It’s been a long wait, but the 88th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is finally upon us. What can we look forward to in the GTE Pro class, one of the smallest classes in the field? MotorsportWeek.com takes a closer look.
Out of the four classes that will contest the 88th running of the French endurance classic, GTE Pro has felt the impact of the global pandemic more than most. After a capacity grid in 2019, the top class in GTE returns a year later with just eight cars on the entry list.
Both Corvette and Porsche’s North American contingent withdrew as a result of the pandemic, leaving just the full season WEC entries and two one-off entrants.
Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche both enter their full-season line-ups. Aston Martin arguably come into the race as favorites. They took pole position last year but struggled greatly in the race. A year later, the Aston Martin Vantage AMR looks very strong and Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen arrive at La Sarthe as championship leader, joined by new partner Richard Westbrook, himself a very strong GTE racer from his time at Ford.
Aston Martin has also signed another ex-Ford racer in Harry Tincknell to partner Alex Lynn and Maxime Martin in the #97 car. In GTE Pro, you should never make predictions, but it’s difficult that deny that Aston Martin’s two cars are looking mighty strong this year.
Ferrari, meanwhile, seem to be the dark horse. The two Ferrari 488 GTE Evos can never be counted out, but their full-season form in the WEC has left something to be desired. However, AF Corse beat everyone in 2019’s titanic GTE Pro battle, and the winning trio of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Daniel Serra has been reunited aboard the #51 Ferrari. Only time will tell if they can rekindle their flame from last year. The #71 car sees Miguel Molina and Davide Rigon partner with Sam Bird.
Porsche come into the race with a bit of an unknown variable: an all-new car. The previous-gen Porsche 911 RSR was a star at Le Mans, with pole position, a famous win in 2018 and a world championship for Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen in 2019.
In both WEC and IMSA, the new Porsche 911 RSR-19 has shown itself to be a formidable contender and its already a proven winner in WEC, with wins in Silverstone and Spa. The driver crews are unchanged from 2019, providing a vital bit of stability. Estre and Christensen are joined by Laurens Vanthoor, while Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz are joined by Fred Makowiecki.
To compliment the WEC stars, two additional teams have entered themselves into GTE Pro. The first is Risi Competizione, entering the #82 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo for Sebastien Bourdais, Olivier Pla and Jules Gounon. An all-French crew with a hugely experienced team. Much likely the factory Ferraris, it’s a bit of a dark horse.
The final GTE Pro entrant is a bit unexpected. Weathertech Racing, who had initially entered themselves into GTE Am, made the decision to step up to GTE Pro, with driving duties for the #63 Ferrari falling on IMSA regulars Toni Vilander and Cooper MacNeil, joined by Jeff Segal.
Vilander and Segal are proven commodities at Le Mans, but MacNeil’s presence marks the team as a bit of an outsider. The Illinois native is the only Silver-rated driver in the Pro field, and in a class where the margins are often this famously tight, that could very well be a weakness.
