track at the same time, adding another is just another thing spectators need to keep up with.
Frits Van Eerd won the ProAm cup with Racing Team Nederlands alone as the two drivers that accompanied him in the car frequently changed throughout the season, making him the only consistent points scorer of the line up. With a team that has had experience winning in the LMP2 class, it was not surprising to see them top the sub class in this category.
The 2021 season in this class led to excited races with slightly unexpected winners, and it will be interesting in 2022 to see if Team WRT can keep up their front of the field position, or if it was a one hit wonder.
