G-Drive to make WEC return in Bahrain
G-Drive Racing will return to the FIA World Endurance Championship fold at next month’s bonus points round in Bahrain, it has been confirmed.
It will be the first WEC outing for the multiple European Le Mans Series title-winning outfit since this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, where it finished sixth in the LMP2 class.
The team’s solo Oreca 07 - badged as an Aurus 01 - will be piloted by two-time Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne, team owner Roman Rusinov and Job Van Uitert, who raced for fellow TDS Racing-run squad Racing Team Nederland at Silverstone in place of Nyck de Vries.
It brings the LMP2 entry up to nine for the Bahrain race, while the total size of the grid remains at 31 cars as the GTE Am field returns to its usual tally of 10 cars.
The news of G-Drive entering the Bahrain race follows the announcement that it will contest the 2019/20 Asian Le Mans Series season in conjunction with Algarve Pro Racing with an Aurus 01 for Rusinov, Leonard Hoogenboom and James French.
Elsewhere on the Bahrain entry list, Team LNT has yet to confirm its line-up for its two Ginetta G60-LT-P1s, but two-time American Le Mans Series champion Chris Dyson is expected to make his WEC debut with the team after missing the opening three rounds.
It's unclear who Dyson will replace on the Ginetta roster, but Jordan King, Ben Hanley and Egor Orudzhev are all understood to be on race-by-race deals.
Dempsey-Proton Racing has yet to confirm who will join Thomas Preining in the #88 Porsche 911 RSR. In Shanghai, Will Bamber - brother of factory Porsche racer Earl - and Angelo Negro partnered the Austrian driver, giving the car a third different line-up in as many races.
Previous article
Peugeot will return to Le Mans with new hypercar entry
Next article
Opinion: Peugeot news is the shot in the arm WEC needed
About this article
| Series | WEC |
| Event | Bahrain |
| Drivers | Jean-Eric Vergne , Roman Rusinov , Job Van Uitert |
| Author | Rachit Thukral |
Ferrari enters LMH from 2023
Peugeot in sportscars
WEC: 2021 Entry list revealed!
WEC: What is a Hypercar?
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing: GR010 HYBRID HYPERCAR
Why Ferrari is ending its 50-year top-flight sportscar racing exile
Making a return to top-flight sportscar racing after 50 years away, Ferrari will enter the Le Mans Hypercar ranks in 2023. The Italian marque denies the link with Formula 1's new cost cap that frees up resources, but it's certainly no coincidence...
The GTE dilemma that IMSA has created for the WEC
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s decision to scrap its GT Le Mans class for 2022 raises the question of whether the FIA World Endurance Championship should phase out GTE cars. But it's a much harder decision than it appears on the surface.
The ground-up refresh behind Toyota's new Le Mans challenger
Toyota's new GR010 contender for the World Endurance Championship's Hypercar era has little in common with the LMP1 TS050 that preceded it. But within the confines of the scaled back new rules, its latest challenger will be no less formidable a prospect
The tiny increments that decided the final LMP1-era WEC
The system of success handicaps devised by the FIA World Endurance Championship to level the LMP1 playing field in the category's swansong season ended up having a counterproductive effect, as COVID cancellations also played in the champions' favour.
Why Audi’s shock return promises a new age for sportscars
OPINION: The news that Audi will return to Le Mans means we'll at last get to see the fight promised in 2012 against Peugeot and Toyota. It also gives LMDh a tangible form, which could open the floodgates for more like-minded marques to follow suit…
The eternal debate revived after the 2019/20 WEC season
It may have been missed amid the clamour over Lewis Hamilton's seventh F1 title, but Britain had another world champion crowned last weekend. Mike Conway's WEC crown raises an old conundrum - does title glory make up for the pain of Le Mans defeat?
The 10 greatest LMP1 races ranked
As the LMP1 class prepares to bow out of top-line sportscar racing at the World Endurance Championship season finale in Bahrain this weekend, Motorsport.com looks back over the past two decades to pick out the 10 of its best contests
Why COVID-19 didn't stop Peugeot's Le Mans commitment
When the global pandemic hit, Peugeot was given the perfect excuse to back out of its stated intention to return to Le Mans in 2022. That it hasn't done so is telling both of its unfinished business and the opportunities presented by the Hypercar rulebook
