The list of WEC competitors lives up to its promise.

The list of competitors entered in the new FIA World Endurance Championship was unveiled today at a press conference by Gérard Neveu, Director General of the WEC and Pierre Fillon Vice President of the ACO, in the presence of Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, Chairman of the Endurance Committee of the FIA. No less than thirty competitors are entered. Five manufacturers, two in LM P1 and three in LM GTE will try to win a title at the end of the season. The final race will be in Shanghai.

Competitors have races in the WEC programme. The season opens in the USA with the Sebring 12 Hours and will end in China at the Shanghai six hours, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the mid-season flagship event. The championship will also visit Belgium, UK, Bahrain, Brazil and Japan.

Although Audi's entry was expected, the first surprise was the participation of the German manufacturer with two hybrid cars that will make their debut this year. Another surprise came from Japan in the shape of the Toyota hybrid. We will have to wait until the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps to see the beautiful red and white livery, the Japanese manufacturer skipping the 12 Hours of Sebring.

The LM GTE, however, contains few surprises with three major manufacturers in the category: Chevrolet Corvette, Ferrari and Porsche. The transalpine manufacturer will attempt to defend the title won in 2011 ILMC with three cars in LM GTE Pro and three cars in LM GTE Am, while the Porsche line up a car in LM GTE Pro and two cars in LM GTE Am and Corvette will only two representatives in LM GTE Am

Prototypes will be present in strength with nine cars in each category LM P1 and LM P2. In the latter, there are the pillars of the category OAK Racing and Signatech Nissan, 2011 ILMC title holder, but also novelties such as the arrival of Lotus.

The LM P1 class has also expanded with six different cars over nine competitors: six cars with petrol engine and three cars to hybrid engines...! Diesel engines will not be represented this year in the WEC, which is unusual in this category.

The thirty competitors entered in the WEC hold an automatic invitation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and they will be joined during the season by competitors who will receive a "wild card" for single event.

First rendezvous is at Sebring on 17th March 2012, for the first round of the FIA World Endurance Championship! Meanwhile, the list of competitors can be found here.

Cecile Bonardel

Photo : PARIS (FRANCE), ACO PRESS CONFERENCE, 2 FEB 2012. Gérard Neveu, Directeur Général of WEC, unveils the 2012 entry list.