2015 sees the Le Mans glamour class get a little more glamorous with the much-anticipated arrival of Nissan to the LMP1 grid.
While it’s hard to imagine them having a podium run, the speed and development of the revolutionary prototype will be one of the great storylines of the weekend, as will the expected clash of the titans up front.
Here, car by car, is my LMP1 form guide:
#1 Toyota Racing Toyota TS-040 Hybrid
The defending LMP1 world champions will be looking to complete Toyota’s return to sports car racing with a Le Mans crown.
It hasn’t been a happy start to the season, with Kaz Nakajima forced to miss Spa after a practice accident. Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi are fast, and a win for (arguably) Toyota’s flagship car would be just the tonic to propel them towards another potential world championship.
#2 Toyota Racing Toyota TS-04- Hybrid
Mike Conway heads to his first Le Mans as a full-time member of the Toyota squad, and is joined by Frenchman Stephane Sarrazin, who enjoyed three podium finishes with Peugoet and one with Toyota at Le Mans.
Alexander Wurz, the team’s third driver, is the only man to have contested every WEC race with Toyota, and is a two-time winner at Le Mans. Solid trio of drivers, but not expected to be as fast as their sister car.
#4 Team ByKolles CLM P1/01-AER
One of two privateer efforts, the ByKolles squad are rank underdogs. Formerly a Lotus machine, the ByKolles entry certainly has straight-line speed, but I expect reliability to be an issue here.
#7 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro
Defending champions, the trio of Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer and Andre Lotterer is probably Audi’s most experienced trio and if they can stay out of trouble, this car represents Audi’s best shot at another Le Mans title, and will surely be remembered in the history books as the best driver trio of the modern era.
They’re certainly my – and a lot of others! – pick to win. There’s nothing not to like about this trio.
#8 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro
Lucas di Grassi finished second last year with Marc Gene and Tom Kristensen, and now finds himself driving alongside youngsters Oliver Jarvis – the guy who has the unenviable position of replacing the legendary Kristensen – and Loic Duval.
At 32, Duval is the elder statesman of this team. Jarvis is in his first full-time season and di Grassi has limited experience. This trio might be a year or two away from really contending.
#9 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro
Rene Rast, Marco Bonanomi and Filipe Albuquerque are the development car as far as Audi is concerned, and it’s unlikely that we’ll see them at any other events this year. Not having an entire off-season of preparation for this race, not to mention both previous WEC races this year, will put them at a disadvantage, but, that said, any car out of the Audi stable is a threat to win, so don’t count these guys out.
#12 Rebellion Racing Rebellion R-One-AER
First time we’ve seen Rebellion Racing on the track this year, which doesn’t bode well for the team, in terms of reliability over the entire race distance. The A-team of Nick Heidfield, Nicolas Prost and Mathis Beche will likely be at the back of the LMP1 field, and a finish – after a clean run – would be like a victory for these guys.
#13 Rebellion Racing Rebellion R-One-AER
Le Mans rookie Daniel Abt joins LMP2 standout, Alexandre Imperatori and Dominik Kraihamer in the second Rebellion, and the same thing applies as to their teammates. They’re behind the eight ball, and wouldn’t mind a little rain to even the playing field out a little, either.
#17 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid
The Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley, Timo Bernhard car was fastest in the test day last week, and continued to show that speed in qualifying.
Of course, their speed has never been in doubt. Reliability is the question here. Can they find some? If so, watch out. All of Australia and New Zealand will have their fingers crossed.
#18 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid
Neel Jani’s Thursday qualifying lap was one for the ages. Like their teammates in the #17, Jani Marc Leib and Romain Dumas have speed to burn. Romain Dumas won with Audi (alongside Timo Bernhard) and knows what he’s doing. After their qualifying speed, there are high hopes for this machine.
#19 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid
Kiwi Earl Bamber joins Formula One star Nico Hulkenberg and long-time Porsche GT driver Nick Tandy. While there’s experience in the form of Tandy and Hulkenberg, Bamber is the wild card. He was quickly elevated to the LMP1 class, beating out experienced Fred Makowiecki in testing. If things to go plan, he may be battling countryman Hartley for a podium – or more.
#21 Nissan Motorsports Nissan GT-R LM Nismo
This car will run only at Le Mans, and features the first ever winner of the Nissan GT Academy, Lucas Ordonez. Japanese Super GT champion Tsugio Matsuda is joined by another winner of the GT Academy in Mark Shulzhitskiy. Not an outright win threat, but watching these three gel will be interesting.
#22 Nissan Motorsports Nissan GT-R LM Nismo
Brits Alex Buncombe and Harry Ticknell are joined by German Michael Krumm, the definite veteran of the group. Nissan Motorsport folks are high as a kite on Buncombe’s ability. Tincknell is a face of the future. A podium would be an extraordinary effort for these guys, in their first race together.
#23 Nissan Motorsports Nissan GT-R LM Nismo
Ex-Formula One driver Max Chilton gets the nod alongside Frenchman Oliver Pla, an underrated guy for years, and arguably the best GT Academy winner, Jan Mardenborough. As I said above, a podium would be monumental, and we might see short-term pace out of all three Nissans, but longer term, reliability could be an issue.
This is a big dress rehearsal for a serious tilt next year. We’ll track the team’s progress with great interest on Saturday and Sunday.
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